The Göta Canal stretches across rural Sweden, with long canal sections linked by natural lakes.
At Motala, we spent a last evening with Janice and Steven chatting to our Swedish neighbours, Maíre and Håkan on board Isabelle, and listening to the crew of an old German sailing ship playing traditional folk songs on an accordion.
Then we set off on our own to cross Lake Vattern, incredibly deep and clear, with a following wind allowing us a day sailing for the first time in over a week.
The next day, we meandered through Lake Bottensjön and Lake Viken, both stunningly beautiful, and absolutely stuffed full of navigational hazards.
Lake Viken is shallow, and once a canal section, with low lying land around.
There are two locks at either end, which have raised the level so that the canal banks are now submerged in places.
So now the passage is through a canal that looks like a lake. And so narrow!
Definitely one of the highlights of our Great Canal Journey.
