Bikepacking expedition number 2: exploring an underwater prison building!
My second bikepacking expedition to prepare me for the Silk Road Mountain race comes quite possibly as a result of playing too much Tomb Raider as a teenager when I hear about a sunken prison building in the middle of a lake that’s around 40 kilometres away from Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn that I’m exploring as a digital nomad.
The idea of swimming around submerged buildings means that I pack a set of goggles and snorkel to better indulge my strange fascination with underwater things that probably shouldn’t be there (maybe a hangover from the Marines or going to university in a seaside city)
With the gravel bike loaded up with food, water, and freediving kit, I cycle to this quarry that’s a few hours from Tallinn and find the most incredible adventure hub.
I set off on a warm day with some music playing in my wireless headphones (such a good invention for bikepacking to free me from the phone), I take the ride at a leisurely pace and enjoy being away from my laptop, meaning I can focus on long-term goals and aspirations for a while.
After 35ish kilometres, I take a detour to see an interesting graveyard that appears when I’m searching for the entrance to the quarry. The Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery is from Estonia’s soviet period and a memorial to pilots who sadly died in the area, yet instead of headstones, their memories are marked with tailfins from planes that would’ve been in service when they sadly passed away. It’s a sobering sight given everything that’s going on in the world in 2022.
I arrive at the quarry and find somewhere to set my tent up around 10pm (after a failed attempt when I forget to check the pegs will go in the ground – some early reminders for camping) however it’s still light so not a huge problem to move it.
Exploring the sunken prison
I wake the next day excited for freediving around the sunken prison. It’s an eerie experience swimming around this ghostly building, and my rampant imagination puts ideas that a dead body will float out from behind a wall (which, of course, it doesn’t!).
After the freediving, I hike up the hills to see the incredible sight from up high. It’s a magnificent lake, and somewhere I’m excited to come back and explore again sometime, maybe bringing some UK friends or family to see it and try some snorkelling around it.
After a few hours, I have to set off to cycle back to Tallinn. It’s been great to take a few days off to explore the country, but I do also have work to do and so must get back to focus on the vocation that allows me to be here in the first place. I think about the idea of short bikepacking trips all the way home and start making a list of places to visit on the gravel bike before winter is upon us.
If you’re seriously considering a year as a digital nomad, whether that’s to explore the world, setup a virtual business, or both, I strongly urge you to put Estonia at the top of your list for all the reasons I mention below – however don’t be surprised if you don’t want to return back to your country of origin at the end of it!
Secondly, I make no apologies for being so enthusiastic about the place, I’ve travelled in over 60 countries across the world and feel like I’ve found somewhere that is truly remarkable for many good reasons that people aren’t yet aware of.