The Pink Panthers had 3 full days in Helsinki before the Jamboree.  On their first day they explored some of the city’s history with a guided tour. They saw all the big sites, including the Helsinki Cathedral, the Helsinki Archives and the Uspenski Cathedral. Whilst travelling around the city the Pink Panthers learnt that each street used to have a sign with a painted animal rather than a written name, due to the diversity of Finnish regional language and the prevalence of Swedish as a national language.  Some of the distinct signs spotted were the cat and bird district and their favourite, was the unicorn district. The Explorers then visited the new Oodi library which included recording studios, VR rooms, 3D printers and much more, all available to the public to use! That evening, once back at the campsite, they finished the day with their first sauna of the trip. 

On the second day in Helsinki, they visited the Serena water park, a highlight of the trip. The Pink Panthers went through all the flumes and lazy rivers before heading into the city centre to meet up with some of their Jamboree Finnish hosts!

On the final full day in Helsinki, they visited Suomenlinna, the Sea Fortress, located on a separate island to the city.  Here, they had a guns and tunnel tour, exploring all the hidden areas of the huge fortress inaccessible to the public. After this the Explorers had free time in Helsinki and made their own way back to the campsite in time for the inflatable obstacle course on the water. 

Then the Pink Panthers were off to spend a week with 13000 Scouts at the Finnish Jamboree! The Jamboree was at Evo campsite, in the middle of the forest. There were so many people it was like a pop-up town! Every day the Explorers went to a different activity zone to participate in a variety of challenges. These zones included: action valley, battle valley and future valley. In the evening the Explorers were free to meet new people, exchange scout badges and participate in the competitive necker trade, where the Pink Panther necker was in high demand! After some free time, and a trip to one of the 15 saunas on site, there were usually big events held at the main stage; these were a highlight of the trip for most of the Explorers.  In all the pictures, you can spot the Saltire in the centre of the action! Yes, the Explorers got so involved that some of them managed to get on the stage! 

Both the Explorers and leaders made friends from all over the world, there were lots of tears when they had to leave, but the Pink Panthers hope to meet up with our Finnish hosts again soon.