Kapitan Nemo
Tour 2026
It’s that time of year again — our annual bikepacking trip with friends: Igor, Jacek, and me.
This time, we had a theme in mind, following the story of Nowe Przygody Pana Samochodzika by Zbigniew Nienacki — one of my favorite childhood books.
We made a round trip around Lake Jeziorak, which has the longest shoreline of all lakes in Poland. From there, we went to Olsztyn, the capital of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, entered the beautiful Puszcza Napiwodzko-Ramucka forest, crossed Bełdany by tethered ferry, and made another loop around Lake Śniardwy — the biggest lake in Poland - before finishing the trip in Giżycko.
All pictures were taken on a Canon Sure Shot compact camera with my beloved Kodak Gold.
Day 1: Iława
Half a tent missing • Lemonade tastes like colors • Overgrown forest • First sunset • Cold night
It all started in Iława. We got off the train, checked if we were ready to go, only to learn that Igor had forgotten the bottom half of his tent. Nothing new — last year, the boys forgot their IDs when we were supposed to cross the border to Germany.
We managed to arrange for the missing part to be sent on the next train and, slightly delayed by three hours, finally started our journey around the wilder side of Jeziorak.
As usual, I was in charge of route planning. It started a bit rough, with many paths overgrown and more suitable for mountain bikes than our heavy gravel bikes. Still, it didn’t dampen our spirits — especially after a stop at a tiny local shop, where we got local lemonade chosen by color rather than taste, and some fantastic ice cream.
Little did we know, the main challenges ahead would be the lack of bread and a very cold night.
Day 2: way to Bukowiec
Proper breakfast in Siemiany • Meeting the locals • Fauna attacks • Nienacki’s House • Scary scarecrows • Bukowiec Island
We woke up cold and hungry, so we packed quickly and started our way toward the village of Siemiany. There, we bought a lot of food and fresh buns, then ate everything right in front of the store.
That was also our first proper interaction with a local — a nice guy we chatted with about where we came from and where we were heading. We gave him our bottle deposit, fed some dogs, and were on the road again.
Little did we know, we were about to get properly scared. We entered the deep forest again and, at some point, found a pristine lake. Naturally, we decided to go for a dip. As we undressed to swim naked, the first scare happened: ticks. We removed them, checked each other very thoroughly, and then noticed a snake swimming in the lake where we had been standing just seconds before. Local fauna won this time around.
Next stop: Jerzwałd. This was a very exciting moment for me personally — I got to see the house where Zbigniew Nienacki lived and wrote most of the Pan Samochodzik series. We also encountered a gallery of scarecrows, which was creepy, but in a nice way.
After that, it was time to head toward Bukowiec — the second-biggest island on Lake Jeziorak.
Day 3: we are in paradise
Island life • Scrambled eggs • Cards and coffee • Swimming • Day off • Sunset of our dreams
Bukowiec is the second-largest island on the whole lake. We realised its sheer size already when it took us around five minutes of cycling just to reach the campsite.
The island is filled with static caravans owned by people who have been staying there since the 70s. The whole place is managed almost like an allotment garden. The facilities are clean, people are kind, and everyone seems to know each other. It felt like entering a time capsule from a long-bygone era.
So when we woke up, we decided to stay there for the whole day. We scrambled some eggs for breakfast, then headed out for coffee and played cards — mostly Dandân, a Magic: The Gathering variant where two players share a deck, and Thousand, a Polish classic.
The rest of the day was spent swimming, jumping into the lake from a pier, and reading Detektyw, a crime-story newspaper.
In the last minutes of the day, Igor had the brilliant idea to go to the other side of the island to watch the sunset. And oh boy, what a great idea that was. We all agreed: it was the best sunset we had ever seen away from the sea. Simply amazing.
Day 4: GoodBye Jeziorak
Sailing trip • Radzio’s Venuska • Leaving Jeziorak • Overwhelming heat
On the day we arrived, we met Ms. Ewa. We had one of those brilliant interactions where it immediately felt like we had known each other before. She told us we should ask her husband, Radzio, to take us sailing — so that’s exactly what we did.
In the scorching heat, we set out to see the lake from the water. The wind wasn’t too strong, but it didn’t matter after all. We took it all in, sailing with a friendly stranger and discussing why Jeziorak has not been turned into a heavily touristic place.
It seems to be a mix of factors: a lot of the land is managed by the local commune, or owned by people who want to preserve its character. It’s truly amazing how they have defended this place from the commercialised developments seen in other parts of Mazury.
After that, it was time to say goodbye to our neighbours, take one last dip in the water, and jump back on the bikes. With watery eyes, we left the lake — our beloved Jeziorak. But that’s the nature of touring: you fall in love with a place, only to move on to the next one.
The day before, we managed to reach Lake Wulpińskie, riding along the Iławski Canal. We were just a couple of kilometres away from the biggest city in the region — Olsztyn. We packed early in the morning and left quickly, fearing the forecast of a heavy thunderstorm in the afternoon.
In Olsztyn, each of us had a side quest. I needed new film, Jacek needed new socks, and Igor needed a new earring, since he had lost his somewhere along the way. After a couple of days in the wilderness, we were more than happy to leave the city as quickly as possible and enter Puszcza Napiwodzko-Ramucka — Las Mazurski.
It became another highlight of our trip: the biggest forest in the region, filled with huge lakes and ghost towns, some of them relocated to make room for holiday resorts for communist higher-ups.
The forest didn’t disappoint. Huge old trees, lush vegetation, and prime gravel mixed with very deteriorated asphalt. We were riding fast, completely alone in a beautiful landscape. After a while, we reached a clearing and, just as we were about to cross a half-broken bridge, a herd of cows decided to take a rest in the stream. Oh boy, what a view it was.
Not far from there, we decided to use a scout training facility as our next encampment at Lake Łańskie. It’s a ZHR — Związek Harcerstwa Rzeczypospolitej / Scouting Association of the Republic — Training and Recreation Centre. A place where time seems to have stopped. All the little houses are renovated just enough to host new guests, but still look exactly like they did when they were built in the 70s. An extraordinary location.
As we were leaving the next day, we saw an info sheet on the gate saying that the big camp mentioned to us earlier was a Knights of Mary camp for over 150 participants. We were in Poland, after all.
Back to civilisation • Side quests • Puszcza Napiwodzko-Ramucka • Cows are crossing • ZHR Training and Recreation Centre • The Knights of Maria
Day 5: Olsztyn
& Las Mazurski
Day 6: not quite śniardwy
Crossing the wilderness • Szczytno is hard • Golden eyebrows • New skills unlocked
On the sixth day of our adventure, still slightly shaken by the Knights of Mary, we were mostly travelling through the wilderness. It’s an enormous forest, though actually much more inhabited than we had imagined based on photographs and Komoot planning. We managed to get coffee in a small restaurant, bought some supplies in a nearby store, and powered through.
There were side quests along the way, like visiting a surfer camp at Lake Świętajno — a total failure. It felt like the Baltic Sea: weird people, plastic toys, and entry fees just to get to the lake.
Eventually, we arrived in Szczytno and decided it was time for fine dining at McDonald’s, followed by a supermarket stop for supplies. Oh my, how I dislike this town. I was the one left guarding the bikes, and every minute felt like a week. I kept staring at the store windows, waiting for the boys to come back.
At this point, we knew we were not going to reach Śniardwy, so we decided to cut our losses and head toward Lake Wałpusz. We didn’t like the first spot we found for our encampment, so we unlocked a new skill: asking strangers if we could sleep on their land. As they say, third time’s the charm — and we landed a spot behind a barn, on freshly cut grass, all to ourselves.
Day 7: Great Masurian Lakes
Leaving Szczytno behind • Jurand of Spychów • Chanterelles • Bikefitting • I can’t read without glasses • Tethered ferry
We woke up, ate a rudimentary breakfast, and headed out toward the Land of the Great Masurian Lakes. When I was younger, I used to sail there every year. This was only the second time I tried to cross it by bike.
The region is a series of lakes connected by canals, mostly dug by prisoners during World War II — the canals, not the lakes.
Since we forgot to get cash and needed to cross one of the lakes by ferry, finding an ATM became the main quest. That led us to Spychów, where, for a brief moment, we saw Jurand — a Polish hero and conqueror of the Teutonic Order. Well, actually a fictional character from Krzyżacy by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Everyone in Poland has read it at least once.
Spychów is also important because that’s where we finally adjusted Jacek’s bike to fit him properly, which resulted in the pain leaving his poor knees. It took us three years to do that, so yes, a major achievement.
To celebrate this milestone, I misread the ferry schedule. I hadn’t worn my glasses for over a week by then, so everything was blurry. This resulted in a major hurry, which led straight to exhaustion. Sounds dire, but thanks to that we made a mandatory stop in the forest, decided to stroll around for a moment, and in no time filled two big bottles with chanterelles.
Our hearts filled with hope, excited about the ferry and the prospect of chanterelle scrambled eggs the next morning, we rode as fast as possible.
Days 8-10: Life around śniardwy
Waking up in a marina • Cliff • Hard to find a spot for a good night • Pizza dinner • Camera drama • Is it a lake or a sea • Staying in a MOR • Giżycko
We slept in a marina out of necessity — and because it was right there next to an open store on a Sunday. We were also in desperate need of a hot shower, only the second one during the whole trip. It felt a bit strange to be surrounded by sailors while travelling by bike.
The night before, we had put our food on the grill of some seriously rich old people. The next morning, we used their private table to cook breakfast and set out to find a spot where we could spend a free day.
A daunting quest it was. What was supposed to be a one-hour ride turned into a whole day of riding through cliffs, trying to find a spot suitable for all of us. It was much harder than expected, so we made a stop for some really freaking good pizza and turned back to sleep on a cliff, with private stairs leading to our own little beach.
As we entered the lake for a mandatory sunset photoshoot, I realised that the ISO setting on my camera must have switched on its own while rumbling around in my bag — from 200 to 50. Fear did not leave me until I developed both films, not knowing when exactly it had happened and how many pictures were affected. Fortunately, only maybe four pictures were affected, so almost no harm done.
Śniardwy is very shallow near the shoreline. It’s hard to find a spot where the water reaches above your waist. It’s also filled with big rocks, so you can’t really swim in it. Because of that, we decided to move the next day to a camping ground a couple of kilometres away from our spot. We left our bags there and went to a store in Okartowo to buy breakfast.
That’s when we found a crazy spot with two piers, sheds with electricity, multiple tables, and toilets with running water. It was part of the freshly renovated Masurian Cycling Loop. Two of us went back to fetch the bags from the camping ground, and we decided to stay there for the whole day and night.
We cooked dinner, played cards, and swam in the lake. We did the vacation thing, while cyclists and locals were coming and going. We went to the store multiple times, strolled through the village of 500 inhabitants, and visited a nearby pier.
It was a perfect way to end the trip before the last short ride to Giżycko the next day. Not planned, slightly absurd, but somehow perfect.
Heroes of this story: Igor on the left, Jacek on the right.
I’m really glad we do this every year. This was the fourth edition, and probably the best one so far. I feel privileged to have great friends I can go on a proper adventure with every year — sharing our passion for cycling, goofing around, having late-night talks, getting dirty together, and witnessing the beauty of nature.
Thanks, guys!
The Ride in the numbers:
491 km - 2420 m - 10 days
