The strangest thing on Big Zayatsky Island is made of stones, and nobody knows for certain what it was for. Scattered over the grass and heather are about thirteen spiral labyrinths, circles of boulders laid out in coils with a single winding path to the centre, and between them stand piles of stones, perhaps graves and perhaps offerings. They are thought to be three to four thousand years old, made by the people who lived on these northern shores in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, and similar labyrinths exist around the coasts of the Baltic and Scandinavia, as well as in northern Russia. Some scholars think they were ritual places, a kind of road to the world of the dead, others that they were traps for spirits or even for fish. The island is part of the Solovetsky archipelago, and falls within the area of the World Heritage site.
The island is a small, low, windswept place in the White Sea, a few kilometres from the main island, with a lighthouse, a few buildings and a population of birds. Eider ducks and gulls nest here, and in summer the ground is covered in cloudberry and crowberry. You reach it by boat from Big Solovetsky Island, and trips run only in good weather, with a guide.
There is no riding to be done here. The islands have no road link to the mainland, and for riders the nearest fuel and supplies are on the Karelian coast, at Kem or Belomorsk, where the ferry leaves. Once on Solovetsky, you can hire a bicycle, and a few gravel tracks run between lakes and chapels.
The weather decides everything. In June and July the nights are white and the sea can be calm and silver, while storms can arrive from nowhere, stranding boats for days. Take warm clothing, windproof layers and insect repellent, as the mosquitoes can be intense. The season is short, from June to August.
Walk the spiral paths if you are permitted, and notice how a simple pattern of stones can alter the way you move. As for foreign travel to Russia, conditions are currently restrictive, and you should check before you plan.