Archipelago Archives - Com Namibia

Finland’s Turku Archipelago Offers the World’s Most Unusual Job (Video)

October 26, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

L’archipel de Turku vient de publier une publicité humoristique avec Lambert Wilson - Capture écran

PONANT

It’s probably the most fleeting and peculiar job in the world.

Visit Turku Archipelago, the tourism office for the Turku Archipelago in Finland, has just launched its “Get a Nose Job” campaign.

Thus, this unique place on Earth, where nearly 40,000 islands face the mainland, is offering to recruit a “nose” for a five-to-seven-day mission in the destination that has proclaimed itself the most fragrant in the world.

In May or June 2027, the fortunate winner will have to travel around the islands to “evaluate the scents of the sea air, pine forest aromas, saunas, and even freshly baked bread, and then describe them with enough precision to make people want to breathe them in.”

The experience must also be documented in photos and videos for the destination’s social networks,” states Creapills.

A job that calls for a keen sense of smell, but above all, it earned itself a spotlight that has been talked about worldwide.

The Turku Archipelago Is Looking for Its “Olfactory Detective”

To promote the archipelago, the tourism office had the idea of asking Lambert Wilson to let his nose roam across a few of the islands.

The opening scene of the video shows the French actor, well known abroad as well, in the middle of a conversation with his agent.

“When you told me I was going to do an ad on paradisiacal islands, I pictured the Caribbean, not the Baltic Sea.

What do you mean they think I fit the profile? I agree, Laurent, I think it smells very good, but I have better things to do in life than breathing seaweed“, protests the French actor.

Then we follow for two minutes the Matrix actor as he traverses the islands, sniffing in shops, saunas, and the forest.

The spot blends humor with travel imagery, while concluding with the proposition to become the nose and ambassador of the destination for a few days.

This humorous touch is regularly seen in Nordic destination videos. Iceland, a master in this field, notably parodied Meta’s metaverse, formerly Facebook.

Sweden, for its part, reminded that it should not be confused with Switzerland, as this happens regularly.

The Turku Archipelago Is the World’s Most Fragrant Destination

“We are convinced that the Turku Archipelago is the world’s most fragrant destination. Neither Paris, nor Athens, despite what some rankings may claim.

But such a claim needs proof, and our own nose is, alas, fallible. That is why we are looking for an objective person“, explains the Saaristo website, the Finnish name for the Turku Archipelago.

Potential candidates have until October 25 to apply. To do so, they must post a short video on Instagram or TikTok in which they declare their candidacy for the role of “olfactory detective”.

They must then choose an object, smell it, and give their opinion.

The job pays 2,000 euros.

Finland Offers Unusual Job: €2,000 to Smell the Scents of Its Archipelago

October 15, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Your nose can become, in this precise case, your best asset to land this atypical job abroad. Indeed! In Finland, the organization Visit Turku Archipelago is seeking a person with sufficiently clear nostrils to sniff out the pleasant scents of the Turku archipelago, which still comprises 20,000 islands. On the Saaristo site, literally “archipelago” in Finnish, the Nordic country explains being convinced that this region offers “the best smells in the world”.

“We now need a ‘Nose’ to snif f them and formalize this observation”, one can read in the press release, which shares a detailed job description and a promotional video presented by actor Lambert Wilson. “This is a genuine job, with a real contract and real pay. The only thing you need to bring is your nose”, it is stated. Jokesters, please refrain!

What missions?

The most serious and open-minded “noses” can apply for this five-to-seven-day mission scheduled for spring 2027, in May or June. It will be paid 2,000 euros gross, plus the statutory paid vacation allowance. Travel and accommodation will be covered by the local authorities. The work consists of traversing the islands guided solely by one’s sense of smell, exploring their natural scents: sea air, pine forests, damp rocks, wild herbs, bread fresh from the oven, blueberries from Pargas, or steam from the saunas of Rymättylä. Everything must be olfactively scrutinized.

The candidate will be required to document their experiences using photos and videos to first prove that the Turku Archipelago is the destination “that smells the best in the world”, but also to entice travelers to explore it. These contents will be used by Visit Turku Archipelago on social networks and other communication channels.

What profile are they seeking?

No degree from a perfumery school is required to apply. The ideal profile should be curious enough to “put their nose where others haven’t put theirs”, a lover of the finer things in life and comfortable discussing them on camera. The advertisement states that candidates must be at least 18 years old, authorized to work in Finland at the time of application and in May-June of the following year, and equipped with suitable gear for taking photos and videos, such as a smartphone.

Their presence on social media will also be taken into account in the selection.

To try your luck, you must publish a short video on a social network, Instagram or TikTok. The candidate should begin by introducing themselves, then pick an object, smell it, and explain what they perceive. “Show us your technique, because it matters. Tag @saaristo_finland, use the hashtag #SaaristoNoseJob and make sure your account is public so that we can see your video”, the announcement asks. Applications must be submitted before October 25, 2026 at 23:59 Finnish time or 22:59 French time. The name of the chosen “Nose” will be announced on November 17.

Mayotte: The Blue, White and Green Archipelago

June 29, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

You hear it before you see it, a crystal-clear murmur rising in crescendo as the red earth path winds between towering bamboo toward the sea. A few more steps, and the path tilts. Down below, Soulou appears, a fairy-tale cove where turquoise waves kiss the sand. Overlooking the beach, a ten-meter cliff, veiled in greenery, lets a bridal veil slip from its summit. Under this delicate cascade, on this scorching November day in 2025, children splash about, laughing.

Soulou, on the northwest coast, is only a prelude. The mangrove labyrinth of Bouéni Bay, the Dziani Dzaha, a crater-lake nestled in a volcanic crater, the vast lagoon… Mayotte is full of wonders too often forgotten, the archipelago – Petite-Terre, Grande-Terre and a handful of islets – generally reduced to migration crises, security issues, or even meteorological crises (cyclone Chido ravaged it in late 2024). An injustice to be urgently repaired.

Set in the Mozambique Channel, the 101st French department is a blue jewel (the lagoon), white (the sand), green (the forest) with a pleasant tropical climate and a rich culture, where Malagasy, African, Arab and French influences interweave. Here, French, shimaoré and kibushi are spoken, and 95% of the population is Muslim, practicing a largely syncretic Islam. In Tsingoni, on the west coast of Grande-Terre, the oldest mosque in France (14th century) has preserved its mihrab – the niche that indicates the direction of Mecca – from the 16th century in carved coral.

Dense vegetation

To grasp the splendor of the archipelago, one must venture inland, and perhaps undertake the ascent of Mount Bénara, the highest point on Grande-Terre (660 meters), rewarded with a 360° view over the “hippocampus,” as the island is called from above due to its shape. In the company of Attoumani Harouna, one of the fathers of the Mahoran GR (160 kilometers) and a tour operator, we discover lands two-thirds covered by dense vegetation. A year earlier, after the passage of Chido, between 30% and 80% of trees, depending on the massif, had been devastated by winds roaring at 220 km/h!

Along the trails, banana trees spread their wide pale-green fans, the small local brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus mayottensis)—the iconic makis here—leapt from mangos to kapok trees. We witness the soaring flight of the fruit bats, the largest bat species, and we cross the little Mahoran zebu, a meter at the shoulder. The archipelago also boasts 44 endemic plant species under protection, including Foetidia comorensis, a plant known here as namoulohna, of which fewer than a hundred remain, and two baobab lineages, the African (Adansonia digitata), with delicate white flowers, and the Malagasy (Adansonia madagascariensis), rarer, with flamboyant red flowers.

On the west coast, time hangs to the local rhythm of the villages

In the village of Combani, thirty-five minutes by road west of Mamoudzou, the main town, the Imany garden, for its part, exhales the scent of ylang-ylang, a memory of the era when Mayotte was “the island of perfumes.” In Sada, on the west coast, time seems suspended to the local pace.

Meanwhile, in Dzaoudzi-Labattoir, on Petite-Terre, the heartbeat of Mahoran life pulses: between colonial buildings and market lanes, the crowds hurry to join the “barge” that links the two main islands. On the deck of the shuttle, village women move wrapped in bright salouva—a piece of fabric tied beneath the chest—faces adorned with msindzano, a beauty and sun-protection mask, made from sandalwood rubbed on a coral stone.

During weddings and traditional celebrations, the msindzano is lace: this sandalwood mask is applied in delicate dotted lines, creating patterns on the cheeks and forehead of the Mahoraises.

These “ticklers” Mahoraises who chose France

In the late 1960s, about a hundred Mahoraises joined a resistance to keep Mayotte French and not follow the independence movement that mobilized the rest of the Comoros at the time. Their weapon: tickling, an original humiliation tactic aimed at shaming their opponents. But behind the symbolic act, the conflict was violent. In 1969, one of them, Zakia Madi, 25, was shot during clashes in Mamoudzou.

The struggle of the ticklers culminated much later, in 2011, with the archipelago’s departmentalization. Today, draped in their salouva, their heirs revive the codes of their elders to carry the current social claims.

A giant marine sanctuary

During family celebrations, songs in shimaoré and in Arabic accompany the debaa, a celebration with distant origins, accompanied by dances performed by women, whose hands ripple like seaweed underwater. And water is everywhere, where the eye rests: the 1,100 km² closed lagoon, one of the largest in the world, is home to 800 species of fish and marine mammals, including manta rays that seem to fly beneath the waves, dolphins, and humpback whales that traverse it from July to October.

And then, every year, nature offers another gift: 3,000 to 5,000 turtles come to nest on the beaches, notably at Moya, a southeast cove of Petite-Terre. The site is monitored by guardians and volunteers, and the observation of nocturnal nesting follows strict rules. Off the coast, a mask and snorkel are enough to swim with the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) grazing on seagrass, or to glimpse its cousin, the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), shyer, gliding between the coral patches that dot the giant lagoon of this France at the edge of the world.

Not to miss in Mayotte

A face-to-face with turtles

For an unforgettable sea ride, Rando Palma and captain Halifa, a certified lagoon guide, will accompany you safely. On the program: a dolphin ballet around the dinghy and turtle encounters while snorkeling, even for beginners.
@randopalma on Instagram

An inland immersion

To explore the archipelago up close to its people and landscapes, Attoumani and Hélène form a duo of passionate guides who share both the territory’s secrets and the daily Mahoran stories.
baobabtour.fr

A night in a “banga”

Mud walls, a roof of coconut palm leaves and a view of the lagoon: in Sada (west coast), the banga—traditional huts of the Chissioua—sit in a tropical garden. A perfect starting point to explore the beaches.
chissioua-mayotte.com

➤ Article published in GEO magazine No. 569, “Recharging in Auvergne,” July 2026.

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