Final comments

Walking in Latvia is always therapeutic. It is also a personal homage to Anita's "homeland" and an attempt to understand more about the country and its people. I am not sure that I have any particular insights from the recent trip. However, I move at a pace which makes observation and reflection possible. This time, I have passed through largely farmland and forest with few larger settlements. It always seems like going back in time to a more simple life, though probably a fairly harsh one for many people.

Route map

Evidence of the Soviet era is always present - abandoned factories and barrack style accommodation in the typical stark white brick can be found anywhere in the countryside. What purpose they served is unclear - whether they provided employment for the locals or an imported population that was simply exploiting the Latvian resources. When I have walked with Janis Apsitis (Lija's second cousin), I have always enjoyed his informed commentary.

This walk was physically demanding - four ultra-marathons in four days. The first 42.2km (the marathon distance) took 6hrs 21mins on day one and 6hrs 29mins on the third day. Apart from the 2 runs in Hyde Park, it is the only structured exercise I have done since I left Melbourne on 16 June. I am hoping to compete in the Melbourne Marathon in October with the goal of a sub 4 hour time. I have only run two half-marathons in under 2 hours and in 2011 the Melbourne Marathon results show that only 4 male runners in my age group (65+) achieved a time under 4 hours. There is much more work to be done.

Half marathon - Marysville 2011

I was, yet again, helped by glorious Latvian weather, this year apparently, uncharacteristically fine during the period I was walking. There were some desultory drops of rain as I approached Skaistkalne. Otherwise it was always fine (both day and night) and on the last 3 days, hot and generally sunny. I got sunburnt on the second day having left out sunscreen from my "must carry" list. I had to buy and carry both sunscreen and after-sun cream from then on. I compensated by throwing out the anti-mozzie spray, though in the forest sections they were always threatening.

This year I walked (and ran) in trail shoes - similar to runners but presumably slightly sturdier. After much agonising, I wore them for the 100km of the North Face event without ill effect. Previously I had always worn my Scarpa walking boots, including on my 6 Oxfam walks and the previous walks in Latvia. I think I am now converted. I suffered no blisters. My feet were sore after the first day but had settled down by the last. My legs were a little heavy yesterday and I still feel quite tired and a bit sleep-deprived.

I also carried my 20 litre Salomon pack this year rather than the 35 litre pack I used on the 3 previous Latvian walks. As a consequence, I carried about 6 or 7kg rather than the 12-15kg of previous years. This meant I could jog at times and perhaps generally walk a bit faster. Over 4 days and with fine weather, I got away with this minimal gear, though I changed socks on 3 days and my shorts every second day and carried a rogaining first aid kit which I didn't open.

I had hoped that Lija would accompany me, riding Gunta's bike. That didn't happen, perhaps fortuitously because it would have made the trip extremely challenging for both of us. Our plan is to compete in a rogaine together in Australia. Because of her trip to Latvia, Lija missed out on her school's Exodus program involving hiking and white water rafting.

Thanks to Lija for posting the earlier blogs and solving a number of technical problems like transferring the photos from Juris's phone. Thanks also for Anita's frequent phone calls and text messages. Also for the comments on the blog particularly from Sally, Janite and Linite. Also to the messages of support from Janis and Matiss Apsitis (and the sheep who went "mee mee"), Paul Bormanis, Juris and Selga Benkis (and for the loan of a phone and technical advice), Ilze and Gunars Nagels, Esmeralda Ermale, Daina McDonald, Paul Svilans, Janis Dunnicliffs, Janis Laurs, Richard Harms, Hannah Christensen, Ojars Greste and Imants Freibergs. Thanks yet again to the co-habitants in our Riga home, Gunta and Ziedonis for their unfailing support for even the craziest schemes and the lengths they go to in order to solve the trickiest problems.

What next? In a couple of days, another Australia (Canadian, honorary Latvian), James Whyte, husband of Amanda Hirst and father of Annika, plans to run from Liepaja to Ape! A massive undertaking which will take 2 or 3 weeks. James is planning to travel on the main roads and average about 30 or so kilometres a day. His progress can be followed on Facebook. I wish him all the very best for a safe and enjoyable journey.

For me, there are two walks I have thought about although both would be major undertakings - the first from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, through Latgale province in Latvia to Tartu, the university town in Estonia. The second, at Vilis Vitols's suggestion, the Krisjanis Barons trail from Tartu into Latvia, meandering about to finish in the north-west at Dundega. Each would be about 700km long and I would like Anita and Lija to at least come part of the way.

2013 is a song festival year in Latvia and also the next world rogaining championships will be held in Russia about 50 or 100 km from Latvia's eastern border. So it is likely we will spend an extended period here next year. A lengthy walk might therefore be on the cards. In the meantime, I have another blog almost ready to go - an account of my first trip to Latvia with Anita in 1987. I wrote a detailed account at the time and it has recently been typed (thank you Hannah). It would be illustrated with the photos from our trip. But first I must show it to family members in Latvia as essentially it is a fairly personal account. No promises, but perhaps in early August the first postings might appear.

For the moment, signing off from Riga.

Day 4 - Kegums to Skaistkalne 51km 9hrs 30mins

At about 3:30pm, I walked across the bridge from Skaistkalne into Lithuania. I had travelled by foot 210km in 36hrs over 4 days. As I back into Latvia, I asked a group of young Latvians to take my photo. Dainis insisted that he be included in the photo. The Catholic church is in the background.

With Dainis at Skaistkalne

The church door (1692)

I spent nearly 4 hours in Skaistkalne waiting for  the bus back to Riga. I did go up the hill to inspect the church. It was built in 1692 and is one of Latvia's most notable buildings. Ojars Greste (from Sydney) wrote to tell me that his late wife, Dagnija, had come from Skaistkalne and sent a photo taken from the bridge looking back into Latvia. I took a photo from what must have been almost the same spot, as no doubt many more tourists have done.

On the bridge in Lithuania looking back into Latvia
 

On the bridge

The river at the border (the closer half is in Lithuania)

Skaistkalne has 3 general stores but no eating house. I would have killed for a huge meal. I did finally get one - Anita's spag bol at about 9:30pm when I finally got home. I waited (fairly) patiently for the bus without any real desire to walk any further. I was extremely pleased that I had completed the Ogre-Kegums stretch the previous day. It would have been a hideous way to start the day, though the road would not have been so busy at 5:30am.

Catholic church at Skaistkalne (built 1692)

The priest's house (to the right of where the previous photo was taken)

From Kegums, I crossed the Daugava River - Latvia's longest river is the Gauja although the Daugava continues on into Russia or Belarus. It had been dammed at Kegums and a hydro plant erected in Soviet times. The river is over 1km wide at this point. There are only a handful of crossings of the Daugava, outside the four in Riga, and any cross-country in Latvia must take account of the limited options available. I had been through Kegums in 2008 and I retraced my steps over the next 12km through the forest.

The map reading was a little tricky at times. I took with me 5 pages of maps torn out of the car touring atlas - Latvijas autocelu atlanta. The maps are 1:200,000 scale but are incredibly accurate. For planning purposes, I also bought the relevant 1:50,000 topographical survey maps which are very detailed. There were 6 relevant maps but they were too bulky to carry. I did consult Lija by phone from Ogre to check whether a particular very minor road carried through and was not simply two separate roads that didn't meet. Towards the end of this day's walking that detail saved me at least 5km on the alternate route.

The walking conditions varied. Mostly the roads were unsealed. The forest roads are generally well constructed and very straight. Towards the end, the track I was on deteriorated badly and I doubt whether it would be traffic able in wet weather. It was a sandy dirt road, in places the sand was moist and compacted and a joy to walk on, in other places the track was loose sand and very hard work.

Farmland near Birzgale

Grain or fodder silos on a farm

At Verdini, about 5km from Skaistkalne, I became very excited when I realised that I was close to the Lithuanian border. The border at this point is a river which twists and turns. I could see a line of trees marking the bank. As I walked on the trees became closer and closer until they were about 30m from the road. I considered, and rejected, the option of ending my walk at that point with a quick swim to the centre point of the river. There are in fact many points where the Latvian roads come close to the border but don't actually cross it because of natural barriers.

Lutheran church at Valle where I stopped for lunch

Front of the church

My walk was from a border crossing town on the Estonian border to a border crossing town at the Lithuanian border. I am pretty confident that my route would be about the shortest route by road or track from Estonia to Lithuania. That is why I chose it. Over the last year, I have spent quite a few idle moments on Google Maps working out possible routes. In my wildest dreams, I thought with a support crew and continuous walking, the trip might be completed within 2 days. In fact, the best ultra-marathon runner might do the complete distance within a period of 24 hours.

On my way to Sydney for the North Face 100 event, I started reading Born to Run by an American author, Christopher McDougall, about ultra-marathon runners and the events they participate in - usually over 50 or 100 miles in the harshest conditions imaginable. The author set out to find a tribe of Mexican forest dwellers who had a reputation as runners of incredible distances, which they covered in bare feet. I have seen the Latvian language version in the bookshops in Riga. It is a great read even, or particularly, for "couch" runners. It certainly redefined my thinking of what might be possible. 

I received some strange looks along the way - the reaction from the bar crowd when I checked out of the hotel in Ogre at 5:30am was perhaps the most vocal. I did enjoy it when someone stopped me and asked what I was doing, and whether I was from Anglija (England). On this day, a woman at the shop in Valle and a man collecting firewood at Verdini stopped me for a chat. I usually said I was from Australia and my wife was Latvian and where I had come from that day. Unfortunately, my Latvian is pretty rusty and will probably not get any better unless we spend an extended time here.

In tomorrow's final blog, I will try to answer questions like, what for and what next? It may be a shortish blog.

Day 3 - Incukalns to Kegums 49.5km 7hrs 30mins

On Day 3 I was to walk only about 38km to Ogre to meet Anita and Lija in time to make it to Raimond's and Agnese's wedding at 2pm. My plans changed dramatically. Firstly, because I was making such good time, I started thinking about finishing the day at Kegums rather than at Ogre. Also, Anita phoned me and told me that the wedding reception would in fact be held close to Riga and not near Ogre where the wedding would be. Anita and I had a number of telephone calls as I was walking alongside a busy highway, which made things difficult with traffic rushing past a metre or so away. Ultimately, I decided that I would go to the wedding in Ogre but would not go to the reception. This turned out to be a very good decision.

However, my decision to walk on to Kegums created some problems. Anita after checking on the internet found that there was a train back to Ogre at 12:59pm. I thought I had just enough time travel the extra 10km and to catch the train. However I had not taken into account the fact that I had left in the morning at 5:38 and not 5:30, which had been my intention. Those 8 minutes proved pretty critical. I had earlier run part of the way to make up time but after I left Ogre I realized I might have problems. The road is a main highway and there was very little space to walk - about a one metre wide verge which consisted of loose gravel including some large rocks. These were difficult to walk on and worse to run on. The 10km to Kegums was more like 11 or 12 and I probably ran half of it.

I had 3 minutes to spare when I made it to the station. I had time to buy a ticket (about 70c for 3 stops), and a bottle of drink and a couple of bananas at the shop next door. By this time, the train was pulling into the station. I ran behind it and up the platform and jumped on the last carriage. It was 12 minutes back to Ogre. I went to the motel which I had passed earlier, and checked in. Originally, Anita and Lija were going to stay as well and there seemed to be a problem with the reservation and the hostess's preferred language was Russian.

First, she showed me the 3 person room and then after a couple of minutes, took me upstairs and showed me the 1 person room, which I decided to stay in. As it turned out, the main business of the motel was as a

Ogre station (next morning at 5:47am)

bar (almost immediately under my room) which remained open all night. It felt like I was in the middle of a party every time I woke during the night (which because of my exhaustion was not for long or very often). When I checked out of the motel at 5:30 next morning, there were still a number of customers at the bar. (I caught the train to Kegums at 5:47am to start the walk on the final day at 6am).

I did make it to the wedding. Zane and Karlis Gross had driven Anita and Lija from Riga and detoured to pick me up at the motel. I had just enough time to shower and wait with a towel around me for Anita and Lija to bring me my change of clothes. No time to shave, though I thought my three days growth of beard gave me a modern Latvian look. Probably it just made me look even more scruffy. I did however participate in some of the wedding photos. Zana knew Raimonds (the groom) from music school and from playing violin in orchestras and other groups with him. Zana also played in the Brandenberg Orchestra when she and Karlis were living in Australia.

The wedding was in the Ogre Lutheran church. Apart from Zane and Karlis, we knew Agita Ikauniece, one of the two guest conductors from Latvia at the cultural festival in Melbourne, and Janis Stafeckis and Arturs Noviks who were also (with Raimonds and Romans Vendins) members of the group Tango Sin Quinto which provided the music for the choir concert and the New Year’s Eve ball at the Festival.

Lutheran church at Ogre (wedding car in front)

The wedding was very formal and in Latvian. An interesting experience and good to catch up with the people we knew. Afterwards, I was driven back to the motel where I changed out of my “formal” clothes and back into my walking gear. Anita and Lija drove off with Zane and Karlis to the wedding reception. I found a Kafejnica and had a huge meal (it was about 5pm) and bought a hardcore breakfast for the next day – a tin of sprots (Latvian sardines – full of protein), black rye bread, a tomato, water, a fruit drink and a couple of bananas.

I was eating breakfast next morning at about 7:30am – 6 or 7km out of Kegums in the middle of the forest – when Anita phoned. I might have a degree of endurance but Anita has real stamina. Gunta had picked Lija up from the reception (at Raimond’s sister’s place near Riga early in the evening and Zane and Karlis had left a few hours later. The party continued into the next morning. In fact Janis Stafeckis said it might go for some days, but I think he was joking. If I had gone to the reception I would have been asleep long before we reached Riga.

Ruins at Ropazi (perhaps a castle)

As for Day 3 of the walk, it was dominated by the arrangements for me to walk on to Kegums and still being able to get back and clean in time for the wedding. The day started sunny at 5:30am but became overcast and very cold before the sun came back out, when I certainly needed the sunscreen. I walked on fairly main (bitumen) roads although the verges were flat and easy on the feet and the traffic was minimal (at first). Later, after Tinuzi, during Anita’s phone calls, the traffic became manic. The landscape was largely cultivated forest and farmland – usually grain crops. The only township I passed through which had a shop was Ropazi.

The mighty Gauja River (before Ogre)

About 7km before Ogre, I crossed the Gauja (one of Latvia’s two largest rivers – the other, the Daugava, I crossed at Kegums the next day). Just off the road there was a development with restaurants and bars, and a few ski slopes with ski tows carrying tourists a hundred metres or so to the top of the hill. Latvia is not Switzerland, although at Jani (Latvia’s midsummer celebration), we spent the night about 3km from Latvia’s highest mountain, Gaizinkalns (312 metres).