A tough day and at 19:00 I am sitting down to write the blog. It took me a while to recover this afternoon although I got in just after 15:00. I phoned the saimniece, Māra, when I thought I was about a km from the centre of Blāzma. My Latvian was not coping with the conversation but eventually I picked up the words rokas (arms) and atpakaļ (backward)being repeated. I looked back and saw a woman 200m away waving her arms.
Māra and Ilmārs have been very welcoming. The decorations in the house include animal skins on many surfaces. As I enter my bedroom, I must step over what might have clothed a racoon, and by the window appears to be a wolf. They do not grow on me.
At 18:00 when I asked to boil some water for my packet soup and bushwalking meal, Māra offered me much more sustaining food, but I wanted to finish up the last of my packet meals (5 out of 10 dinners this trip) and by the time I had eaten them, I was full.
Māra showed me photos of a board-walk through a swamp close by. From the photos, it appears that there is a lot of beaver activity – damming up the waterways with trees they gnaw down. It is an extra 4km, and is not on my preferred route along small tracks through the forest with tricky navigational issues. I will make a decision in the morning.
I have sore feet from having to walk on bitumen roads with wet boots.It was spitting with rain when I set out this morning, though light enough not to worry about putting on a rain jacket for at least a couple of hours. The rain was, however, continuous and quite heavy at times. My boots, clothes and pack got soaked.
The road was through forest and I had to walk 23km to Ugāle before I could get shelter and a meal. I thought a lot about the meal I wanted as I walked along. Although, there were only a handful of cars on the road (perhaps 5 or 6 an hour), I was offered a lift by some mushroom-seekers and had to explain that I preferred walking for hours in the rain.
At Ugāle, I stopped a mother and daughter on bicycles and asked for directions to a kafējnīca. As best I could understand, I was told that there was an ēdnīca, which I thought must be not quite as flash as a kafējnīca [spot on, Ed], at the end of the avenue of trees, on the left.I saw in the distance a series of barrack-style apartment blocks. Eventually, I come to a row of about six shops at the front of an apartment block. There was a sign Mājas Virtuve (home cooking), and after asking, had confirmed that this was the eating place.
Entering was to step back in time. There were about 10 people inside. There were at least 6 tables and room for about 30 to sit down. People were queuing at the servery where they consulted a hand written menu. Behind the saimniece was her kitchen with a number of pots bubbling away on a stove.
Fortunately, when I got to the head of the queue, no one was behind me. There were two zupas – I know from experience that the aukstā (cold)soup is beetroot, so I chose the kāpostu which I later realised was cabbage soup. I recognised pork on the menu – I am sure it said mežacūka (wild boar). I couldn't remember the word for chicken, so I asked for vista (hen). The cook spent some time asking what I wanted with the chicken schnitzel, bringing out samples from the kitchen to show me.
I have kept the bill – 55 santīms for the soup (A$1.20), 2.10 lati for a "full", as opposed to half-, main meal (A$4.50), 3 santīms for a slice of dark rye bread (8 cents)and 25 santīms for a glass of fruit juice (60 cents). Total bill 2.93 lati of which apparently 21% goes in VAT.
She was doing a roaring trade. At least 25 people ate whilst I was there. I noticed that just near the door there was a basin where you could wash your hands, and there was a separate window where everyone took their dishes, etc. when they were finished.
I remember that on my first trip to Latvia in 1987, Didzis (Anita's cousin) and Gunta took us driving in the country and we had a similar meal which I really enjoyed, and photographed. I would give Mājas Virtuve 3 chefs hats; give it a try if you are passing through Ugāle.
After such a lunch, of course, the sun came out and in the 10km to Blāzma, my clothes and pack had basically dried.
These are the simple pleasures of my days. Three weeks ago we left Melbourne, after a particularly difficult and stressful few months. I had been able to complete and present a report on the Tuesday before we left which had been outstanding for some time. That seems a world away now.
I am conscious that I haven't written much about my "feelings" including my motivation for undertaking such a project as this. I have, however, written at length about these matters in my earlier blogs.
Nothing much has changed, though this year I feel perhaps stronger – both physically and mentally. My blister, 2 1/2 cm in diameter is at worst a minor irritant, whereas two years ago, a similar blister was a major issue. Need to walk 40km in a day? Well, just get the first 20 out of the way as quickly as possible and the second 20 will then seem more manageable.
But now, with only two days walking left, I am starting to feel tired and the aches in the feet are real. Tomorrow, I have either a forest walk, or Māra's suggested swamp walk. Then on Saturday I finish the walk on the beach at Kolka, which has long been a place I have thought fascinating and wanted to visit.
No time for a report on the Arts Festival today, though I am waiting to hear about Anita's visit to the Academy of Arts to talk with Aina about the textile art works that will be exhibited (and on sale)at the Festival.
Ivande was the first time I had access to a computer and could check e-mails. Many people have sent their best wishes. I will respond when I get back to Riga.
Thanks to those who have commented on the blog. Can I mention Sally, (my oldest daughter) whom we visited in Kuala Lumpur on the way over and met baby Eloise for the first time. Also, Anita's nephew Mark – I need to acknowledge his recent 92-minute half-marathon. A tremendous achievement but no doubt simply a training run for another tilt at the Melbourne Marathon this year.
I didn't quite make it to Kuldīga, though I was close. A some stage I had planned to time the walk so that I would walk in to Kuldīga on 7 August, run the half-marathon on the 8th and resume the walk the following day. Fortunately, because of our travel times, this could not be accommodated, though I could always come back to Kuldīga for the event ... Mark ran the Kuldīga half-marathon in 2008.
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