Massiaru – Walking without a donkey

April 2019 Massiaru, Estonia

dav — This little critter looks as if someone has been doodling on her in a bored moment – a V shape here, a straight line there, 2 half tear drops with black dots inside, colour that in black, leave that bit orange!

I could not get a photo of the big peacock-coloured beetle. He spent all his time negotiating the grass and falling over at almost every blade. He must have been used to it because he flipped himself over and just carried on.

rhdr

Hawthorn was watching a moth which had got caught inside the double glazing, so he couldn’t get to it, but he spent a long time watching and trying, bless him.

Like a battlefield – you could almost see people picking through bodies looking for coins. It seemed strewn with sadness

The new leaves have come out next to the pussy willow which now look like they are bursting with excitement at the feel of the sun.

Spreading their leaves to get every particle of warmth

These wood anemones have taller stalks than the ones from 2 weeks ago, now the air is more benign

As I stand facing the rising sun to do my morning exercises, the sunshine gleams through the dandelion leaves at foot level.

Made in the old style with interlocking logs

The bus passes through mile after mile of forest with the longest straightest tracks dissecting them. Some are dense pine and others are deciduous, more spacious with a matching green floor. Occasionally they have been cleared for agricultural purposes (in the centre of one huge one were 2 storks lazily pecking), or for motorbike racing.

Along the rivers are clumps of bright celandines

I am picking up a few words of the notoriously difficult Estonian language : thank you sounds like aita; tee is street without the s, r and second t; kohvik is coffee shop ; kool is school – you can see why I know those ones!

Everywhere forest is being cleared for agriculture

oznor — Overhead is heard the constant honk of geese and squeak of swan

One evening’s walk I was accompanied by herds of cattle with calves on both sides of the road, lowing loudly

Really unusual pink flowers growing straight out of the ground as if someone had half buried them

We ate these maple flowers, battered, deep fried and sugared

One of my favourite morning spots for ‘standing like a tree’

Dandelion half plays, half delights in the day

All those trees mean that of course the main house building material is wood and they are usually painted beautiful colours which shine in the evening sun.

April 2019 – backpack travel.

Disclaimer: the sky really was that blue – it wasn’t a fancy camera filter!

I travelled to Riga in Latvia (one of the 3 Baltic States) by plane from Edinburgh, arriving late on Thursday night.

IMG_20190412_090512 — Early April morning, St Peter’s Spire, Riga, Latvia

I took 22 bus from the airport to the centre and walked through the underpass to the Wicked Weasal Hostel which I highly recommend. It is clean and the staff are really friendly. I was offered a free beer and there’s tea (including green) and coffee in the well stocked kitchen. I was in a shared dorm with a Spanish soldier and ended up reviving my Spanish until late at night as we swapped life stories!

IMG_20190412_100906 — The Art Academy of Latvia, Riga, Latvia

I stayed less than 12 hours so have very few photos to show for it. On the way out I passed the astonishing golden domes of the Riga Nativity of Christ (Russian Orthodox) Cathedral, and the statue of Rainis (Janis Plieksans, a famour Latvian poet, playwright, translator and politician in the Riga Esplanade park.

IMG_20190412_101018 — Unusual clock behind the Art Academy, Riga, Latvia

IMG_20190412_123931 — Mural in the Pärnu bus station, Estonia

IMG_20190412_125841 — Pärnu River, Pärnu, Estonia

IMG_20190412_130621 — Pärnu River, Pärnu, Estonia

I took two buses that day – one to Pärnu along the main highway, and the other which doubled back south for some of the way and then headed slightly inland to Massiaru – four hours in total.

IMG_20190412_144613 — A church I snapped through the bus window on the way – the majority of Estonians say that religion is not important in their lives. The ones who are, are either Christian or Orthodox

This part of Estonia (south west) is flat and forested. In many places they clear the pines and leave the silver trunks of the birches

Everywhere there are brightly coloured timber houses – pink, yellow and blue

Many of the houses have smaller buildings in their gardens which are buried up to the roof on three sides

I am staying in the small village of Massiaru in the Pärnu region of Estonia

map_of_estonia — Russia is to the east of Estonia, Finland to the north west. I came north from Riga in Latvia

In the old school house, Massiaru, Estonia

Every day I walk for a couple of hours – on the first day to the south, then to the north, the west and east. The roads are straight and wide, some dary grey tarmacked and some stony and pale apricot. It is monotonous walking – mentally relaxing.

Pussy willow, one of my first successful close-ups enabled by my new phone camera

I am surrounded by trees including the familiar Scots Pine

Standing amongst them
The patience of trees
The forebearance of trees
The pure being of trees
Do you think the birds tickle them?

Mostly silver birch and various types of pines

Also some oaks in the garden which has farm land around it

I find a sunny place in the mornings to do my swinging exercises, T’ai Chi and to ‘Stand Like a Tree’ (a chi gung exercise) for my general health and to counteract the 6-7 hours a day of cerebral work writing hours at my laptop.

I sit in the sun to have my lunch, topping up my vitamin D levels after the Scottish winter. In contrast to my trips to Spain in previous years, I have gone back in time coming here, leaving the Spring behind me, but it is getting warmer every day and the plants are shooting nicely.