Preparations

It is planned to start the walk on Monday 28 July 2008. We are presently staying in Riga with our friends Gunta and Ziedonis. Ziedonis intends to walk for the first 6 or 7 days of the walk until we reach Madona. This will be through the Latgale region where either Russian or the Latgale dialect is more likely to be spoken and my rudimentary Latvian language will not be of much use.It looks like I may have more company along the walk including Anita's nephew Mark.

Mark is from Melbourne and this is his first trip to Latvia. Mark and I have in recent years participated in a number of rogaines and Oxfams. Unfortunately he will not be here for the World Championships but hopes to participate next month with his second cousin Janis in the Riga (half) marathon. A photo of Anita and Mark taken on the night of the closing concert of the Song Festival is at http://www.tvnet.lv/ with Raimonds Pauls one of Latvia's most-loved composers. One of Paul's songs featured in the concert.

Mark will probably do a couple of days from Modona, including making our first ascent of Latvia's highest mountain - Gaizinkalns at 312m. I am hoping that Arnis, Janis and Jukka might also walk with me and, through Anita, a journalist has expressed interest in joining the walk. Anita did raise the possibility of using the walk as a fundraiser for a Latvian charity. On the walk across the Australian Alps we raised nearly A$14,000. This would involve a degree of publicity which I would prefer to avoid. And pressure; 700 kms will not be a walk in the park.

I have prepared the route I hope to follow. This allows 25 to 30 kms between the stopping points each night. I have tried to avoid main roads and stick to minor roads and forest tracks although this adds to the distance. On the main roads, there are two lanes (one in each direction). When a vehicle wishes to overtake, it draws up behind the vehicle in its lane, the vehicle in front moves over to the side of the bitumen and the vehicle overtakes. If there is a vehicle coming in the opposite direction (as there usually is), that vehicle anticipate what is happening and moves over to the side of the road to allow the overtaking vehicle to occupy the centre of the road. This is still, for me a very frightening manoeuvre, and it does not leave any room for stray walkers on the side of the road.

I have found (in tourist guides) references to accommodation every night. Our efforts to book the accommodation has not been very successful - we have a room for the second night, but otherwise Ziedonis has found that the listed phone numbers do not respond. Hopefully this will resolve itself. I am trying to avoid carrying tent, sleeping bag, mat etc. The more weight I carry, the less distance will be achieved each day and the increased energy needs will require me to carry more food and water. I would like to travel light if possible.

Generally the route avoids main towns and tries to include places of some natural or historical interest. I am seeking advice about the route and it will probably be adjusted to ensure that there is accommodation available and that we do not pass by a scenic attraction. In the next blog post I will include a outline of the route as presently planned. I have used a book of 1:200,000 maps (Latvijas autocelu atlants) for most of the planning and have bought 1:50,000 Latvian survey maps to confirm the route and to use on the walk.

Peter and Michael, friends from Geelong, referred me to Russian 1:50,000 maps which cover the whole of Latvia and which are available through the Internet. I have tried to access the maps without success and only have a copy of the eastern-most map which Michael downloaded and sent me. It is extremely detailed (the Russians are good at these things) and shows a number of foot-tracks in the vicinity of the border which will help us to start at Latvia's most eastern point. The western-most point will be a spot on the beach about 25 km south of Liepaja - Latvia's third largest city. If and when I reach that spot I will swim out into the Baltic Sea.

Food and water are critical matters and I am hoping that I will be able to buy a meal at least every couple of days and carry the basics to provide for breakfast, lunch and snacks. I never adjust well to Latvian food - I am more rigorously vegetarian when faced with the prospect of pork-related food. I avoided the suspiciously whitish-pink sausages offered at lunch yesterday, when I visited Anita and Lija at the camp they are attending in the country. Bread and cheese is safe but may not sustain me. I will carry a lot of nuts and dried fruit and hopefully will find something with eggs and chicken.

I have been drinking boiled water most of the time. I imagine that I will need to survive generally on bottled water - there does not appear to be any shortage and most small towns have a basis store. I will carry anti-diarrhoea medication but hope it doesn't strike as dehydration is always an added problem.

Tomorrow, I have my second anti-tick vaccination. I had the first injection the day after arrival in Latvia which heightened the risks if bitten. I have been very anxious every time I have gone into a forested area. The ticks can cause encephalitis and other conditions including Lyme's disease. The vaccination protects against encephalitis. Anita and Lija have had their second shots and we will need boosters within 12 months.

I have a mobile office/phone which will enable me to maintain this blog whilst on the move. Yesterday, I send my fist email from the phone after being finally connected to the Internet the day before. I am yet to work out how to post photographs on the blog, but perhaps that can be the next task. The geography classes at the Latvian School in Melbourne are going to be following my progress and this blog is part of my commitment to their teacher Peteris Darzins.

Otherwise, I hope to carry a fairly small pack with 3 or 4 litres of water, some food, spare clothes, toiletries and maps. And some books! I plan to walk up to 8 hours a day and with the long days there will be plenty of time for reading. Tim, my book supplier from Manchester in the UK sent over about 20 or so modern fiction. I am onto my sixth book (although my 46 hour marathon to get here got me through over 850 pages and nearly 2 books including Adam Thorpe's, No Telling).

I will wear my Scarpa walking boots. I have with me the two pairs I used on the Australian Alps Walking Track and the four times I have walked the Oxfam trail. Otherwise my walking gear will easily mark me out from the locals. I would prefer something more photogenic but that's the way it is.

I know from my previous walks that luck plays a big part in whether the goal is reached. On our first Oxfam walk we reached the last checkpoint (at about 90km which we had reached in 16 1/2 hours) to be told that snow and ice on Mt Donna Buang meant that we could not go on. The next year a total fire ban and the forecasted extreme heat meant that a section through the national park in the Dandenongs was cut out and the event was again reduced to 90 km.

Yesterday, walking in the forest at Tervete, I sprained my right ankle. It is an old problem which arises from time to time. I am sure it will recover and my walking boots will provide much better protection than the shoes I was wearing yesterday. But I am conscious than an illness or an accident could quite easily put my goal of walking across Latvia beyond me. I have about six weeks before the rogaining event, so there will be plenty of time. We will just have to see how it goes.