A sumptuous breakfast.
Esmeralda's hospitality has been wonderful. Her house is like a living museum of how country folk lived during the early years of the last century. We left soon after 9am, Esmeralda to a rehearsal of a new play and Anita and Mark for a brief visit to Mezaparks. Mark flies home next week. Anita is pursuing possible performers who might come to Australia. Anita heads up a committee which will organise the biennial Latvian Cultural Festival in Melbourne between Christmas and New Year's Eve in 2010. It is increasingly an important focus of her trip. Fortunately, we will meet up again tomorrow night at Zaube. Today's walking was pleasant - the roads were generally comfortable to walk on and, after I turned off the highway, very quiet.
I saw the water lillies of Vecpiebalga
- which are apparently sung about,
the Lutheran church at Vecpiebalga 
and the apparently now disused Orthodox church at Mali, and a man doing a very odd but appropriate thing. Vecpiebalga and Jaunpiebalga (vecs - old; jauns - new) are the setting of one of the classics of Latvian literature - Mernieku Laiki (The times of the surveyors). As I was walking along, I saw a man measuring out his land using what looked like a set of primitive 2m measuring sticks. I hope my short video conveys some of the excitement I felt at this sight. I delivered a seminar paper on Mernieku Laiki when I was in the first year of the Latvian university course as part of the literature component. Esmeralda said that the museum devoted to the authors, the Kaudzisi Brothers, was well worth visiting, but was about 10km off my track. I am staying in a fisherman's lodge tonight - two storeys with all facilities including a wood-fired sauna. I am almost too relaxed to write much more tonight. Last night, Juris solved all my technical difficulties, with a couple of simple suggestions. The walk today took me within 44km of Cesis. Juris will be there tonight waiting to receive my email so he can post the blog. The photos (and perhaps a video) will have to wait till he is back in Riga. I finally finished a book this evening - Adam Runaway by Peter Prince. It is set in Lisbon in 1720 and the critical points in the story are when Adam uses the expression 'pipkin vent' when talking to a young lady he was interested in (with disastrous results), and later when he finds out about his illegitimate son, but not the true fate of the mother at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. Not a bad read - say 5 out of 10. I will start The Outcast by Sadie Jones later tonight.
2 comments:
Graham,
It sounds like your journey is taking you to places that most of us will never experience, and certainly not by foot. Marky has advised that he is catching up with you over the next few days so the two of you can relive some of the glory days of OXFAM 06 and OXFAM 07..... I suspect the singing may well be subdued without the golden tonsils (that would be me in a ludicrously stupid state), but I have no doubt that Marky will have a 'no holes barred' approach to the familiar cry of "Now how are you feeling,; a score out of 10....?"
I am genuinely envious of the history and geography that you are experiencing. The km's will met by as Watch for Walkers, but always remember to THINK HELMUT.
Walk some km's for Matt and I.
Cheers Jacqui
Graham,
Will it be on your route to pass through Madliena?
If so a trip into the cemetry may be interesting due not only to its botanic features but also the large headstone/monument created by Rudites grandfather for his own grave!!! Another interesting aspect is that his name is written in the old lingo(ortografija) Karlis Zhabulis. Rudite says that if it is out of your way then not to worry about it. She is very worried about your blisters and is intersted to know if you have sought a local remedy. We can vouch for their effectiveness for other complaints.
Cheers for now
Andis & Rudite
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