Day 15 - Near Kegums to near Vecumnieki

23km (447km) - 5 hours 10 minutes - weather fine

After farewelling Ruta at Pukkalnini,
I had a day of walking through an enormous pine forest, perhaps the largest remaining area of forest in Latvia. I saw perhaps a dozen cars and 3 bicycles. I carried my compass in my hand all the time as the navigation was a bit tricky. I started out on a narrow bush track but unfortunately it turned into a gravel road. It was very peaceful and I could choose where I walked on the road.
There was an extensive drainage system shown on the map with the main seeming to wend its way through. I was able to walk on forest tracks for a few kms when a track ran parallel to the road,
The forest, though pine, was not radiata pine and was similar to the forests at Jurmala. It is very open with only a little litter of fallen branches on the ground. The pine needles seem to impede the growth of anything else, unlike most of the other forests which are virtually impenetrable. The forest was a plantation, so that parts had recently been logged.
The only development in the forest was at Rusini - there were 2 houses and a dog.
The dogs in country Latvia must have very acute hearing as they seem to start barking from 150m away. The big dogs are usually chained and the littler dogs run free - though they have never been intimidatory.
As I was emerging towards civilisation I came upon an amazing little cemetery with a very ornate enterance, miles from the nearest settlement.
Tonight I am at Slokas - it is a little oasis, but 3km from Vecumnieki. I arrived soon after 1:30pm and have generally dozed and read the afternoon away. I didn't feel like a 6km return trip to do the shopping, so lunch and dinner have been scratchy.
I will leave early in the morning and hopefully the kafejnica will be open early, or at least a shop.
Tomorrow night I will be at 'Billites' and hopefully Anita and Lija will be there. Anita has concert in Cesis on Friday - Gidon Kramer, a fantastic violinist.
'Billites' is the former home of Edvards Virza, a poet who has been described as Latvia's Baudelaire. The house has been restored as a museum by Virza's grandchildren, Anna Zigure and her brother. There are a number of connections with Anita's family.
Anita's grandparents were friendly with Virza and one of his poems was written for Alise, Anita's grandmother. Virza's daughter (Anna's mother), Amarillis, went to the French speaking high school in Riga with Anita's parents in the 1930s. Anita and I visited Amarillis at her home in Jurmala in 1987. Also there that day was Diana, Anna's daughter.
There was no further connection until late 2006 when Anna stayed with us in Melbourne as part of a lecture tour of the capital cities for the Latvian independence day celebrations. Anna came back last Christmas with her grandson, Aksels (Diana's son), for the 3x3 camp at Falls Creek. Aksels and Lija are good friends.
Anna's husband, Jukka, is a Finn. He has been a journalist, political cartoonist, historian and writer. He recently had published an English language translation of a book about Latvia's current political problems. It poses a number of difficult questions often posed by political commentators about Latvia today, and seeks to answer them honestly and dispassionately. The questions include the very difficult issues of Latvians' involvement in the killing of Jewish people during the German occupation and the current basis upon which ethnic Russians can obtain citizenship rights. It is a fascinating book.
Anna is also a writer and prolific contributor to newspapers and journals. She was for a time Latvia's Ambassador to Finland and Estonia. She and Jukka maintain an active interest in politics, particularly in fighting against corruption by local politicians and officials and inappropriate development in Jurmala, where they live. It is always stimulating to spend time with them.
This afternoon, I tried to look at where I might stay after 'Billites'. Jelgava, Dobele and Lake Zebrus should be straightforward, but after that there are problems. The accomodation is not in convenient places and I can see that I will have more highway walking and perhaps more 40km days. I will have to sort it out tomorrow night.
I have satellite television here - over 1000 channels (in theory). It just means the usual rubbish multiplied by even worse rubbish. I did find an Olympic Games coverage, but 10 minutes of Greco-Roman wrestling and fencing was enough for me.
I have today finished Sadie Jones, The Outcast. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize this year (best women's fiction in English). I always read most of the shortlist. Some similarity in the themes of at least 3 of this year's books. I found Heather Miller's, Lullabies for Little Criminals (about a child prostitute in Montreal) too disturbing and much preferred Nancy Huston's Fault Lines (a four generational story that moves back in time to explain the infuences that fashioned the current generation). I haven't yet read the winning book by Rose Tremain.
The Outcast has strong themes but I found it unconvincing and the characters, whilst they might be believable in reality, they were not in the context of the story. 5 out of 10.