Cesis and Amata Geological Trail

Today we travelled through Guaja NP and did a 6k return walk from the Amata tributary. It was a beautiful peaceful walk amongst the pine forest and woodland alongside the Amata tributary. Small caves have been carved into the salmon coloured dolomite rock. Witches Meadow was in the field and needs no explanation. Interestingly the salmon come into the Amata to spawn and jump up the rapids to get out into the Atlantic Ocean one full sized.

We drove to Ligatne which was further into the Guaja NP. The town was nothing special and the lunch at Ziet Hotel was the worst lunch we have ever had. Barrata salad, which was a large ball of soft cheese sitting on stewed aubegine and a bright green sauce terrible. The grilled sandwich was not much better but edible. Well, you have to have a low point.

Cesis town made up for the horrible lunch and then some. The old castle looked like a fairytale in appearance and has needed a big renovation. The new work is very authentic and painstakingly slow. It’s a big archeological site given that the original parts were started in 1200’s by the Levonian Brothers of the Sword.

The coolest thing was that we had to use a lantern to enter the West Tower to carefully watch our step as we ascended numerous of stone spiral stairs. Also an amazing multimedia projected presentation in the tower immersed us into life and times of Cesis Castle travelling from 1206 2019. It was wonderful and so well done. The experience at Cesis pils was quite unique.

In 1577 saw huge expansion of the whole area, several hectares in fact. Then came the sacking and pillaging and deaths by the Russians, Ivan the Terrible. The deaths were unbelievably brutal. Some of the women and children gathered in one of the towers and gathered all the gunpowder and blew themselves up rather put themselves in the hands of the enemy.

The Swedes came along in the 1600’s and the Russian army again in early 1700’s with much destruction. Livonia remained part of the Russian Empire until 1919. Latvia was then independent.

Home for a quick nap after all that history and aching legs and off to town to watch the Eurobasket and have a beautiful dinner and a gourmet kabab.Read more