Latvia
Pekrags

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    • Day 380

      Polizeiruf 110

      June 19, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Waking up to someone shouting "Schei$$e!! Alles weg!!!" on a quiet beach-side campsite was the last thing we expected at 4.30 this morning. A fellow cycle tourist had been robbed of everything, taken from inside his zipped tent (inner AND outer).

      I looked over to Peter in disbelief and my heart sunk. Bike tourists are so vulnerable and exposed in any country. The terrain, the weather, the people, the infrastructure... every single element has an effect on your day. You sleep with your worldly goods (typically the bare minimum to get by) separated from the outer world with a millilitre of fabric as protection and security. You want to trust strangers and always hope for the best in people.

      We looked through our flyscreen to see the purple tarp still in place secured by bungee cord in a bike-like shape and breathed a premature sigh of relief.

      Our eyes then naturally darted down to the front of the tent, which was uncharacteristically bare, discovering that our 4 front bags and our cooking equipment bag were all gone. Only the 2 pairs of shoes were left. All clothes, toiletries, pots, pans, stove, trainers, glasses etc were in those bags.

      The slightly nonplussed camp owner had since appeared, made her way to the woods to search for any traces and then called the police.

      It gets stranger...the camp owner called us over to say she'd found all of the bags. All of our stuff had been scattered around and the thieves had been through everything.

      But it was all there..... what a HUGE relief!!!

      We had already assumed it was a lost cause and prepared ourselves mentally for the mammoth task of replacing our fairly specialised set up in Riga, once we'd cycled there in our pyjamas and flipflops that is!

      Since re-packing everything we found that nothing important had been taken - just our good folding knife, my headphones, a pack of COTTON BUDS (yes, what the hell is that about?!) And some nail clippers. Moritz was not so lucky, having his entire valuables bag taken from near his head whilst he slept.

      The police didn't speak english and wanted me to come to them at the camp site entrance.
      As if i was going to leave my things unattended after a theft.. 🙈 They then left their briefcase (with wallet /ID cards) next to our tent as they left and got 1 hour down the road. Glad to be supported by such geniuses at our time of need!

      So many strange things don't add up.
      Why the camp owner didn't tell us at check in to mind our belongings due to a similar spate of thefts the night before - a vehicle was broken into whilst children were sleeping in it.
      Why the camp owner was so blasé about it all.
      Why she didn't give the rubber gloves that were found with our stuff, to the police.
      Why the thieves took only rediculous items from us.

      We're now 90km from Riga, totally exhausted, fuelled by bewilderment and chocolate. Hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight to be able to decide if we buy a ferry ticket to Stockholm or carry on with our route. Our new german buddy Moritz told us of his journey from St P and it sounds like a higher scale Poland experience. Intoxicated truck drivers on the main road, packs of wild dogs on the side.

      We need to think very carefully about what we do for "fun" and where to draw the line.

      That line is in reaching distance right now.
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    • Day 381

      Ruhetag des Pesar-Express

      June 20, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      Beim Studieren des Wetterberichts während des Frühstücks wurde klar, dass heute nicht gefahren wird. Der Regen sollte bis Mittag anhalten, der starke Wind den ganzen Tag. So genossen wir den verglasten Küchen- und Wohnbereich unseres Campingplatzes. Später kam doch noch die Sonne heraus und wir gönnten uns ein Essen im Restaurant des Orts und machten einen Spaziergang.

      Die Wunden des gestrigen Diebstahls sind nun nicht mehr so frisch, das Gemüt beruhigt und die Beine erholt. Dennoch zeichnet sich ab, dass wir unsere Reise nicht wie geplant über Estland nach St. Petersburg fortsetzen werden. Zur Sommersonnenwende morgen werden wir wohl Riga erreichen. Höchstwahrscheinlich wird dies auch ein Wendepunkt in unserer Reise sein.
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    • Day 59

      Saules Kempings, Mersrags, Lettland

      July 30, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Heute mal was anderes, wir übernachten auf einem Campingplatz. Nicht im Zelt, sondern in einem "Cottage" (was sich besser anhört "Container"). In Wahrheit ist es aber ein Container mit zwei Betten, einem Sofa, einem Stuhl und einem Kühlschrank. Duschen und Küche sind am anderen Ende des Platzes, auf dem noch sechs weitere Cottages, zwei Wohnmobile und ein Zelt stehen.
      Mit uns wohnen aber noch eine Million Moskitos auf dem Platz, die jetzt (um halb elf am Abend) noch alle wach sind.

      Nachdem wir eingecheckt haben sahen wir, das am Strand noch ein Cacher-Event stattfinden soll. Bestückt mit zwei Bier machten wir uns auf den Weg, dort getroffen haben wir lediglich noch vier Cacher aus Riga. Aber trotzdem war es toll, sich mal länger mit Einheimischen zu unterhalten.
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    • Day 60

      Joggen & Frühstück, Saules Kempings

      July 31, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Früh aufstehen um erst mal eine Runde am Strand entlang zu joggen. Nach acht Kilometern merken wir aber die letzten Tage mit den vielen Wegen (immer weit über 20'000 Schritte), die Beine sind schwer.
      Also ab in die erfrischende Ostsee. Nackt, da wir um diese Zeit alleine am Strand sind.
      Ein kleines Frühstück auf dem Cempingplatz mit den Dingen, die wir am Abend vorher im Supermarkt eingekauft hatten. Noch schnell dir Dorfkirche und den Friedhof besichtigt und ab geht die Fahrt Richtung Kap Kolka.
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