Taking Time in Zemaitija

After the almost non stop activity of the previous 12 days, it was glorious to finally have so much time on our hands and to have so little to do with it. The constant pressure of cycling every day, along with the tiring routine of moving from hotel to hotel does take its toll, especially when you combine this with the extremely short hours of darkness.

Today was the first designated "free day" and we were happy to be able to spend the time resting, walking, catching up on laundry, reading, drinking and eating ice cream. The weather also chipped in by serving up an absolutely perfect day - cloudless skies, no wind and not too hot and not too cold. The large lake had barely a ripple and the clear, still waters enticed a few of our team to try a swim.

I had previously discovered that the hotel had a large recreation room with two full size billiard tables and a table tennis table. Remembering what fun we had all enjoyed in the Channel Islands on these activities, I suggested that we should conduct a men's tournament.

Bob and I collected the pool balls from the desk and went off for what we thought we be a 10 minute game. We had no idea that the match would drag on for what seemed like an eternity. My previous experience had all been on small tables and we soon found that, on large tables, it is almost impossible to get the balls into the pockets. Time and time again we thought we had an unmissable shot, only to constantly invent creative new ways to miss.

The other important factor was the searing heat in the room. It was part of the heated swimming pool complex and there were no windows that could be opened. The sweat was soon running down our faces as we vainly tried to get any of the balls to sink.

The battle dragged on for most of the afternoon. David and Gordon gave up watching. Bob and I struggled on, feeling like two gladiators battling to the death in the Colosseum. We finally got down to the last remaining ball- the black ball. We chased it from one end of the table to the other, and back again. This farce continued until we both were on the edge of exhaustion.

"If we can't sink the ball in ten minutes, it's a draw", I announced. In spite of our best efforts, the black ball won. We called it a draw and staggered back outside for some fresh cool air.

Tomorrow we will be visiting a cold war missile silo, before cycling right around the lake. After that we will finally cross the border into Latvia and the next leg of our adventure.Read more