To Riga, Latvia

Saturday, September 29

Most of today was spent en route from Kuressaare to Riga, the capital of Latvia.  Not far from Kuressaare, we took a short detour to see the Kaali Crater, the site of the largest meteorite of the ten that fell to earth over 4000 years ago within a square kilometer on the island of Saaremaa.  A small lake at the bottom of a round depression, the crater is referred to in Scandinavian mythology as the sun’s grave.  We were the only visitors to the quiet wooded spot this morning – a marked contrast to our stop at the much larger Crater Lake in Oregon a couple of months ago.  

Back on the road, we noticed a steady line of oncoming cars, many carrying bikes and other recreational gear.  We’d obviously encountered a morning ferry’s arrivals, heading for a weekend on the holiday island.  We took the 11:00 ferry to the mainland and headed south on a road that, for the most part, paralleled the Baltic coast.  

At lunchtime, we stopped in Parnu to see a bit of the town known as Estonia’s “Summer Capital.”  Parnu has a long stretch of sandy beach and promenade, bordered by a leafy green park; all was pretty quiet today, but it wasn’t hard to imagine crowds of summer sun-seekers.  

A bit farther down the coast, we crossed into Latvia, a passage marked more by large liquor stores on the Latvian side of the border than by any official station.  Certain items are evidently cheaper south of the border!  As we drove near the coast, we pulled over to enjoy another fine stretch of pine-bordered beach before reaching Riga about 4:00.

Temperatures in the 50's and a brisk wind

Our apartment is in a modern building just across the Daugava River from the Old Town.  We’ll start our explorations in this capital city in the morning.