Making Assumptions

---

Oh dear, it has been a long time since I've updated the blog. Hope I haven't alarmed anyone it's just my routine doesn't really fit within the times that anything is open (when I eventually get there). Rest assured all is well and good, maybe even better.

So how I have been filling in my 9 days? Idling away doing the odd bit of cycling? Well kind of and then kind of not... Last time I wrote I was about to set off to hear Viljandians get down and sing. Which is what they did. They sang beautifully, and looked beautiful, some dressed in traditional costume. But, just between you and me, I was kind of glad after standing for two hours in what was not terribly warm weather that it came to an end. As all good things must.

Sad to leave Viljande the following day but keen to keep moving I therefore moved. And then stopped in Paide. Not exactly sure why I stopped there. Nothing to see really except for a fortress which has largely been rebuilt and, like in Viljande, looked like it held music festivals within its grounds. Not exactly sure why I decided to part with hard earned 40 euros to stay in a, um, not so welcoming looking hotel but stayed I did. You know, sometimes you just have to spend that kind of money to say right, I'm NOT going to spend that kind of money again. Not on that anyway. It wasn't bad it's just by the time I got to town, tourist information had closed and I was feeling kind of wussy and didn't feel like trying to find somewhere to camp. (And as it turned out it rained that night so it was a good night to be staying indoors.)

Actually, it all worked out in the end because the woman who worked for tourist information helped me the very next day and looked up many places to stay along my route to Lahemaa which was a great source of comfort.

So onwards. Skies kind of gloomy in the morning but really, by the end of the day it turned out to be very nice indeed. Well, all the good information the lady at the tourist office gave me fell by the roadside as I cycled through the places that had the cheaper accommodation. Sorry. But I had energy and one quick look as I was cycling by the Võõrastemaja in Tapa ("Stranger's House" - a direct translation from Estonian) to see middle-aged men drinking in the entrance foyer made me think that this strange lady would not be feeling altogether comfortable staying and that stranger's house. Even in Kadrina, it was too early and the day had really picked up weatherwise I felt confident enough to keep going and wing it.

So that night I stayed in a campground called Metsaveere Turismitalu which is about 5km south of Viitni. By that time I was pretty stuffed but you know, at 93km I thought I was justified in calling it a day. But in Estonia just because you stop cycling doesn't mean you stop. Oh no. If you stop moving (and even when you don't but worse if you do) the mozzies just descend. So there I am, walking, trying to shove food in my mouth as quickly as possible so I could just FINISH and wash and get into the safety (relative) of my tent. That night (as with most other camping nights onwards) there was a little pile of mosquito bodies in had swept into the corner. A mosquito graveyard that gets emptied daily.

When I did get to Viitni the following morning (again playing my restless game with the mozzies) I met two Dutchmen on motorbikes who were continuing on to St Peterburg. It was really nice to stop and chat, and sit and, most importantly (!!) have a coffee. It had been a while since I had strung more than a couple of sentences together in English (or so it felt) and nice to hear of their experiences too. I did envy them their Russian visas though. And their motorbikes. And their big camera. And their GPS. Only joking. I didn't envy the GPS.

So onwards it went. To Lahemma visitors centre first in Palmse. What a great exhibition they have of how the park originally started accompanied by such exquisite wildlife photography, and in fact, they were going to celebrate their 50th anniversary the following day (why not today, for me?). The woman at the information was helpful too telling me where the free campsite was and where to get water. Fantastic. I was so looking forward to my day. And it didn't really disappoint. I stocked up a little at the small food store in Palmse knowing that there was another store along the way at Võsu that I would call into after stopping by Käsmu. It was a glorious day. A little windy but still, very picturesque. Met a lovely German couple in Käsmu (needed another coffee by then) who told me a little about their trip, the roads they had taken along the way and where they had stayed which has come in helpful in my later travels.

Onwards. Võsu. What do you mean the shop is closed?? But I only have enough food to last me at least 4 days. I know, it sounds ridiculous because I am a food hoarder but I can't go past a shop without buying a little something. Obviously I was out of luck. But, just in luck because I made it to the Oandu Visitors Centre at 5:55pm. Closing time 6pm. The lady could not speak English, and you know about my Estonian so she called a friend who did. I just wanted to know where to take the beaver trail from in the morning and where to camp. Both questions were answered. And when I asked for water she showed me to the well. That was the luckiest of all because I would never have thought it was a well. From the outside it just looked like a dog kennel. Granted a kind of weird one which would mean that a dog would need thumbs to open the door but... So I had water, I found my campsite and spent a beautiful night being the only one camping there beside the lake. It was a glorious spot. And the mozzies weren't too bad. Still bad though. But, it has to be said, I did have a very dodgy box of matches which meant I went through half a box just trying to light my damn cooker. That was kinda frustrating. All I was thinking was a poor tree gave up it's life to become a match (amongst other things ofcourse) that would end up being totally useless. I thought the Estonian match company was being disrespectful of the tree. (I can report that I have since bought another box of matches, same brand but not for lack of wanting to try another, and they are respectful.)

Next morning, a quick walk of the beaver trail and then it was Narva bound on a route that was still to be determined. And the day did determine it. My proposed route to Kunda via Rutja and Karepa was closed. Great. So what could have been a 14km trip ended up being a 36km trip. I wasn't pleased. But before that development I should share that me and an elk made eye contact. Here's me looking deeply into the forest trying to find and elk and there it was running in front of me. What?? Stop. Stop. Let me take a picture. Hang on. Damn. They are actually quite large creatures and when it ran in front of me (that is about 5 metres in front) all I was thinking was I hope it doesn't have a little one in tow and I hope it doesn't charge for me. But it obviously just wanted to get to the other side. Wow.

So, my spanner in the works day continued by adding a challenging wind. Hmmm. I was feeling really rather tired and when I saw the silly sign of a fish with a chef's hat on near the village of Võle I just had to stop. What a great choice. Fresh trout, like caught right there, and cooked (smoked) with salad. My lunch companions (although we didn't eat together) was a Russian from St Peterburg here to do business in Estonia and his Estonian Russian counterpart and driver. I ate as much as them in half the time. I was starving. I flew after that.

So I was Kunda bound. And here's the thing about maps and names. When I look at a map I look at what's around and, if I see that there is a lake, or an expanse of water I always think that there is a pretty good chance of some accommodation being around. I also tend to think that places near water would be nice. They seem so on a map. And then reality kicks in. No longer is the place just a name on a map. You're standing there in it and, um, well you never expect to be in a place that manufactures and exports cement. And so I was in Kunda. Yes it had a guesthouse, but no camping ground, it also had a LOT of dust and from what I could see not much else that would have a tourist from another hemisphere with extremely limited interest in cement really want to stay around. It has to be said though that I did get first class help from people in the sports and aquatic centre when I walked in and pointed to the word in my dictionary - LOST. An english speaker was called, a map was drawn and before you know it, I had a way out. Yay!

And, fortunately, the way out passed the tourist information (they have a museum of the history of the town and its cement manufacturing which, by the way, celebrated its 140th anniversary last year). The woman kindly helped me find a place along the way where I would camp. After Paide, I really did not want to be spending that kind of money again. So yay for all your help Kunda (but boo for the roadworks into town which made things very confusing to add to the distress of finding yourself in cement town).

And in the village of Linnuse, a little dot on the map, I spent another mosquito bothered night (I see a pattern here). But comforted that I was camping. And that I had found somewhere to camp.

I will end off here before going on the next part of my days.

---

Photos

Campsite at Oandu, Lahemaa National Park
How lucky am I to have set up camp in such a beautiful spot?