News from the Front

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Some stats on Latvia:
Popn. 2,259,810 (July 2007 est.)
Ethnic groups - Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)
Capital city with population: Riga - 874,000
Highest peak- 312m (Galzina Kalns)
Forested Land: 47.1%
Coastline: 531 km
Terrain: low plain

Here we are in Latvia - base camp for our mission to the Far East.

A chilly start to our adventure- whereas Spring has well and truly sprung in Britain from where we have just come, here Winter is still being pursuaded to release it's grip.

My (Steven's) first visit to Latvia was 2 years ago, when the country was blanketed in snow and I thought our plane had strayed into the Arctic Circle- it was the first time I had seen ice on the sea!( Latvia experiences severe Winters by any standards, with lows of - 25 to -30 degrees C, or more.)
That first trip was difficult mostly due to my next to non-existent understanding of Latvian and Russian.Things are better now, but a language course is definitely on the agenda after our return from this year's travel!
In just over 4 weeks, our adventure will begin with a train from Riga to Moscow. We bought our tickets the other day for the Trans-Sib train that will take us from Moscow to Ulan-Bator in Mongolia.

At the moment I'm (Steven) nursing aching aching gums, as last week we took a trip to the dentist- one thing on a long "to do" list.
My appiontment lasted 2 hours, as I had a wisdom tooth extracted and some prolonged drilling elsewhere in my mouth. This was a novel experience, not least of all because Lelde acted as translator to the Latvian dentist throughout- "does it hurt?" , " open wider"etc. Surreal. (The notable upside is the favourable comaparison with UK dental costs😊

Until 3 days ago, the plan was to travel over land and sea to Hokkaido, Japan to do volunteer teaching. The travel costs have proved a bit steep for us- especially in Japan and in the lightof the fact that we are planning a further trip to Morrocco after Xmas, so we will concentrate on China and mainland South East Asia. Still, much awaits us- Asia's Mega cities, steamy jungles and let's not forget the beaches!

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Photos

Building detail
Many of the corners of the streets are topped off in style.

More corner toppings
I think the word is crenelation

Street art
Lacplesu iela(Bear slayer street), I think.

Building detail
Planning a trip to Riga yet?

Crumbling splendour

More buildings
Notice the trolley bus- it runs from the electricty lines, like a tram. This is my favourite area of Riga. Not the old town, but the grids around Elizabeth Iela.