Travels with Spaniels: The town with the border through the middle, some evening orienteering and two castles

Yesterday we walked along a street in the small town of Valga/Valka, and crossed into Latvia. Unfortunately we had left Florence and the spaniels in Estonia, so we walked back again, and eventually crossed the border on four wheels. The town was the only one not to have a clear identity when the Baltic states gained their independence the first time around in 1920. It was claimed by both Latvia and Estonia, and for some bizarre reason an Englishman was called in to mediate. His solution was to carve the town in two, and there the border remains. Schengen makes it less problematic than it once was, but border posts are still scattered around the town.

Valka/Valga: two countries one town

Just like a fell race at home

We drove on into the Gauja National Park, largely pine forest and established in the 1970s, where we found one of the campsite/picnic areas we had become so fond of in Estonia. This one was down a rutted 2km dirt road, but proved well worth rattling Florence's innards. Good job we had the rear shock absorbers replaced before we came. As we parked up cars began to join us in large numbers, and we realised we were in the middle of an orienteering event. No one took much notice of us as they tucked in around Florence, and the whole experience made me feel very much at home. The sight of people arriving in work clothes and changing behind car doors into tights and trail shoes before trotting off to registration was just like any local evening fell race. I could identify many of the same characters, and the expressions of relief, frustration or satisfaction on their faces as they returned. It made me feel very much at home on our first night in Latvia.

Another border crossed

This afternoon I went into a supermarket for milk, and for a moment I was confused by the packaging, before remembering that we were now in a different country. The name of the supermarket was the same, and much else feels familiar, but there are a few noticeable differences from Estonia. Latvia has the highest motor accident rate in Europe, and we quickly realised why, as cars screamed up behind us before pulling out into the narrowest of gaps and swinging back in in front of us. The consequences were underlined this morning, when blue lights ahead resolved into two fire engines trying to decide how to remove an upside down car from a ditch. One can only hope that the man gesticulating wildly at the firefighters was the driver.

Driving aside, Latvia feels comfortable and friendly. Even the fishermen arriving at tonights parking spot gave us a cheerful wave - we're in another picnic area, this one by a lake. We spent the day in Cēsis, which Lonely Planet describes as the cutest little town in the whole of Latvia. It has two lovely castles, a medieval one built by the crusading Brothers of the Sword, and an eighteenth century Manor House with a tower, which was inhabited by German counts. The old castle had some wonderful costumed inhabitants going about their trade, and we stopped for a chat with the blacksmith, who had strong views on the frustrations of nail making: "A pain in the arse", and the limitations of wearing medieval armour: "Three minutes fighting, max. It's about fifty degrees in there."

Old castle

New-ish castle

After lunch back in the van, we took the spaniels with us for a wander around the picturesque town with its rather upmarket souvenir shops. We discovered that it was alive with cats, which had Elsa quivering with suppressed rage when they refused to run away. These cats have gone paw to paw with bigger dogs than Elsa, and barely twitched a whisker at the sight of two spaniels. Fortunately Max and Elsa were able to command the attention of teenaged girls and old ladies to restore their pride. Luckily they were also quite tired having had a couple of long forest walks over the last few days.