i travelled onward to sigulda, a small town in the gauja national park, on friday to escape city life and was not disappointed, the place is small but has a lot to offer in terms of great scenery and lots to do.  apparently it is know locally as the switzerland of latvia.

i arrived at lunchtime and headed to my b+b with laura, an american that i met in the tourist information centre.  i was pleased she was there to help get us to the b+b as its in a suburb.  we finally made it and the place is amazing, a typical latvia home and the hosts are so welcoming its untrue.  we were shown our rooms and then they left the house for the night, how trusting!

we decided to take a walk, which turned into a 5 hour one around the place.  we headed over to the cable car and headed over the guaja.  the views were pretty cool too, i was in my element with the camera.  all you could see was green.  i had a similar view from the plane-trees.  is unbelievable to think this place is build around forests, rivers and lakes and just 1 hours form the city.  absolutely stunning.  at the other side of the cable car we took a walk through the forest to find all the caves on route to turaida castle.  this castle can be seen from all around the area and is bright red.  we passed the famous caves of gutmanis and viktor and took in the sights of graffiti that covers them dated back to the 16th century as the book says but we could only see stuff form the 18th century.  it was puzzling how people have managed to get so hight to draw??? answers on a postcard please.  however anybody that knows me knows i love caves and again i was in my element down here.  they were dark and wet but still possessed so much charm and oddly colour and character.  big thumbs up!  we got lost loads of times and bumped into some very random men along the way.  we eventually made it to the castle but via the back garden.  the amount of stairs we must have climbed was untrue, im reckoning on around 800 the place is so steep.  i was knackered but it was worth the views.  there was little to see of the castle as it is a ruin now.  however it was founded in 1214 but was blown up by lightening hitting the gunpower tower in the 18th century.  people are slowly trying to restore the castle at the moment but there is a long way to go.  we made the step winding walk up the gunpower tower to take a glimpse of the stunning views over the valley.

i had planned to do a bungee jump and had it all booked but when i rocked up at the station it was full of pissed up latvians shouting abuse at us so i did a u turn asap.  i was a bit disappointed but maybe i can do it later in the trip like in slovenia.

in the eveing we headed over to the bowling hall and had a few games which was different and fun, i havent bowled for years.

we headed back to the b+b and were greeted by grandma who was a gem.  she didnt speak english but it didnt stop her trying.

8-9-07

in the morning we woke up to a huge traditional latvia breakfast, all fresh produce from the garden at the b+b.  its the little things like this that make this place so good.

i headed over to the bobsledding centre which wasnt too far from the b+b.  it is an artifical track at 1200m, pretty cool stuff.  it was built for the former soviet team but is used rarely now.  i took the walk up to the viewing platform for a panoramic view of the nation park again, i love this place!  then i headed down to the bobseigh centre and jumped into one of the cars.  they go at 80 mph snaking around the track in the valley and it was brilliant.  rush!

i was really pleased that i decided to head out to sigulda, its a great little place for a nights stop and the b+b just makes it all the more enjoyable.

ive had to change my plans slightly so im off back to riga again, which isnt ideal, this afternoon just to sleep then next destination tartu, estonia.

We arrived in Sigulda and spent our first night camping with the hope of being able to trek along the Gauja River.  Unfortunately this did not materialise due to the lack of maps and hiking trails.  We also discovered that camping fuel is not readily available in Latvia and as an alternative our first nights cooking involved collecting wood for an open fire and eating very burnt sausages.