Actually, not really. I woke at 8.30 on the ferry, desperate to put the light on and read but no-one else was up. 9 O'clock dawned, with the rest of the Ford family and we proceeded to shower and pack up. By the time we got to the Cafe, there was a huge queue and, when our coffee was served we had no time to drink it before rushing for the car. This did not bode well for the day ahead.
We disembarked at Tallinn to an even colder and drizzlier day than we had left behind in Sweden. Chris has got a bit hacked off with the weather and had already said that if it got no better we would make a swift drive south to try and catch some sun. We decided to forgo a very depressing looking Tallinn and head straight for Sigulda National Park (although we were not sure if they had cabins and our tent and sleeping bags are too wet to use).
Estonian roads proved to be surprisingly good as they have had assistance in building them from the EU. Along the way we stopped at Parnu, a very nice seaside town, and had a brief walk on the beach.
Chris suggested that we camp there but I reminded him of the sodden state of our gear and we swiftly moved on. When we arrived at Sigulda the camping was rudimentary at best and not a cabin to be seen so we drove onto Riga, although there was a very pretty graveyard set in the trees.
In comparison with the roads in Estonia, the Latvian ones are appalling. As soon as you cross the border they just become full of ruts ans and pot-holes.
By the time we reached Riga it was 6.30 pm. and we had been driving since 10 in the morning – tensions were running high. When we discovered that Riga city campground was a) a right dump and b) had no cabins, that was about the last straw. To say that the Ford family were tense would be an understatement indeed. Chris went off for a quick walk and came back declaring that we needed to go and eat so we hot-footed it straight to the nearest shopping centre for a Hesberger (read Latvian McD's).
Revived by food we decided to head toward Ventspils, a resort we had seen on the T.V., and just stop at the first available place en-route to sleep. Well, the first two places had no room but our luck was in when we turned off the main road to a 'rooms to let' sign. We were shown a beautiful room in an obviously brand new house, then offered two rooms for the night. Unfortunately we could only afford one room (as it was cash only) but they provided two inflatable beds for the children. The added bonus was a T.V. with DVD player so the kids were in their element.
A good end to a crappy day!
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