Pargaujas, Latvia - Polarsteps

Yes! The sun is out and it's definitely warmer. We decide to do part of the TET (trans European trail). I still don't know what to make of these Baltic States. One time its like a fairy tale very idyllic, clean, almost unreal. With fields of dandelions and storks overlooking lovely villages and parcs. Sparsely populated with people who keep to themselves. Other times it gets really grim: we see a guy with an SS sign tattooed on his arm, a farm with a swastika shield at its wall, grey brickwalled Soviet style blocks and rundown wooden factories. BUT it's definitely Enduro heaven! There are motorways, some regional roads and besides that is mainly dirtroad. Add up wild camping and camp fires and you can tell we had a great day. More than 150 km off road we did. Through forests, deep sand, over gravel and corrugated roads. This is what these bikes like it's just us who have to follow them. It's a constant mental struggle. Good practice for everything to come. I even got sweaty, got muscle pain and an iron butt from all this tension. But over all we had a big grin on our faces all day. At the end of the day we found a nice camping spot in the forest along the river. Luckily it looked as if there were people more often since there are bears here as well. So we peed around the tent and made a campfire, helpfully that will keep them away. It's also nice it stays longer light out here but the nights are still a bit icey......