Berlin to Helsinki Day 18: Salacgrīva
There is one thing going on in Salacgrīva this weekend, the Positivus Music Festival.
But to get there we had to brave a few harsh elements. It was raining when we left and shortly thereafter turned into a frigid downpour. Which of course we rode through, it helped being able to see the better weather at the other end of the storm clouds.
But after the rain came the wind, loud and intense - probably about 20mph - blowing due east as we headed west towards the sea.
To add insult to injury, the nice national route we were on suddenly turned from asphalt to dirt.
Mylène approaching the long dirt stretch in the road, riding directly into the wind. There was no sign or warning, the pavement just stops as you can see in the photo
Since it had just rained our bikes sank into the wet sand and we pumped hard to counter the wind. And then I saw the source of the deep, wet sands:
Road maintenance, instead of taking advantage of the packed dirt, we were riding over the fresh layer. WTF.
But then, Salacgrīva.
Since everything else in town is pretty much shut down, everyone seems to participate. As we passed houses people were having barbecues and pre-parties before heading to the festival. The same was true at the house where we are couchsurfing. Our host, Anete, said there will be about 50 people at the house - a chance for family and friends to see each other once a year. As we rolled up, windswept, on our bikes, music was already blaring from the large speakers set up in front of the house.
Her mother and three brothers had prepared a large Latvian salad of tomatoes, onions, and lettuce along with potatoes.
After hanging out with everyone, some stayed to party at the house, others left to go to the festival.
The bands I had wanted to see are all playing tomorrow, but we checked out the grounds and a few stages - there are 8. The festival grounds sprawl out through a forest and lead right up to the beach, where there was also a stage with a DJ. We checked out a couple Latvian groups and danced in the sand on the beach for a while.
Mylène tending to some blacklit sheep.
Back at the house it was 4 in the morning. But Anete's mother had been up the entire time to make some cakes and home made pizzas for everyone when they got back from the festival. Wow. And delicious.
There was so much activity and noise in the house that we opted, along with many other people, to set up our tent in the yard.
Tomorrow we'll hang out at the festival a little more and eat some Latvian barbecue before heading further north to Estonia.
We did some laundry and hung it up on the volleyball net to dry in the wind.
But to get there we had to brave a few harsh elements. It was raining when we left and shortly thereafter turned into a frigid downpour. Which of course we rode through, it helped being able to see the better weather at the other end of the storm clouds.
But after the rain came the wind, loud and intense - probably about 20mph - blowing due east as we headed west towards the sea.
To add insult to injury, the nice national route we were on suddenly turned from asphalt to dirt.
Mylène approaching the long dirt stretch in the road, riding directly into the wind. There was no sign or warning, the pavement just stops as you can see in the photo
Since it had just rained our bikes sank into the wet sand and we pumped hard to counter the wind. And then I saw the source of the deep, wet sands:
Road maintenance, instead of taking advantage of the packed dirt, we were riding over the fresh layer. WTF.
But then, Salacgrīva.
Since everything else in town is pretty much shut down, everyone seems to participate. As we passed houses people were having barbecues and pre-parties before heading to the festival. The same was true at the house where we are couchsurfing. Our host, Anete, said there will be about 50 people at the house - a chance for family and friends to see each other once a year. As we rolled up, windswept, on our bikes, music was already blaring from the large speakers set up in front of the house.
Her mother and three brothers had prepared a large Latvian salad of tomatoes, onions, and lettuce along with potatoes.
After hanging out with everyone, some stayed to party at the house, others left to go to the festival.
The bands I had wanted to see are all playing tomorrow, but we checked out the grounds and a few stages - there are 8. The festival grounds sprawl out through a forest and lead right up to the beach, where there was also a stage with a DJ. We checked out a couple Latvian groups and danced in the sand on the beach for a while.
Mylène tending to some blacklit sheep.
Back at the house it was 4 in the morning. But Anete's mother had been up the entire time to make some cakes and home made pizzas for everyone when they got back from the festival. Wow. And delicious.
There was so much activity and noise in the house that we opted, along with many other people, to set up our tent in the yard.
Tomorrow we'll hang out at the festival a little more and eat some Latvian barbecue before heading further north to Estonia.
We did some laundry and hung it up on the volleyball net to dry in the wind.
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