Country: Latvia
Distance travelled:
Weather: Sunny and hot, late afternoon rain storm

This morning we were on the road surprisingly quickly and since it was only about 100km down the A2, we arrived in Riga at about 11am. We had heard of a secure carpark not far from the most central camp site in town but upon arrival it was to find that the enterprising owners had converted it to a campsite with secure parking as the sideline. We decided, prompted by signage promising a washing machine, to stay the night.

It wasn’t a huge area, paved apart from a wide strip of lawn on the riverbank and although there was space for about thirty or so vehicles, there was just five motorhomes and two caravans although on later investigation I found several tents set up beyond the amenities block. The fee, since we didn’t want electricity, was €11 and included showers, wifi and access to the small swimming pool.

Immediately we filled up the fresh water tank as it was close to empty. Unfortunately there was nowhere here to dump the grey water so that will be a problem for tomorrow. While I prepared lunch, Mark examined the bus timetable the receptionist had given us and discovered that there was a bus into the old town at 12.30pm so we scoffed down some sandwiches and hurriedly headed off to the bus stop leaving the dishes for later.

The bus stop was located just five minutes walk up the road and as we rounded the corner we could see the bus, apparently about to pull out. Mark started wildly waiving his arms about and we both picked up our pace. The bus doors opened again, we leapt on, and after buying our two €1.20 tickets sat back to enjoy the ride into town.

We stayed onboard until Centrāltirgus, the central markets. I had read that these were rumoured to be zeppelin hangers and considering their size and shape, I wouldn’t be surprised. However the ends had been bricked in and glazing installed so I doubt they had been used for such a purpose for quite a while. The first one we walked into was currently housing many butchers stalls selling predominately pork. Bouyed by our success in Estonia we purchased a kilo of a likely looking cut along with a large piece of skin for crackling. I think the crackling was supposed to be €0.20 a kilo and we had some difficulty convincing the gentleman we only wanted one piece and not a kilogram.

Exploration of the other buildings found one full of dairy products, another with breads, biscuits and cakes and yet another with fish in various states. Mark spotted a stall selling pelmeni so we bought a kilo, they will have to be squeezed into our tiny freezer tonight. The lady kindly wrapped them up in some extra newspaper for insulation to keep them frozen. Foraging amongst the outside stalls, we came away with fresh carrots (€0.80 for the bunch) and some potatoes (€0.50/kilo). It was mighty hard to walk away from the trays of cherries and raspberries and other summer fruits but we didn’t think we could protect them in Marks’ backpack for the rest of the afternoon.

Heading back out through the clothing stalls, we wandered into the old city pausing only to photograph the Academy of Sciences Building, an example of Stalinist architecture. We found the old town of Riga very similar to Tallinn in that there were many lovely old buildings on narrow cobbled streets. Also similar to Tallinn was the myriad cafés and restaurants spilling out onto the cobbles, many shops selling souvenirs and a very many tourists wandering about.

Eventually we ended up back at a bus stop, where the same bus driver smiled in recognition as we boarded. Alighting at the end of the line, we trudged back in the late afternoon heat, deciding to try out the swimming pool. Although it had been closed, since it was past 4pm by now, the receptionist kindly opened it up for us for another hour. I was unable to make use of the washing machine since it was apparently in the office which was closed by the time I asked.

I helped Mark with the preparation for our roast pork dinner and then left him to supervise while I had a shower. The amenities blocks were obviously a prefab unit the size of a small shipping container fitted out with two toilet cubicles, a hand basin and, separated by a door, three formed shower cubicles without doors, just a shower curtain each. I found the entire setup beautifully clean and new. The showering process took some planning to manage since there was no private area apart from the shower itself but was well worth the trouble since there was great water pressure and a good supply of hot water.

While I showered an afternoon rainstorm struck, thundering on the roof of the shower block, but by the time I returned to the van the sun was shining again. The rain had dropped the temperature considerably and we sat down to our meal of roast pork and vegetables in comfort. After the cleanup we sat outside in the dusk and drank the piña colada flavoured alcopop we had bought back in Estonia. I had hoped the city on the far bank would be lit up at night but there was too much port industry blocking the view not to mention the huge Tallink Ferry that had docked earlier. It wasn’t long before we went to bed.