Die trek gaan aan, rigting noord. / The trek continues, always north.
Van daar het ek gekom toe die teerpad opgehou het. / From there I came after the tar road had stopped.
Ek wou mos Afrika se alleentes mis! / The result of missing the wide open spaces of Africa.
Ek kom toe op die eensame boerehuis af. / I saw this farm house and turned off the track.
Fontein, twee emaljebrekers, sitbank. Soos in Soedan. / A well, two mugs, a wooden bench. Like in the Sudan.
Vuurmaakhout vir die bitter lang, donker, koue maande wat binnekort begin. / Firewood for the long, dark and cold months that will be here soon.
Mens kon ruik waarvoor die klein huisie gebruik word. / One could smell for what this little wooden structure is being used for.
Waar is die mense heen? Daar was nie 'n mens in sig nie. / Where did the people go? There was no one in the vicinity.
Die KLR merk nog 'n land op sy tenk af: Letland. / The KLR ticked off another country visited: Latvia.
In 'n klein dorpie het ek gestopvir 'n soet broodjie, stukkie wors, en 'n Coke. Alhoewel die son geskyn het, was daar min krag in die suidsonnetjie. / In this small village I stopped for a sweet bread bun, piece of sausage and a Coke. The sun was shining but there was no heat in this southern sun.
Dik aangetrek in die son. Almal om my was ewe dik aangetrek. / I am sitting with many layers of clothing. Also the villagers were clothed warmly.
Ukmerge (Litaue) tot Rezekne (Letland)
Vandag was ‘n Russiese dag. Nie wat die taal betref nie maar hoe die dag afgeloop het.
Laasnag het ek aanmekaar bly nies. Die groen velde gee my ‘n reuse hooikoors.
Ek het in gietende reën begin te ry. My reenbaadjie uit
Weer het die teerpad opgehou en die keer is ek vir meer as ‘n uur oor ‘n grondpad oor heuwels en deur valleie. So het ek baie meer van die lewe op die platteland kon sien.
Ek het WEER ‘n afrit gemis, die keer in Dwinsk, Letland.
Dit reën nou weer.
Voor julle dink ek kla, dit was ‘n wonderlike dag! Al die goed wat ek hier bo genoem het, is die bewys dat ek die voorreg het om in ‘n baie, baie vreemde deel van die wêreld te mag reis.
Ek het as kind miskien te veel Heinz Konsalikboeke met Ruslandtemas gelees. Vandag deur die verlate dele van Letland het ek al hoe meer die gees van die Konsalikboeke begin te verstaan.
Ek is vanmiddag oor die grens Letland in, die laaste land voor Rusland. Dit is by verre die meer armoedige land waardeur ek in Europa gereis het. Ek het die vroue gebuk op die lande sien werk, ek het die ou vrou met gumboots haar koei sien aanjaag, ek het die perdekar gesien wat moet instaan waar die geldjie vir ‘n motor nie genoeg is nie. Ek het deur dorpies gery waar die 21ste eeu nog lank nie aangekom het nie.
Die toerisme infrastrukuur is in Letland swak vergeleke met Pole. Ook in Litaue is dit maar skraps maar beter as hier in Letland.
Ek het soms vandag daardie alleen gevoel gekry wat ek ‘n paar keer in Afrika gehad het. Hierdie wêreld is groot en die mense min.
More oggend baie vroeg wil ek by die Russiese grens wees. Ten spyte van my Russiese visum is daar geen waarborg hulle gaan my as enkelreisiger inlaat nie. Die Koue Oorlog is verby. In die koppe van die mense vat dit egter baie langer.
Ek moet gou om verskoning vra dat ek nie op e-posse antwoord nie. Internet is duur en skaars en nie altyd vinnig nie.
Ukmerge (Lithuania) to Rezekne (Latvia)
Today was a Russian day. Not in regards of language but in the way the day progressed.
Last night I sneezed continuously. The lavish green fields are giving me hay fever.
I started riding in pouring rain. My raincoat that dates back to the time spent in Nairobi has perished.
Again the tar road ended, and this time I spent more than an hour on a dirt road riding over hills and through valleys.
AGAIN I missed an offramp, this time in Dwinsk, Latvia.
It is raining again.
Before you think I am complaining, it was a wonderful day! Al of the above mentioned, is proof that I am privileged to be travelling in a very, very unfamiliar part of the world.
As child I might have read too many Heinz Konsalik books with Russian themes. Today, through the deserted parts of Latvia, I started to understand the spirit of the Konsalik books, more and more.
This afternoon I crossed the border into Latvia, the last country before Russia. It is by far the most underprivileged country in Europe through which I have travelled. I saw woman working bent-over in the fields, I saw an old lady with gumboots on shepherding her cow, I saw the horse cart that had to stand in where there is no money for a car. I rode through towns where the 21st century has long not arrived yet.
The tourism infrastructure of Latvia is poor in comparison to Poland. In Lithuania it is also inadequate, but better than in Latvia.
During today, I occasionally got that lonely feeling that I experienced a couple of times in Africa. This country is big and the people few.
I want to be at the Russian border tomorrow morning very early. In spite of my Russian visa is there no guarantee that they will allow me entry as a single traveller. The Cold War is over. In the minds of the people it takes longer.
I have to apologise that I can’t answer e-mails. Internet is expensive, scarce and not always fast.
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