We slept until after 9 am.
The blackout shades work great.
We had coffee in the coffee bar and then went up on deck while we sailed
up the channel and docked in Riga. Old
and new buildings. We passed a huge coal
port.
We had an early fish lunch at the pool grill and then got
ready for our tour to Turaida and Sigulda.
Sasma was our guide.
Her commentary was interesting:
“Left side, yellow building,
right side, KGB headquarters!
Etc.”
We first went to Sigulda about an hour out of Riga. Riga was a lot larger than I had
thought. It has ruins from a Crusaders
fortress Latvia is still recovering from
the Soviet occupation and the tourist sites are still under development.
Old Town Riga, Latvia
Interesting art outside the Sigulda site
Entrance to Sigulda
This used to be a monastery - not a historical site
The old Crusaders castle
Beautiful patio
Outlook from the former walls of the castle - we walked to the top
The Bishops Castle in the distance at Turaida
An amphitheatre as seen from the old tower
We went to a natural spring which is supposed to make you young. The story is a woman left her home to go to
the spring and when she didn’t return her husband went to the spring and found a
baby! She drank too much of the
water! I rubbed some on our faces!!!!
Graffiti on the walls of the spring
The spring with the "fountain of youth"
Tim getting water from the spring "to look young again"!!!!
We then went to Turaida Castle which they are
rebuilding. We walked through the ruins,
up the tower, and through a sculpture garden.
We bought small walking sticks for the travel tree. Had a coffee and blueberry cake.
Beautiful day at Turaida Castle
Restored walls with the walkway used for lookout
Old tower that had been restored - we walked to the top
Ruins still under renovation
View from the top of the tower
Beautiful countryside
The sculpture garden
The rose garden
More sculpture
Interesting granite blocks
We returned to Riga and to the ship. We showered and then went to Sette Mare and
were first in line to get a table on the back deck outside for sail away. We enjoyed the shade as we were cruising out of the
channel to open sea in the Baltic. Sun
was still up but setting earlier – at 10:15 as we are a little bit further
south.
Leaving Riga, Latvia
Riga, Latvia
Riga, Latvia
Table with a view - our table at Sette Mari as we sailed out of Riga, Latvia
View from our table at Sette Mari
Chris and Linda from Durham with friends at the table next to us
Huge coal terminal in Latvia
11 pm and the sun is still very high in the sky
Sunset as seen from our balcony on the aft
Tim went to a science fiction movie
in the theatre and I relaxed and read in the cabin. It
was a relaxing evening.
We went to bed about 11 pm.
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