July 30 to August 6
Estonia:

We started our adventure in Estonia via the coastal drive (oh how predictable of us!), it was difficult at first to notice any difference from Latvia as the country side was identical. It was funny to see families on the beach, having a swim in what we would consider a "winter day"!

Going around the crater...

A ferry across to Saaremaa and we spent the next 3 days exploring this very raw island. The weather is not so great which is making difficult for us to fully enjoyed the place. We did the "round" in the crater to relish in the myth that "couples who walk the round together, they stay together"! It was supposed to be romantic but Hecti just asked "together....does it have to be all the time, as in full time?" hahaha

What we realise crossing the Baltic countries is that it is true that the countries are small but there is not much to see in between villages..

It was very interesting to experience a big difference with the people of Estonia as opposed to Lithuania or Latvia. The majority of them do speak English; they are much more open and they seem to like seeing and chatting with tourists. We learned a lot about their culture, from the guy we had a drink after a sauna night (where we were hit by a branch with leaves as a way to "open the pores" to a group we just meet in our walk (and invited us for vodka!). Their openness is connected in part with the fact that they were also close to Finland and this was their passage to the western cultures. It is very sad to hear the stories of terror that they have suffered at the hands of so many occupations (by Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Poland, Germany....just every neghbour!). It has left a mark in their character as described by them as "pessimistic or not very optimistic or lets just have very low expectations"