The wind was on the nose all the way, very unpleasant swell, tried to sail and do the tacky thing but in the end gave up and motored.  Arrived in Ventspils at around lunchtime, had lunch in the cockpit in the sun then the rain started, it howled and was very heavy rain so ended up staying on the boat David put canopy up so at least we could sit outside under the tent.  The marina was at the end of a fishing harbour not very attractive, but next door was a lovely beach and town was a 10 minute bike ride away.

Next morning we braved the rain as we had to see Latvia, so we got on our bikes and set off to explore.  A very poor area, a lot of building work is being carried out and new roads and pavements were being laid, the market was very upsetting, all the old people were lined up selling the items that they had grown, lots of people selling the same potatoes and a few people selling veg.  It seems that the diet is still pork and potatoes.  We stopped for lunch at the recommended café and ate the local food of pork and boiled potatoes, I must admit it was very nice.  Just as we got on back on our bikes the sun came out so we went for a walk on the beach the beach looked like the long beaches in Australia.  We felt very humble and fortunate when we got back to our glorious boat and our lifestyle….

 Love to all

Suzanne & David xxx