First day in Estonia

We crossed the border late-ish on 3 May and stayed the night in the Narva Hotell.  Quite ordinary, really.  Set off the next day along Estonian route 1, oer Eurovelo route 10.  Cycle routes now delineated and marked, and we have found the waymarking of this route good.  The route took us down to the coast, along the Narva river, turning left at Narva Joensuu.  Good roads all the way, with light traffic.  A coffee shop soon after turning, where we partook of a light lunch.  Eventually, joined the main E20 road to bypass Sillamae.  Did not go into the town, and continued past the industrial area top the West of the town.  Then left the main road and went towards the sea on a dirt road that deteriorated into t simple path we had to push along.  But it improved and we ended up on a well-graded dirt road parallel with the coast, that would have been much more pleasurable if it had not been so stony.  But this led into a well surfaced road that led eventually to Toila where we were the only people in the campsite, but it was perfectly OK.  Not a long day, but a pleasant one.

Sillamea used to be a site or uranium extraction in Soviet times.  This was terminated on independence, but explains why the industrial area is closed.  Looking across to it now, one saw a new container port so new development seems to be taking place.

Was Peter the Great an engineer at heart?

The Palace gardens in Petergof are amazing for their fountains.  If I have it right, Peter the Great had been to Versailles and seen fountains there, and wanted bigger ones.  Well, in front of the Summer Palace, in Petergof, there is a truly amazing array of fountains set among exuberant baroque sculptures (and not only baroque babies); in the quite extensive park there are fountains here and there, often big ones.  They are all gravity fed from some water source in the low hills inland.

Apparently Peter did not just commission the fountains, but he took an active part in their design, implementation and construction.  In other ways he showed his interest in creating things, machines etc.  Early in his career, he visited shipyards in Holland and England and got well involved in the making etc of naval vessels.  He wanted Russia to have a powerful navy, but he did not just commission someone else to bring this about; he got involved in it himself.

He was a tsar, but was he also an engineer?

Last day in Russia

Left Dubki in fair time.  We had a few postcards to post and asked where we could do this.  The answer was in a village in the wrong direction and several miles away; postboxes in rural Russia seem to be few and far between.  Anyway, off we went, and not towards the post.  Due South and fast (for us) thrugh lovel forests and soon came to a big road, E-W, that ended up crossing a railway line near what is clearly a new port being developed.  After a while the modern stuff came to an end.  We crossed a river in a village with a shop where we bought food, vodka and ice creams.  Then on on a good road going South by a large river.  This was pleasant cycling.  The road surface was good, there was little traffic, and weather was good, the scenery was beautiful.  Made good time, stopped once for picnic lunch and eventually came to the E20 road, the main E-W artery.  On to this.  Got to Ivangorod, where we stopped to post the postcards.  Eventually tracked down the post office.  Closed - permanently -  with the post box sealed.  So that was that.  Through immigration and bureaucracy and into Estonia, the Schengen zone, and Narva. 

Dogs .... dogs .... did their job just fine

As we cycle along, we often pass a home, a farm, or somewhere where there is a dag, usually a large one, either confined behind a fence, or on the end of a chain.  Here, in Russia and in Estonia, country people seem almost always to keep such dogs.

The dog or dogs go bananas; they bark furiously as we go by and often rush towards us.  They then get to the fence or the end of the chain, and no further.  Having us as identifiable humans who are strangers and not in a car, so they can see and sense us there seems to do the trick.    But one wonders if they are frustrated by not actually making contact.  After all their job is to deter and see off any strangers.  And this is just what happens; we come near their territory, they bark furiously and we go away.  It works just fine and they achieve what they want to.  Happy doggies?

due West

We left Gostilitsy in reasonably good time.  We still had a reservation in Dubki, near the coast and where we would have gone after Solnovy Bor.  This was about 80 km due West and there are roads between Gostilitsy and there, so off we went.  Cold and windy, and started over a rather bare plateau.  Descended a bit and came to a series of junctions, and past a large rather ruined castle opposite which we had our sandwich lunch.  It was then a dirt road, actually not too bad for surface and pleasant through forested country, as there was so little other traffic.  Past various junctions, quite a bit on sealed road until dirt again, and climbing for the nth time when we came to deep mud.  This was near what was clearly forestry work (not happening today; it was Sunday) and it seemed the forestry lorries had simply broken up the road and made it into - mud.  Pushed our bikes over the worst and could ride again with some difficulty.  Eventually, more of less normal dirt road; came to a steep hill and met the South-North main road which we would have been on.  Turn left and found the Dubki hotel.

No sign of anyone and we failed to see the front door bell!  But we were trying to phone when others appeared, the woman running the hotel and a Russian couple staying there who were really helpful as she spoke English!  The building was new, all pine and one ate at the top in a really pleasant loft room the length of the building.  Had supper with the Russian couple and able to chat a bit.

We were tired after a heavy day - quality of roads as much as distance.  Good to get to sleep.

This is not good

We have not posted for several days, and there is much to write about.  Promise to try to catch up in posts to follow this one!  Since last one, we spent 2 more days in Russia getting to the Estonion border, and have now been in Estonia for 4 days.  Going to Tallinn tomorrow, but stuff about getting this far to come.

Diverted by military check point (this should have been posted earlier)

We left Petergof on the up, so to speak.  Not a brilliant day, but the weather OK to start with.  Along the cost road going West.  Good views of the sea.  Past a rather challenging bit where the road went past, or under, the outer ring road which is a motorway and where the junction slip roads were not designed with cyclists in mind.  On by the coast, stopping for a sandwich lunch by the sea shore which was very pleasant.  Then the check point.  Most cars ushered through, but all buses and some cars, and us, checked.  We noticed one of two people had to leave buses.  We were not allowed to proceed.  Not much discussion because of language difference, but we had to turn back.

In case anyone is following this on a map, we were actually going to Solnovy Bor, where we had made a hotel reservation online.  But that was not now possible.  Back the way we came, to the first road going South, away from the coast.  Seemed a fairly new road, and for miles and miles through forest, usually dead straight.  The weather turned; it rained quite hard and there was a strong wind against.  All very discouraging.  But we got to a place called Gostilitsy where there is a hostellry, where we are now (or were when this was written; then left as a draft by mistake).  For the last bit, the weather improved and the evening was nice.