July 17 - Excitement in Estonia
Let's get back to basics: Does Estonia even exist or is it just some
made-up country?
DOES ESTONIA REALLY EXIST?
Like Albania, Estonia just doesn't sound real.
I mean, c'mon, have you ever met someone from those two countries?
Do you ever see those countries mentioned in the news?
I didn't think so.
They can't be real.
Estonia sounds so unreal that Scott Adams, the guy who does Dilbert,
made a comic strip
with really odd characters who live in a place called
Elbonia.
You might even think that Estonians are like the
characters from Elbonia,
but it's not exactly the same
thing.
There's a good
comic
strip.
It's not a coincidence that Elbonia sounds like Estonia.
So I was somewhat dubious when I bought a ticket in Finland to go to
Estonia. Was this
just a hoax?
TRAIL MAGIC IN ESTONIA
On June 30 in Helsinki I sat in the waiting room to board the Nordic
Jet Line, which is
not a jet that goes north, but a catamaran that goes south.
It was 3PM and I realized that I had no hotel or hostel reserved in
Tallinn, the capital
of Estonia. I would arrive at 5PM homeless.
I did not panic because this is pretty standard protocol for me, but it
did dawn on me
that I should probably start thinking about a place to stay.
I was flipping through my Lonely Planet guidebook hoping for some
advice when a lady sat
near me. Although I trust Lonely Planet, I always prefer local advice,
so I asked:
"Excuse me, are you from Estonia?"
"Yes," she replied with a somewhat thick accent. "I live in Tallinn."
"Do you know of any cheap places to stay in town?" I asked.
"Yes, my degree is in hotel management and I work in tourism."
And so began a 90 minute conversation on the boat ride with this lady
called Maiu. She
nearly threw up on me because she thought I was so revolting, but she
made up some story
that it was the boat ride that was making her seasick.
She had just had a 2 week vacation with her American boyfriend, whom
she had been dating
for the last 3 years.
She offered to walk me a nearby hotel. Once we were nearly there, she
surprised me and
said, "On second thought, if you want, you can just stay with me. I am
not sure what my
brother will say, but we have a sofa you can sleep on if you want."
On the one hand, I was thrilled. This would be a great glimpse into the
lives of local
Estonians and it might save me a couple of bucks.
On the other hand, she could be some scam artist who will rob me during
the night and
have her big brother Herki toss me in the dumpster when they're through
with me.
On the Appalachian Trail I was invited to stay at strangers houses 12
times in 111 days.
So the concept was not new to me. We call it Trail Magic. But I was a
bit far off the
Appalachian Trail. I was in Estonia, for God's sakes.
Nevertheless, I figured I had nothing to lose except for my camcorder,
a few hundred
bucks, and my own life.
So I accepted her generous offer.
HERKI LET ME LIVE
Herki was a delight. Maiu was an amazing hostess. But the Embassy of
Belarus was a pain
in the ass.
Getting a visa to Belarus is awful. You gotta wonder about a country
when their
ambassadors respond to phone query with, "Why would you want to go to
Belarus?" I
surprised they didn't say, "Are you nuts? Why not just go to Iraq while
you're at it."
Nevertheless, I persisted and they said they would process my visa
request "eventually."
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD 30,000 PEOPLE SINGING?
Tallinn has an old town which is quaint and picturesque. Definitely
worth seeing,
especially during the summer singing festival, which comes every 5
years. Just like the
100th anniversary of Bloomsday in Dublin, I got lucky and happened to
show up during this
folk music singing festival. The climax is when 30,000 singers, the
largest choir in the
world, get on stage and belt out some good old Estonian folk tunes.
By the way, Arnold Rüütel, the President of Estonia, was
there. Not that anyone really
cares. I mean, c'mon, is there anyone outside of Estonia who knows who
their President
is?
THE GREAT OUTDOORS OF ESTONIA
First, here's a
good map of Estonia.
I visited the Otepää region to do some canoeing on the Ahja
Jõgi, which means the Ahja
River. It is hard to see on the map, but it is there.
Unfortunately, I went down the wrong way down a rapid and my canoe
flipped.
I got banged up on some rocks. Cuts on my feet and a nice big bruise on
my left kidney.
It was pretty exciting. Those life jackets really work, by the way.
But the big casualty was my camcorder. Although it did not die, it has
problems now. I
will try to fix it in Riga, Latvia.
Figuring that I should stick with what I know, I did some 35 miles of
easy backpacking
nearby. The country is pretty flat, the tallest mountain is just 318
meters high or about
1,000 feet. While backpacking I didn't fall into any rivers.
A nice family did give some trail magic by treating me to a great big
breakfast. They
don't call me Mr. Magoo for nothing.
Finally, I spent some time on the northern coast in
Lahemma National
Park.
WHAT ARE ESTONIANS REALLY LIKE
They claim that they are envious and always trying to keep up with the
Joneses, but I
didn't detect any of this. They all said it, so it must be true.
However, I just
encouraged tremendous generosity and good spirits. Maiu and her family
were a prime
example.
BELARUS ACCEPTS A TOURIST
Finally, the embassy of Belarus decided to process a tourist visa that
day. I think they
do one per day. Worldwide.
So now I am on my merry way to Riga, the capital of Latvia, the second
of three Baltic
countries. Then comes the dreaded Belarus...
NEXT STOP: LATVIA |
Sunset in Tallinn, the charming capital of Estonia,
was spectacular.
I am in Kasmu, a small town next to the Lahemaa National Park in Estonia.
Maiu, my delightful and adventurous Estonian host, is painting a roof
here.
Maiu invited me to her summer house (behind her). |
