The ride began rather innocently with an idea to ride couple of miles out of town. Couple became multiple and before I knew it I was heading towards Tori, 14 miles from Pärnu. The road was one of the most picturesque ones I have seen in Estonia and even though I have taken it many a time, I have never quite Seen it before - the benefits of rolling along 10 miles an hour... Old churches, houses with miniature lawns for roof, ancient relics were scattered along the roadside along with birds, bees and of course, the horses. The group above is curiously eyeballing a young foal who decided to take a nap in a broad daylight. Perhaps not in a most equestrian way. :) The weather was teasing me with both sun and clouds, and with gathering winds but allowed me to enter the village before taking on full force.
And the full force meant a torrent of rain! Which I greeted at Grandma's. She has been resting at Tori Cemetery since 1957, having left 12 years before I made my appearance. But I think she was there today - I could not find her grave and rather than pulling the bike along around the whole place, I left it standing. After 10 minutes of rigorous search I returned to the bike. And to her - I had left the bike right beside her place. She must have had a great sense of humor.:)
But never before have I made such a good use of an old chapel, currently used for storing rakes, shovels and similar. I sat on the only available chair, let the rain do the raining and had a little picnic of raisins and nuts, surrounded by broken buckets, pots and tools, and probably a ghost or two... :)
Once the day cleared, I headed out to Tori Hell - literal translation, describing the sandstone cliffs bordering the Pärnu river. This natural marvel has long been a place for youth to chisel their names into walls and swear the oaths of everlasting love, for swallows to make their homes into and for visitors to admire. Some caves have surely gotten a more practical use as well but ... Things happen. :)
As the sun had reappeared, I started my long trek back home. And now, 4 hours after arrival, I can almost feel my legs again. This was a Good Day. :)
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