Day 33 - Metsa Päev

Well, today was a day full of random adventures into forests. We took a few wrong turns and snake like roads, ending up in some strange places. The first place we drove to, after the main road, we took a right turn down a dirt road but then it quickly turned into a forest road. We were surrounded by dense trees and moss all over the forest floor. This was spectacular! I felt so at peace and there was just something so majikal about it. I think I stopped the car several time to take videos and photos of what I was seeing. At one point there was a car behind us and I pulled over so they could pass, because I was going to be that annoying tourist that kept taking pictures and videos.

We continued to drive, as we were looking for some cliffs mum had seen and wanted to find. I was worried that at one point we would get stuck. We saw the sign but there was a point where I thought, nope, we are not continuing further and we went back to a little parking spot and got out and walked a little. Wow what we found was incredible. There were some sand stone cliffs above a stream. It was so quiet, you could hear the running water from a distance. It was incredibly peaceful there and absolutely beautiful. It felt so grounding being there with the running water, the smell of the forest and looking at these grand cliffs. It made me feel so small and I started reflecting on life and how we are all just taking our own journey through it, doing the best we can with what we have. It was an incredible few moments of reflection and I am grateful we found this place and really sunk into the moment. This place, and many others like it, are so beautiful to be in. 

The Estonian Government has invested a lot of money into their forests and surrounding areas, building small huts, fire places, and a range of things people can use to really enjoy a peaceful forest life, for a moment. I have been told of a little house, in a forest, close to where I am currently staying, where you can go and spend the night and really live like they did back in the day.

We then started our journey to Suur Munamägi (Big Egg Mountain), and we were going to go past a town called Pindi. Mum had seen this word on some documents and was not sure what it meant “Võru Pindi” but when we were driving past it the other day it occurred to her, it was the birth place of her Grandmother, Rosalie (Alan’s Mother). Mum asked if we could go there, so of course, I put it in the map and we went. I was expecting some kind of village with a few houses BUT the map took us to a dense forest, along a dirt road. When we got there, I was somewhat happy it was just a forst, with one Talu (farm house) on the left and that was it. It was so beautiful being in the forest, close to where my Great Grandmother was born and grew up, until the war. I really liked the name of the place too, Pindi. Again, it was so quiet and peaceful, with no one around

​We then headed to Suur Munamägi, a place we had been before a few times. Mum had a goal of climbing the hill one more time in her life and we did it. Google maps was trying to take us to a place but instead we followed the signs. We later found out, when we got to the top, that it was trying to take us to the car park at the top so that we didn’t have to walk. We had a slight giggle and felt the journey of walking up there was much more rewarding rather than simply driving there. At the bottom we were looking up and there were so many people there! It was a Sunday though so that made sense. We started out accent up the mountain and when we were half way there was a cute little shop. I really liked the little eggs in different places throughout this little journey. When we stopped it was lovely to just look at the forest, study the surroundings and really see what kind of animals were in there. I did at one point see a little mouse just doing its thing. When we came the first time in 2001, I feel we did not have to go up as far. We think the road that lead to this place was half way up and I remember this terrible drop toilet that had maggots in a pile out the back. Danae and I refused to go into the toilet so we went outside and made dad keep watch. That was an experience. So, mum and I continued the journey up the hill and when we got to the top, mum expressed a huge sense of achievement. She NEVER would have done this 6 months ago, but here she was, at the top of Suur Munamägi. It was incredible that she had done that and I was really proud of her. We went to the top of the watch tower there, and when we first got to the top there were not many people but after a few minutes there were so many! It was lovely being above the forest, looking down. I could really see how dense the Estonian Forest is and it was everywhere. Of course there were some areas with houses but there was an abundance of pine trees and so much beautiful landscape, so grounding and connecting. I really enjoy being in the Estonian forest and if it was possible, I would live here. Once we had a few moments and some photos, we started to make our way back down the mountain (hill – approximately 318m), and went to visit the cute little shop. There were so many beautiful little things in there, of course mum bought something, but I was restraining myself. There are so many opportunities to buy Estonian Käsitöö, it just brings me so much joy. Anyway, we got to the bottom of the hill, stepping very carefully as we did and then it started to rain, so we did time that well. We then headed off to Võru for lunch and a rest.

Later in the evening I met up with a boy, Heldur, someone I had met the previous day. He picked me up and we headed somewhere I thought was just going to be somewhere random but it turned out to be somewhere wonderful! We went to another forest but this one had some semi famous horns. They are designed in a way that if you sit in them, you can hear the sounds of the forest and just be there, enjoying the peace of the surroundings. When Estonian’s go into the forest, they sit there, reflect and enjoy some of the healing properties. It was so peaceful being in the forest there and we stayed there for a while, talking and reflecting, really enjoying where we were. I was so grateful I trusted him and got to have this experience. We then headed to Rõgue and saw the “Pesapuu” or the “Nest Tree”. He was telling me that when there is a birth in the town, the egg inside the nest changes colour to pink or blue if there is a birth in the town on a particular day, showing the gender of the baby. Estonia’s population is low, so it is a wonderful thing when there is a baby born. If there are more than one born on the same day, the egg rotates colours. It was so dark when we got there, the tree was lit up but the surrounding park was not, as Rõgue is very much in debt and trying to cut costs. We had a walk around the park and we got to a big swing!! I was so excited. We got on it and started to swing, it was like being a kid again. There is so much joy in behaving like a child and going onto a big family swing, not worrying about anything and just being in the moment. I also enjoyed taking some photos in the dark, as I could not really see what I was taking a photo of but the lake looked really pretty when I did manage to take some photos. When we got back to the car, Heldur suggested we go to Latvia. This idea absolutely blew my mind… it was such a foreign concept to me to just get in the car and go to Lativa! How absolutely random. We didn’t end up going to Latvia. It was a really wonderful night and I am grateful I had the opportunity to go to some places, especially the forests), that I never would have gone to without a local.

I was really grateful to have had these experiences and definitely not something I expected to have when I arrived to Võru.
Until the next post!
​Marissa xx