Railway Dog

Only just over an hour on the train from Riga, the capital of Latvia, is Gauja National Park. It’s a combination of native forest and river. It’s fabulous and accessible by public transport, so would be easy to do a day trip. To access the national park, the train station choice is to get out at Sigulda or Cecis.

I went to Sigulda mainly because both river, supermarkets train station, accommodation and camping options are all walking distance from each other. I found a homely inexpensive place to stay in with a shared bathroom and kitchen. The number and tenacity of mosquitos put me off camping (in late May). I ended up staying 5 nights rather than 2, as it’s such a great area to explore. Plus there was a hammock in the peaceful garden!

Kayaking was easy to arrange. There are quite a few companies. On two separate days Baspie Dog and I were taken by Go & Row with a double kayak to somewhere upstream, to make our way down for 20km, and message when nearly there to be picked up. This was a dream to be alone together in the wilderness. Perfect for using the Merlin bird identification app too. Baspie dog was cool as a cucumber, but I got an adrenaline rush, kayaking by myself over several sets of minor rapids in the section down from Cecis to Ligante (the rocks are more exposed in low water times). This higher and narrower section of the River Gauja was more fun and beautiful than the one from Ligante to Sigulda, though I loved both. Each took 4-5 hours. As I was by myself and the wind was sometimes against me, there was a fair bit of hard  paddling to do on both days, but the flow is fast and helps a lot.

Even with a dog, there are cultural things to do in Sigulda, like going to the castle grounds of all 3 castles. The museum park allows dogs everywhere except in the little museum buildings, where Baspie could sit outside.