April 18, 2013

Trip 49: Soomaa National Park, Estonia

Trip date: Sunday August 19 - Tuesday August 21, 2012

Eric and I had gone canoeing while we were in Copenhagen and we found it to be such a pleasant activity to do together. So, during our Baltic trip, we decided to take a 3 day canoe/camping trip through Estonia's Soomaa National Park.

All in attendance: Kristen and Eric

For 60 euros, we booked a 3 day/2 night self guided canoe trip through the national park. On Sunday morning we took a train from the very minimal and dated looking main station towards the Estonian town of Pärnu and got off at Tori. I spent the whole ride sleeping across the bench and missed the part where the whole train stopped just so a group of people could go to the bathroom behind a few bushes. Eric found this so incredulous that he couldn't stop talking about it.

In Tori, we waited for to be picked up by Aivar. He gave us three waterproof bins to put our stuff into and we separated our items into categories of food, clothes and equipment. The bins made it look like we were transporting illegal chemicals or biological warfare nuclear weapons. He promised us that the rest of our stuff can be returned once we finish the 70km canoe trip. Another young couple - A German couple, naturally - was also doing the same three day trip so it was nice to have company with us each night.



The day started out with a downpour of rain where buckets of the wet stuff kept falling from the skies and on our spirits. We waited out a bit of the rain from a spider-webby gazebo but when it looked like there was going to be no change in the weather in a while, Eric and I set off for a wet adventure. Cue: jealousy of Eric's rain pants.

I was eaten alive by horseflies and we had to do a couple of portages across places where people had built low bridges over the Halliste river. Fallen trees and piles of logs provided challenging hurdles that could be overcome only by the correct amount of awkward paddling and upper body strength. Granola bars and chocolate definitely taste better when your clothes are soaked through and the path is difficult.


The first night was a camp out near an old barn in the Tipu village. There was a stork nest perched high up on some power line towers. Birds had taken over the barn and could be seen flowing in and out. Eric and I feasted on couscous and a small bottle of sweet Vana Tallinn. After a horrible moment of all-the-wood-is-wet experience, we even got a cozy fire going. Wet shoes warmed up by the fire and we slept through the fist night easily.

Waking up a bit sore but to sunny weather, we set off for day two. Cue: many relaxing waterside snacks and beautiful electric blue dragon flies. Horseflies population seemed lower on this day, maybe the 30 or so squashed dead ones in the canoe warned them off.




We stayed in Riisa the next night near a guesthouse. We were able to have a hot shower here and warm up by a nice fire. Eric won the boyfriend of the year award when he got on a bike after rowing all day just so he could go into the nearest town and buy us a bottle of wine.



Eric and I even walked to a nearby bog after dinner and got a great view on top of a large watchtower. On the way there, there were all these marks and indicators on the trees, building and bridges to show you how ridiculously high the water line floods to on some of the wettest days all year.

Cue: smelling lovely like a campfire and nearly freezing through the night.


The next day we paddled on and said our good byes to the mirror-clear river and cute water-side houses. At the end point, we met a guy who took our canoes and gave us back the rest of our backpacks. He told us crazy stories about working with biologists who were tranquillizing and studying wolves in the park.

Then we hopped on a bus to Pärnu -  an Estonian beach town. I felt like a big bruise by this night and couldn't leave the guesthouse to explore. Eric and I feasted on hard-boiled eggs the next morning and we took off on a bus the next day towards Latvia.


Things I learned:
  • "The middle of nowhere" in Europe is still always very close to something manmade or the highway
  • Coucous for all your camping diet needs
  • Rainpants are something to be jealous of
  • Vana Tallinn is deliciously sweet
  • Millions of horsefly bites on your legs is not a good look
  • 3-in-one instant coffee is a god send
  • Highland cattle are used to cut grass
Things to do next time:
  • Explore Estonia's Islands
  • Go on a guided mushrooming tour 
  • More canoe/kayak trips !