Day 11: Apsuciems to Roja

Porridge for breakfast, 65km completed and feeling a little more relaxed about my cycling ability.

Today was totally flat. The Baltic kept reappearing on my right behind forests of pine. A blue sky with white clouds which were a welcome shield from the sun. there is little to report; there are plenty of friendly waves from fellow distance cyclists – the camaraderie is welcome. I stopped at Engure for a break and a photograph, then through Mersrags, a little port with a tug boat.

I met a man on his bicycle, laden with bilberries, on his way to Berzciems. He was 74. He could speak Spanish and English and alternated between the two but I got the gist that he wrote poetry in Spanish for Madrid radio and his grandfather had lived in England in 1916. Before he went on his way he concluded that we would never see each other again but it had been good to meet. I thought so too.

My coffee stop was as 13.00 as cafes were sparse. It was the wait and, having noticed the cups were small, decided to indulge and have two.

I reached Roja in record time and was checked in by 15.00. It’s a small port with an endless sandy beach. The advertised ‘catch of the day’ was still swimming in the Baltic so I had cod instead. It was excellent.