This morning before we headed off, Liga showed me a couple of magazine articles she wrote about her trip to Afghanistan. She went there on her own, and travelled to remote areas.

Her photos are amazing, especially the ones taken with people who have never seen a female tourist before. She’s a brave woman!

We drove to another town near Riga. We were leaving James in Riga for the day and going for a girls day.

This is the oldest wooden church in the Baltics. It’s a Lutheran one, I think, built in the early 1700s.

It looks very Scandi inside.

The bible is very old. Imagine the thrill those people would have had when they saw a bible in their own language for the first time… especially if they could read it.

A little more up the path was the ruin of an old castle complex built around 1350. Earlier wooden structures were there, but 1350 was when the Catholic Church got serious about security here.

Of course, my naive belief that the climbing to the top of towers had finished far this holiday was wrong.

They built this thing to last.

It didn’t, of course, with all the conflicts and bloodthirsty takeovers this country has suffered. Restoration began in the 1960s.

“If you look, you see that all the graffiti is Russians names,” said Liga. “ They are the only ones who don’t care about ruining anything.”

This old, timber-lined well is still in use today.

Dog and cat footprints in the bricks.

Less than a week to go, Scout.

This castle had an underfloor heating system. Pretty advanced design for back then.

Then it was off to the country to the traditional Latvian sauna. Liga was very insistent that I experience a proper sauna.

The Latvian sauna has a slightly different feel than a Finnish one, for example. It has a more spiritual side. Liga said to me yesterday, “ You will need to say something you wish to leave there. A problem you have; something you’ve said that you regret… something like that.”

Well, being a Virgo, I’m practically perfect in every way… 😳

Haha. I wish! I thought of a couple of things, so I was ready.

We drank two cups of tea made from wormwood and mallow, which was really bitter. The idea is that you can’t wash your soul clean until you drink the bitter and eat the sweet. This was fruit touched by the sun.

We sat for ages, sipping the tea and talking. There was no rush, as the wood fire slowly warmed up the sauna.

It was all about relaxing, letting the world fall away and just letting the conversation flow.

Liga said that back in the day, the villagers worked 6 days, and on Sundays they gathered together in the saunas. They could get properly clean, they could relax and gossip with the neighbours.

Women gave birth in the saunas, and when people died, their bodies were prepared for burial here.

Sound was also an important part of the sauna, but later.

Remember this lake. It’s also an important part of the whole experience, but later.

We stripped naked and went into the sauna. We were there for quite a long time. We sat in the steam, while Agitai used bunches of dried birch leaves to flick cool water on us. We made a ‘tea’ of different herbs and citrus, and our feet went in there. It smelled amazing.

We each sang a song that is supposed to be important to us. When I was asked to sing, I couldn’t think of anything except Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’, so they got the first verse and the chorus.

Liga ducked outside to take a photo through the window. I don’t have a stitch on here.

There I am, hiding behind the dried birch.

Do you see the red around Agiai’s hat? It’s to stop the sauna master from absorbing anything bad that we might get rid of.

She is a third generation Sauna Master.

After the sauna part is over, you thank your parents, family and friends for being in your life. Then Agitai took me outside, still naked, and we got waist-deep into the lake outside the sauna. It was ICY.

She held me afloat, while I concentrated on stretching out and controlling my breathing. Georgia once told me that if I was ever stressed or in pain, if you breathe deeply and slowly, it tricks your brain that everything is ok. I was telling my brain that it really wasn’t that cold…

See the bunches of birch hanging up?

After the cold lake, I was brought in and wrapped up like a baby bunny. It was so relaxing. Then, as I shut my eyes, she and Liga used the bowls to make an amazing sound scape.

Then they disappeared back into the sauna to let me sleep.

I didn’t snooze, but it was warm and comforting. It was lovely.

It was an experience I’ll never forget.

James, Liga and I went out to dinner at a restaurant that one of Liga’s army friends owns. Best chile con carne nachos I’ve ever had.

The margaritas weren’t bad, too.

Dad joke of the day: