Riga is on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Daugava River. On our penultimate day in Riga we decided to travel to the seaside resort of Jurmala by ferry down the Daugava River which takes about two and a half hours.

Joan arrived at the appointed time and we made our way by tram to the old town and then walked to the statue of Great Kristaps opposite Riga Castle where we would meet the ferry. Tickets bought it was time for a coffee to kick start the day and our last chance to walk through the old town before we leave on Saturday.

A friend who has been reading this blog said Riga was a hidden gem and I agree. Walking through the old town it was quiet and nearly empty, with only one tour group walking past as we had our coffee enjoying the morning sun.

Coffee drunk and then down to the ferry for our adventure. The port had two smaller cruise ships docked, as well as the overnight ferry from Stockholm. Further down the river where abandoned factories and port facilities.

The ferry progressed slowly through the outer suburbs of Riga. We passed falling down houses on the river's edge next to Soviet apartments. All along the river men were fishing and local were sunbathing, it must be one of the national pastimes of Latvia.

I didn't take long to leave the urban sprawl and into the wilder parts of the river. Along the banks are thick reeds which swayed rhythmically in the wind, it was hypnotic to watch. We all sat quietly and the ferry slowly made its way up the river passing dachas and families making the most of the last day of the summer holidays. Some of the dachas were very new modern designs but mostly they were a collection of secondhand building supplies cobbled together to make a basic holiday house.

We arrived at Jurmala at 1:30 and all agreed a light lunch was in order, but first a little about Jumala. Jurmala is a seaside resort town in Latvia, about 25 kilometres west of Riga. It is famous for its long stretch of beach that faces the Gulf of Riga While Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, It was a favourite holiday-resort and tourist destination for high-level Communist Party officials, particularly Leonid Brezhnev and Nikita Khrushchev. We strolled down the main street and found an Azerbaijani restaurant for lunch and all had soups. Soup is very popular in Latvia.

After lunch we walked to beach to dip our toes in the Baltic. We strolled down the main street and saw that many of the little souvenir shops had closed. I don't know if this is because of the end of the summer holidays or a general downturn in business. Wealthy Russians were frequent visitors to Jurmala but the sanctions placed on Russia over the Ukraine may have impacted this area.

Down to the beach and the Baltic Sea. The sea is dead fast, not a wave in sight. Along the beach there are roped off areas for restaurants and bars, it makes you appreciate our beaches. We came across a happy group of Chinese women tourists who were having a jolly time dancing and singing revolutionary songs all laughing whilst doing it.

Greg took his shoes off to wade in the water so he could officially say he felt the waters of the Baltic, I of course had to follow.

We had decided to catch the train back from Jurmala, which was only an 30 minute trip so slowly walked back to the train station and back to Riga.

Joan suggested that we have dinner at a local restaurant chain called Lido, its a place that most local will drop in have quick bite on the way home from work. So off we went. We caught the tram to a local Lido and for 10 euros each were absolutely full, mostly with salads and good quality meat.

We all decided to walk of dinner in the mild summer night. We bade Joan farewell and headed to bed.