ruette42

I lived in Cumana a long time ago, back in the sixties, and I know it must be very different now.
It was still a rather sleepy town, with a new university up on the hill, gorgeous white sand beaches dotted with palm trees, and not many Americans. I don’t recall what phone connections we had, but we got most news from week-old Time magazines, and felt very far away from our homes.
The food was great – lots of delicious fish and seafood, lovely fruits and veggies, great breads. I used to go to an Italian bakery, and pick up the bread still warm each morning.
Along the highway, vendors sold huge avocadoes, and green coconuts filled up with rum, and we picked up mangoes.

Located in the middle of Estonia, Tartu is the quintessential college town, and has been for centuries. From the picturesque old downtown up to the university and church ruins on the hill, and down to the beautiful river and pedestrian bridge, its charm is everywhere.

I love all the Baltics, and have spent quite a lot of time in each country. We’ve visited Vilnius many times, and have had extended stays in Kaunas three different times.
Kaunas is the ‘other capital’ of the country, filling in when Vilnius was occupied, and has an interesting old center. I am especially fond of the Folk Music Museum downtown, and of the area around the castle.
Outside the city is the Open Air Ethnographic Museum, spread over a large hilly wooded area, with typical traditional buildings from around the nation.
Another favorite spot is Druskininkai, an old spa town offering ‘the cure’ for arthritics, post-surgery, and other ailments. It’s a quiet, lovely village down in the south, not far from the Belarus border.

I had the good fortune to live in Riga for a year awhile back, and to return there for long visits for several years. Now I wish I could go back again!
In the past 15 years, since the fall of the USSR, Riga especially, and Latvia, too, have changed so much, trying to catch up with the rest of the West, but what I love there is the tradition.
June is the best time to visit, although it can be rainy or cool, because of the fabulous craft festival held at the Ethnographic Park at the edge of the city each first weekend of June. Hundreds of artisans sell their beautiful baskets, linen wares, amber and silver jewelry, woven shawls and rugs, items of wood, iron, silk, leather, glass and ceramics, all for bargain prices.Later in the month comes the celebration of Ligo, the ancient midsummer’s eve traditional fete. In the countryside, people weave flower wreaths, sing, drink beer, dance around bonfires, and eat special foods, all night until the first rays of dawn, around three a.m.

I stayed at the Hotel Pacifik, where they have a complete health spa. We did water exercise, took mineral baths, had massages and other special treatments for arthritis, post-orthopedic-surgery and bursitis.
I had some electro-magnetic treatments for a shoulder that had hurt for several years. I hadn’t been able to raise my arm! After two weeks of these treatments and subcutaneous gas injections five months ago, my shoulder feels fine!
We also loved sipping the spring waters, and bought special little souvenir sipping cups at the beautiful springs pavilion.