May 10th, 2016
 
Snakes!

Latest distance walked on my world walk: 2,141km in 62 road days. Current location: Rundeni, Latvia.

Yesterday a tough 44km were walked on hot Latvian roads towards Russia. Traffic was light and there is a decent gravel shoulder along the road. I finished after dark when I spotted a short trail leading to a good camping place behind a large cluster of small trees with good cover. It took me just five minutes to pitch my pop-up tent, secure Karma for the night, and lay my sleeping bag out. Sunrise was at 4am and peering out of the tent I noticed a farmhouse I hadn't spotted in the dark! I went back to sleep for a few more hours and managed to leave without any bother. 

After a prolonged breakfast in Ezernieki I walked along some more quiet gravel roads and some times trails to reach Rundeni for a late afternoon lunch under a shady bus shelter. On the way within a couple of kilometres I passed four snakes of which three were flattened. I suspected one was asleep, see the first photo. A few days ago in Lithuania I got the fright I my life when right in front of me in the shoulder I was walking in was another snake, glistening in the sun! Yes it seemed real, I could clearly make out it's head, it was about a cm wide and sixty long. After taking a picture on zoom (see second snake photo and compare with the first) I had to wait thirty seconds to for a break in the traffic so as to give it a wide berth! Upon my return to the shoulder I looked back and felt like a fool when I realised it was just a broken fan belt! Whatever way the strong sunshine caught it, to me it seemed like a snake! 

Anyway, time to pack up, I am about 27km from the Russian border near the Latvian town of Terehova, I will cross in the morning, Wednesday. From here it is 645 km to Moscow! 

Please remember my walk is about Cancer awareness.. Life is precious, early cancer screening saves lives. This is not a political walk! I look forward to meeting everyday Russians in their towns, cities and villages and spreading my message for the next five months as far as Khyagat, some 6,000 kilometres away!