Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Middle of Nowhere, Estonia

It's the day before my brother's birthday. It's (when I started to write) 16.00, I've just finished eating dinner and I'm exhausted. I was shoveling snow even before breakfast and of course I continued after. My back is aching. This is my first job involving manual labor... and I love it! Specially because I'm in the country side. I'm living in the small village of Pudisoo, some 50 km east of Tallinn within Lahemaa National Park limits. 30 min walk and I can witness an imposing frozen Baltic Sea. Air can't get any more fresh. The only times I've seen so many stars in the sky had been when I was in a secluded beach in Guatemala or Nicaragua or Ecuador or Colombia or when I was sailing to Colombia.

How the hell did I end up here? To answer that I have to go back to the summer of 2010. 

Imagine this scenario: second time hitchhiking alone in Europe. The distance wasn't that great, it was just over 300km but involved crossing the Baltic Sea and having someone to take on board the ferry, for free. Long story short: I spent 5 hours looking for a ride when shortly after 21.00 someone picked me up. Not only that he gave me a ride, he fed me that evening (and following morning), let me sleep inside his VW bus and took me 60 kms to the next town so I could catch the train to KBN.

A year later he gave me a job while I was volunteering in a hostel in Tallinn.

Now, he's my boss again. His name is Rauno and I'm working in his guesthouse and soon I will move on board the SV Blue Sirius and share my life between the countryside and the life at sea.

Having grown up in a city, moving to the countryside was something exciting! I have never lived in a place with so many trees before and with air this fresh! A frozen Baltic Sea is only a 30min walk away. By the way, I'm really glad I didn't go to Pirita before. The frozen beach I had the opportunity to see was completely deserted. Walking on a frozen sea was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I've walked on frozen lakes or rivers but not a sea. Now I would like to walk on a frozen ocean!

Even though life here is good there are some things that (for me) are not: there are no pubs!  I can't have a beer, no well, actually I had a few beers so far. Four in week's time. I don't have anyone to get drunk with. But on the other hand, that's good, is it? The closest shop is 6kms away. I've heard about the existence of neighbours but I actually haven't seen them :-) Today when I was shoveling snow and moving some pieces of wood, the only living being around me was Lady the dog! I. Love. It!

Soon I'll move back to Tallinn and start moving back and forth sharing my time between two opposite places. Let's see what happens...

By the way, it's 20.10 when I finishing writing this post. And I'm publishing it the following day, on my brother's birthday.