July 28: Island Hopping, Estonia — Style
What a restful and relaxing day. Today’s ride took me from Parnu north to Virtsu, across the Suur Strait by ferry to the island of Muhu, by bridge over to the island of Saaremaa, and then south to the Sorve Lighthouse, where I was able to get a bird’s eye view of the Irbe Strait and a peak at Latvia.
One of the interesting things about Estonia is that since it’s a relatively small country you can see a lot of it in a short amount of time. Having already completed almost a full loop around the country but wanting to spend more time here, I decided to head over to two islands on its western side for a little more exploration.
I headed north and then west from Parnu on routes 60 and 10, enjoyed a nice lunch on the ferry, and then disembarked at Kuivastu. As I could see rather ominous storm clouds on the first island but blue sky ahead, I pushed forward to the island of Saaremaa.
The island itself was incredibly peaceful, with almost no traffic and lots of beautiful ocean and countryside views. I took little back roads along the northern edge, giving me a chance to see the blue waters and sandy beaches of the coastline as well as the bucolic farmlands and fields inland, stopping to take a photo of one farm with three windmills on it.
I noticed that the people of the island went out of their way to make everything picturesque and playful. Bus stops were painted nicely and sported hanging flowers, potted plants, and even in some cases mowed lawns. Businesses had hand painted signs out front with friendly sayings. One of them said “80% of arguments start because someone hasn’t eaten yet. Come inside, we can fix it.”
After spending some time at the beach near Panga I headed south to the Sorve Lighthouse at the very tip of the island. When I arrived, I had the feeling that time had stopped. The sun was out, the sky was blue, the weather was mild, and no one seemed to be in a hurry.
I walked over to the pier, enjoyed the ocean view, got a picture of the lighthouse, and decided to take the 242 steps to the top. It turns out all the stairs I have been climbing in my budget motels every night must have paid off as I was able to easily get to the top without stopping.
What a view! At 52 meters high, the lighthouse is the tallest on the Baltic Sea. I was able to see the sand spit gracefully arcing out into the water, the Irbe Strait, and what appeared to be Latvia on the horizon.
Wanting to extend my time in this little slice of paradise, I stopped for a cup of tea with steamed milk at a little café next to the lighthouse museum before heading into Kuressaare for the night.
