This morning, we left our quiet beach-side haven and hit the road north towards Cape Kolka. We'd read that violent storms of "biblical proportions" in 2007 had uprooted numerous giant trees and sent them scattering like matchsticks along the beaches. When we mentioned our plan to one of the locals, they said we could see the opposing currents of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga crashing together at the site too. Sold!

On the way, we crossed several stretches of choppy gravel roads:

We (and everyone else) were kicking up enough dust to simulate blizzard-like whiteout conditions at times. Many of the roadside trees looked practically white! When we could see, oncoming cars were visible from some distance, thanks to the giant dirt clouds announcing their approach.

Visibility improved greatly when it started raining, and soon our car was plastered with a thick, chalky coating of filth. We actually welcomed this; the less inviting our LRC to would be thieves, the better!

While I navigated the rutty roads, we cranked the stereo, and Tara intently ate the hard-boiled egg which she'd swiped from our continental breakfast. This morning, I found one of the little spice shakers that Nadine gave us in Germany. Tara reports that her curry egg was delicious, and I report that it did wonders for her breath. Thanks Nadine!

We arrived at Cape Kolka with high hopes, excited to witness the raging waves colliding into one another, all set to the scene of a beach covered in once-prodigious trees, viscerally ripped from the ground by tempests and cast aside branch-first into the sands. From what we'd read, we were sure the root systems would be high in the skies, dangling and rotted, the causalities a tribute to mother nature's brutality.

Intense.

There was a cool signpost, though!

Tara tried to capture the driftwood in the light we'd imagined it, but it was tough going.

Then, we walked to the beach, searching for an epic marine battle, the bodies of two opposing systems smashing violently into one another. The resulted in both of us laughing as we squinted at the sea for a few minutes, saying, "Wait, there it … no.. there, wait, yes, yes, THERE. IT. IS!"

Feeling complete with Kolka, we headed back to the car. On the way we saw some ruined buildings, an old boat, and a guy photographing a woman in a flowy dress while she was striking all kinds of over-the-top scandalous poses in front of the listless waters. We didn't take any photos of the photoshoot.

Further into the countryside we went, past small seaside villages. Tara stopped to take these photos before continuing on to a campsite.

Oh, and we saw this snail hangin' out on a dumpster!