We are still in Latvia, outside Liezere, with Aris and Ija. A new routine has settled: hearty breakfast together (not too early), work outside, a late lunch (often something cooked), some time for ourselves, dinner a little late and relax. For work we have done a lot of mulching, weeding and grass cutting. But we have also been digging a utilities trench, sanding beams for their house-in-construction, helped with re-wiring the house battery bank, sorted teas from wild plants, and more I can't think of right now. Aside from that Federica and me do our part in the meal preparations.

Since the first couple of the days the weather hasn't been great, with at least short bouts of rain pretty much every day. The nights are also starting to become properly cold. This dampens our excitement a lot for outings in our free time, though that's okay as we enjoy ourselves with reading and spending some time on our laptops. Federica has started to look for jobs for after this trip in earnest. We do get a bit of running in, or just walks around the homestead. This Sunday we had an oddly summer-like day again and we biked to Cesvaine together, a nearby town about an hour away that's kind of cute, with a big castle to see. It was also a great chance to see some more of the surroundings.

Aris and Ija also treated us to a campfire night behind the house, with their favorite snacks and proper beer tasting of the local beers. The night sky here is unbelievable (when not cloudy), I don't think I have ever seen so many stars.

Coming Saturday our three weeks will be up and it will be time to more on again! The plan: we quickly want to see some of Lithuania but then we drive on all the way to the south of Poland, hoping to catch some mountains again in the Tatras.