Back to the Mainland after a wonderful tour of Saaremaa organised by our Estonian relatives who we unfortunately missed at the cemetery (and Great Aunt Julies grave) due to a breakdown in communication. It would have been nice express our thanks in person, however as that didn’t work we will do it now, even though they will probably never read it. Thank you to our friendly, patient (very patient) and helpful Estonian hosts…we hope to return the favour soon.

Parnu is a unique Estonian city in as much as the founding fathers who named the city saw no need to double up on any letters, use silent j’s or use r’s pronounced as q’s or any other such tomfoolery.  The city is bisected by the Parnu River, and has stone jetties in the bay. Parnu is known for its 19th-century timber villas, sandy Parnu Beach and neoclassical spa buildings. In short Parnu is a resort town and very popular in the summer. Not as popular as Bog Diving, but popular none the less. Bog Diving I hear you say…..well OK then, Bog Diving (or swimming, dunking whatever), rates high on the Estonian list of summer  activities, briefly it involves finding a low lying piece of swampland which has over centuries developed a depression deep enough to throw oneself in and flail about for a period sufficient to elicit the desired result. Exactly what the desired result is I have no idea as we neglected to pack the required flailing equipment.

Due to a little confusion over dates we are now in Parnu for a extra day and have a choice of one of two possible activities tomorrow: The first involves a children’s park and birthday party related activities. The second involves, you guessed it, Bog Diving. So Bog Diving it is then.

In the betwixt time, photos

Garry surveys the Bog Lands for a possible Diving Hole from the viewing platform.

Bog Land.

Dragon Fly, no doubt flesh eating.

Potential Bog Diving site.

Some sort of bog plant. No doubt flesh eating.

Jen enroute to the bog

Church for praying at before visiting the Bog.

By the way here’s some trivia:

Estonian couples won the Wife Carrying World Championships for 11 consecutive years between 1998 and 2008.

52 per cent of Estonia is forest, and that figure is rising.

For every 100 women in Estonia there are only 82 men this is due in part to the fact that women live 10 years longer than men in Estonia. So no point rushing of to find a new girlfriend unless you’re trolling for pensioners.