Lithuania isn't renowned for it's high peaks (in fact the highest point measures a whopping 294m/965ft above sea level at Aukštojas Hill). Indeed you may be forgiven for your surprise at it's mention on a website that specialises in high mountains!
But this small Baltic nation has been my temporary home for the past 15+ weeks of lockdown. As the world slowly opens up, I'm still here and seriously missing the 'high' life of my home in Wales.
I was 38,000 feet above the ground, en route home from a snowboarding trip to Sochi. I was also blissfully unaware that borders around the World were closing faster than the cabin door of a late Ryanair flight.
Klaipeda became my base. It's a brilliant little cobbled Baltic port city, and also home to my wife's family.
My short one week stay continues into its fourth month, and my sanity has been preserved by an odd stroke of luck:
Two weeks earlier I'd shipped my Surly Puglsey fatbike out from Cardiff intending it to be something I used on future summer trips to the in-laws.
Getting out on the Pugs almost every day to explore the local Pajūrio regioninis parkas (Seaside Regional Park) never failed to provide an escape from the grim news and indoor confinement.
Lithuania's 163 miles of coastline never failed to throw up a suprise in the form of sandy beaches or green isloated forests.
As midsummer neared, lockdown restrictions finally began to ease. After a little bit of research, I soon found the largest 'climb' within the confines of my isolation radius.
Orlando kepurė (Dutchman's cap)
Now I've observed locals olympic dive off there bikes in disgust at the mere sight of a gradient, so I was excited to visit and make the eyewatering 24.4m/80ft ascent on my own.
Well.... here we are. This area encapsulates all I love about mountains.
Nothing but the sound of nature: birdsong competing with the sound of crashing waves. Unspoilt views to the horizon. A (mini) sense of accomplishment upon reaching the summit, and soaking in the view I worked hard to enjoy. Sometimes, the best things in life really are that simple.
If you have a spare 1 minute and 28 seconds, and would like to watch someone in trainers casually climb a 24 metre sandy hill on Lithuanias coastline, well, this is the video for you :)
I'm something of an introvert and seldom share things in the public domain.
Saying that, I believe that all stories can be intersting and people don't share them enough.
One thing I feel strongly about is the importance of getting out and exploring. To take a new path. Pick a random place on a map and go and investigate. Even if the destination isn't memorable, the route there never fails to throw up a surprise or two.
In the past weeks of lockdown life, I've had face to face encounters with a wild Moose family, almost been flattened by a jumping deer, helped a stranger build a swing in the trees (2 metres apart of course), and had countless conversations with strangers (usually sparked by the size of my wheels) and carried a grandmothers mushrooms...
I guess the old saying rings true "It's not about the destination, but it really is about the journey there."
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