Rural Lifestyle

Program:

• Arrive at Bīriņi Castle and meet the guide. Tour of the yard and park. Highlights: climbing the estate’s water tower to the viewing platform; seeing the stables containing Latvian pedigree horses; stopping by the Lover’s Oak where, by tradition, wedding couples hang small bells; and swinging in the large Easter swings (1 hour).
• Lunch at the manor’s restaurant. Traditional cuisine is on ofer including: tasting platters, lamb soup with green buckwheat and layered dark bread cake. Tasting of herbal teas using locally gathered ingredients. Lunch duration approx. 1 hour.
• Transfer to the cranberry plantation (approx. 5 km/10 min.)
• Guided tour of the cranberry plantation and Laugas bog lake. Tasting of cranberry products from the plantation’s own production facility. The products are also for sale on site. Duration of visit 1.5 hours.
•  Return to Bīriņi Castle or depart depending on itinerary.

Apskatei pieejams salons ar seniem un mūsdienīgiem amatnieku darinājumiem, melnā pirts. Vēsturiska informācijas telpa par tuvāko un tālāko apkārtni.

Karlamuiza is a cozy hotel located near Cēsis town in the Amata River valley. The guest house is located nearby a landscape park and a nature trail by the Amata River.  

Mushrooming is a national passion in Latvia. Trying out a mushrooming experience is part of getting to know the local way of life and doing things the way locals do them. The forest terrain in the selected mushrooming spots is easy to walk, covered with moss, fallen leaves and small plants. Occasionally there are bushes, some fallen trees or wet spots. Gauja National Park, established in 1973, was Latvia’s first national park, and it has great traditions in environmental tourism. 

The most popular edible mushrooms are the various Boletus and Chanterelles. The selected species for foraging are chanterelles, russulas and various boletus: Chestnut Bolete (Gyroporus castaneus), Lurid Bolete (Boletus luridus), Sheep Polypore edible tree-fungus (popular in Scandinavian cooking) (Albatrellus ovinus), Golden Coral (Ramaria aurea), Coral Tooth (Hericium coralloides), Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera), Ceramic Parchment (Xylobolus frustulatus) and WoodRotting Fungus (Phellinus nigrolimitatus). 

N.B. For comfort and safety it is recommended that participants wear outdoor clothing and footwear.

PROGRAMME:

• The ride from Riga to Kārļamuiža country hotel in Gauja National Park takes approx. 1 hour 30 min.
• Arrive at Kārļamuiža Country Hotel. Meet the fungi guide (English speaking, professional nature guide, owner of two dogs that are trained for fungi hunting), briefing and preparation for mushroom picking. Lunch boxes and mushrooming equipment  - baskets, knives and raincoats will be provided for each person.
• Drive to the mushroom picking site (approx. 15 min.).
• Picnic lunch in an open-air picnic spot in the forest by the River Gauja (approx. 30 min.).
• Guided mushroom picking (approx. 1 hour) in the forest.
• Return to the hotel (approx. 30 min.).
• Sorting the mushrooms together with the fungi guide to identify the species found.
• Cooking dinner with the chef at Kārļamuiža Country Hotel (approx. 2 hours). Cooking is done in front of the group as a demonstration with an explanation of the recipe. Also other dishes are available for dinner apart from the mushrooms.

Valmiermuiža is on the northern border of the city of Valmiera.  Aristocratic estates were established there during the 15th and 16th centuries, and all of them had breweries and saloons.  Valmiermuiža had a Castle Saloon where beer was brewed and sold.  Latvians were allowed to brew beer for home consumption, and that kept traditional brewing techniques alive in Latvia.

Valmiermuiža continues to brew live and natural beer to continue the old traditions of the estate and to honour the ancient history of beer brewing in Latvia.  Visitors can examine a series of brewery tools which supplement the stories, allowing people to compare brewing techniques from the past and the present.  The visit would be unimaginable without a fancy and informational tasting of beer.

Owner Aigars Ruņģis was born and raised in Valmiera, and he has deep roots in the region.  That was one reason why he decided to open up a brewery at Valmiermuiža, which has a powerful and ancient history and a successful spirit of entrepreneurship.  Since 2009, the staff at the brewery has expanded substantially.  Each day, employees produce beer and other refreshments.  They greet every guest who turns up at the Valmiermuiža beer kitchen or retail facility with true sincerity and hospitality.  The staff are also happy to talk about beer and to offer tastings.

PROGRAMME:

• Arrival to meet one of the hospitable story tellers at Valmiermuiža;
• A story of the history and rebirth of the estate;
• Information about the components of beer in an ancient granary, discovering similarities and differences in preparing and using them today and in the past;
• The first tastes of beer and information about how to enjoy it;
• An examination of ancient brewing tools and of their use so as to learn more about modern brewing processes; a chance to use a hand-operate mill to crumble malt grains;
• Further tastings with stories about the world of beer and the discovery of new flavours.

“Agave” is located in the countryside and there are forests and Ligatne river nearby. The place is perfect for listening to birds’ songs and watching wild animals in the early mornings or late evenings.

In the guest house “Agave” there is a garden surrounded by spruce trees, special for Latvians - the Garden of the Balti Signs, where you can find and feel your magic sign and take your time for meditation. The signs are based on ancient Latvian writings. The ancient Balti signs are able to influence the tangible, intangible and spiritual side of our lives, bringing wealth, happiness, luck, strength, fertility and health. Each character has its own meaning and the effect of the sign can only be related to thought, subconscious and nature.

In the guest house there is also sauna for everyone to enjoy. After sauna it is possible to have a swim in the pond or hot tub.

Here everyone can stay overnight in authentic horse stable stalls, enjoying the smell of the flowers and grass of the countryside. In Latvia until the end of the 20th century, during the summer months rural residents slept outside the house – in barns and hay sheds.

If you prefer comfortable rooms, you will be able to stay in the guest house.

The hosts Sarmīte and Jānis Šteini enjoy living in countryside and they have lived in Līgatne for more than 10 years.

Sarmīte is very interested in folklore and is an expert in ancient signs and the meanings of them. Jānis loves to take care of the environment and buildings. They both understand the importance of fresh air and country living. During holidays they take care of their grandchildren.

Sarmīte is an expert of soup making on fire. She uses products from local farms and her own garden (onions, potatoes, beetroot, meat, herbs etc). 

PROGRAMME:

Day 1

• Arrival in “Agave” guest house and meet the hosts.
• Introduction of the house and stable.
• Visiting Vienkoči park and making your own natural jewelry (from materials as the wood, chestnuts, seeds of different fruits and berries, shells)
• Returning to accommodation
• Workshop with participation – Latvian soup making from local vegetables and meat.  
• Latvian Sauna ritual with sauna expert and birch, oak or linden sauna brooms

Day 2

Breakfast

• Guided tour around Balts or Baltic people sign path
• Free time or Hiking tour in Līgatne forest (~2,5 h/ 4 km)
• Ligatne local wine tasting with cheese and meat board (snacks).

The village of Kaltene stretches more than seven kilometres along the western shore of the Bay of Rīga. 

The Rožkalni family are local residents who built the Cīrulīši farm on land that they inherited from their grandfather.  Eventually they opened a winery.  Wine tasters began to visit, which meant that there was also a need for delicious food.  Owner Gunta is a food technologist who specialises in the manufacturing of unsterilized canned fish.  She also produces fish products that are popular and known under the brand name of "Home Goodies from Cīrulīši."  These products are available at local stores.  Cīrulīši offers various fish snacks, homemade wines and cider from berries, fruits and flowers from the farm's gardens.  The company also offers conserved foods, jams, sauces, Balsamic vinegar and syrups from ingredients harvested in its own garden. 

Visitors can taste wine, cider, sangria, mulled wine and fish products.  They can help to prepare ancient Kaltene fishermen's food.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Meeting owner Gunta and learning about the Cīrulīši farm;
• Tasting wine and fish products;
• Preparing Kaltene fishermen's food in the garden and on a campfire, with a choice between milk-sautéed Baltic herring or a warm porridge;
• Learning how to eat or conserve the seasonal vegetables, fruits or berries from the garden.

The opening of the folk tradition season in lively Alsunga!  Stay at the centre of the administrative district of the noble suiti people, with glamping available at Eglenieki.  Spend the night in a tent that is out in nature and just 15 km from the sea.  The location is sufficiently remote to enjoy the presence of the environment.  The glamping offers what’s necessary to spend the night so close to nature.  A coffee machine, a grill, kitchen appliances and, particularly, a comfortable bed for two … just like at home!

Guests at Eglenieki are welcome to visit the owner’s teahouse, Sapņotava, where the ceremonies of Latvian tea drinking can be enjoyed.  You’ll learn about the medicinal characteristics of teas and make friends with the local community of friends.

Order breakfast and dinner, and you’ll be able to rid yourself from the hurries of your everyday life.

The Mauriņi guesthouse is seven kilometres from Sigulda and in the middle of the forest.  The farm has a large oak, a pond for swimming, and a park that covers nine hectares.  The guesthouse has a warm pool, a sauna, a tub and a sauna barrel outdoors.  All around the guesthouse are ancient and typical Latvian flowers, including tiger lilies, phlox, peonies, dahlias, etc. 

Owners Andris and Māra Zemdega built the guesthouse themselves and have managed it for more than 15 years.  Māra bakes yeast breads, including rye wholemeal bread, rye bread with dried meat and onions, scalded rye bread, seed bread and yeast white bread. 

Visitors will learn how to bake bread and will receive yeast and a recipe to bake bread at home.  While waiting for the dough to rise, Māra will offer various activities such as gathering wild herbs for tea, cooking jam and baking pierogi.  An alternative programme involves the ability of guests to spend the night at the guesthouse when it takes longer for the dough to rise.  Visitors will have access to a sauna and a pool.

THE PROGRAMME:

A master class in baking bread:

• Preparing mash with yeast and then taking the necessary amount to mix it with flour and water;
• Preparation of the dough by adding flour, water and other ingredients for the specific types of bread;
• Activities while the dough is rising -- gathering ingredients for herbal teas, cooking jam, baking pierogi or just relaxing at the farm;
• Shaping and baking loaves;
• Presentation of a loaf to each participant, along with yeast and a recipe to bake bread at home.

The farmstead is located in the Abava Ancient River valley. Visitors can experience true Latvian farm life here.  In the farm there are goats, sheep, horses, geese, chickens, rabbits and other animals. The restoration of the farmstead began in 1991 and at that time there were collapsed barn walls and an overgrown apple orchard. The Ezeriņi family started renovating this farm in order to fulfil their eldest daughter Signe's dream of living in the countryside and owning her own horse.  

Signe now shares the fulfilment of her dream with the arriving guests, allowing to get to know and live a real country life, participate in pet care and enjoy rural romance, baking pancakes, whipping butter in a rural kitchen, taking sauna and riding a horse.

In a 2 hour farm tour visitors will learn about milking cows and producing meat, examine a collection of antique tools and will be treated to home-made delicacies. Also an overnight stay is possible to enjoy more of a country life, take a sauna with birch and juniper switches and swim in the local pond.

PROGRAMME:

• A tour of the farm, introducing the way of life in the countryside.
• A refreshment break drinking herbal tea with honey and trying carrot buns and other traditional pastries.

The watermill of the Krape Estate is found on the Lobe River in the Ogre Administrative District.  Owners offer tours of the mill so that you can learn how the old mill operates.  You can stroll along the banks of the river or learn about plants in the meadow.  There are places for tenting, but the main operation here is the production of elixirs from meadow plants, production of soy wax candles, production of etheric oils and hydrolats, a well as growing trout and African catfish that can be viewed during the season.  A new thing is SPA services with floating, a halotherapy salt beach and an aromatherapy steam system.

Floating is a unique way to boost your health.  You’ll be dipped into a warm magnesium salt solution, which will allow your body to relax completely in physical, emotional and intellectual terms.  The solution (MgSO4) is very concentrated, and it has a temperature of +37C, which is body temperature.  That’s what makes the procedure so relaxing.  Your body will not sink because of the concentration of salt, and you will float above it like bobber.  You will relax all of your tendons and possibly compressed nerves.  Your limbs will “oil up.”  Your body will receive a very necessary dose of magnesium through your skin.

You can also take part in baking KrapesKrepes crepes – home baked crepes made of milk from one neighbouring homestead and eggs from another neighbouring homestead.  You can also prepare a meal on a Himalayan salt board
 

The “Lamb Club” is a farm in Mazsalaca, and it is special because the sheep live in a real club!  The owners offer the atmosphere of a farm at which the sheep play major roles.  Enjoy mutton and sheep milk foods and beverages, feel how comfortable it is to read your favourite while sitting on a fluffy sheepskin, and, in order not to get cold by the campfire in the evening, you can purchase warm woollen socks and woven woollen cloaks.

The owners hope that people from Latvia and all around the world will spend more time at the farm, because accommodations involve a new glamping tent that is as close as possible to nature and the healthy rural environment.  Don’t lose a lick of the comfort that you are used to in your everyday life!

The owners, Ilze and Valters, will be happy to give you a tour during which they talk about herding sheep.  If you contact them in advance, they will prepare a tasty mutton meal for you.  The tour can also be supplemented with various activities such as games, quizzes and creative workshops at which sheep wool is utilised.
 

The owners of "Indrāni" are farmers and inhabitants of Skujene parish in countless generations. This is evidenced by the oldest church register books. Now the "young", Margēviči family, livea and work here. The current owners of "Indrāni" have been operating in Indrāni since 1988. The landlord's parents exchanged the overgrown patches of land with the ruins of old buildings for a "Līvāni" type house. There came better and worse times, joys and sorrows. But the main thing is and remains - work, land, family. The owners are proud that everything they offer to their customers is made on the farm. From the seeds in the bed to the full baskets in the cellar, from the berries in the bog to the jar. Recipes made in Indrani are not found elsewhere in the world - red clover marmalade, linden candies in chocolate, heather syrup, chamomile kvass and more, and more. "Indrāni" is organic farm. For many people a year is white at both ends and green in the middle, but in  Indrāni it is green throughout. And year after year!

Liene and Aleksandrs Margeviči, Ilva Margeviča and Jānis Jasulis. The Margeviči family is not entrepreneurs or businessmen, they are simply the owners of their land. Aleksandrs is a forester by profession, but the new generation is a professional chef. All other work is done with a body of knowledge that has been inherited and accumulated from experience over the years.

PROGRAMME: 

• Arrival at the farm “Indrāni”, getting acquainted with the owners.
• Insight into the confectionery workshop and getting acquainted with how Indrāni delicacies are made.
• Walk on nature trails.
• Making your own necklace from self-found pebble (approx. 30 min)
• Tasting of local delicacies:

1. Marmalades;
2. Jams;
3. Herbal teas;
4. Candied fruit;
5. Bread;
6. Canned food.

This is a tourism and goat farm on the banks of the Bay of Rīga in Kurzeme.  The farm is located between the sea and the forest, 300 metres from a rocky seashore. 

The owners have purebred goats of a type that originated in Argentina.  These are beautiful goats.  Guests have started to call the place "seashore goats," because the sounds of the sea can be heard.  Accommodations are available to all visitors. 

Ruta and Jānis' ancestors owned Raudiņas, where she takes care of beauty and good feelings by tending to flowerbeds, orchards and the rural landscape, while he runs the farm.  Monna, in turn, is excellent at greeting guests.  She knows everything about the farm and is always prepared to help. 

During visits, depending on the weather, guests can look at the goats and feed them.  The lady of the homestead will help guests to tie brooms of branches, gather together piles of hay, and weave edible crowns of flowers and leaves.  More creative visitors can draw pictures with a goat's foot, dance the "Ram" folk dance, or play a unique instrument that is made of the nails of goats.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at "Raudiņas" to meet Ruta or Monna;
• A stroll to get to know the "seashore goats";
• Gathering of materials for edible flower crowns and branch brooms in the surrounding area, and then preparation of those items;
• Gather hay into bales;
• Creative activities, including drawing and games.

The farm is surrounded by biologically valuable grassland meadows and forest, and has its own forest lake. The nearest neighbours are 2 km away. This is one of the first businesses in Latvia where, after the restoration of independence, tea production began using Latvian wild and garden plants. For more than 20 years now, the brand "Lauku tējas" (country teas) has been available on store shelves.

Evita and Martins Lukini has overtaken family business and continue herbal tea production as well as sustainable forestry and create events to reconnect people with nature to awaken their mindfulness. The main business activity is still production of ecological teas continuing the usage of ancestral knowledge, collecting teas and preparing them according to ancient methods, using fermentation - suturing.

Guests will get acquainted with plants and tea making by participating in the Mandala tea workshop and creating one’s own tea to take along. Participation in herbal meditation will enable each person to choose the most suitable and necessary herbs for her or him to be used for making the tea. 
By prior arrangement a rural life experience can be arranged with guest participation in some seasonal tea production work such as planting, harvesting, sorting, preparing for drying, fermentation, packing.

PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at the farm, meeting with hostess Evita. 
• Walk around the farm, get acquainted with the plants and gather them to make your own tea. The unique opportunity of summer is to make fresh tea from picked plants during the walk.
• Tea workshop:
• Meditation, during which participants stand or sit with one’s eyes closed and breathe deeply and calmly, allowing all the attention to descend into the body to allow the intention to come - what do you need tea for now: peace, energy, specific health problem?
• Choice of plants from the 12 plants offered: seeing, smelling and feeling with the whole body and your essence, choose 3-5 plants that support your intention.
• Making a tea mandala - form a circle from the selected plants, thus obtaining the proportions of your tea mixture. The mandala is an ancient form of healing, the circle as a symbol of the universe.
• Preparation of the ready tea mixture to take away – put the tea mixture into the bag, write the name and composition of the mixture.

The 10-hectare territory next to the Slate Forest is in a quiet place and 50 km away from the nearest cities.  The forest is a unique complex of archaeology, culture and history.  This is the site of the only known early or middle Iron Age graveyard on white hillocks (3rd to 7th century).  There is also a graveyard known as Corpse Hill.  Surrounding these are flatlands with forests and fields.  The Eglaine River and the Tīreļi Swamp, which is full of berries, are nearby. 

Lelde and Mārtiņš Uzkurs are a young couple which has lived at Kalnaleiskini since 2019.  Mārtiņš' family has lived in Sēlija for several generations, while Lelde moved there five years ago from Jūrmala.  The couple own a carpentry shop where the husband is the carpenter and the wife is the designer.  Lelde is a member of the Latvian Association of Ornithologists, and she is an experienced tour guide who has been excited about birdwatching for the past seven years.  Lelde particularly likes to count up owls. 

During your visit, you can build a feeder or birdhouse for the birds.  You can be sure that it will satisfy all carpentry standards.  The birds will like them.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at Kalnaleiskini and meeting Lelde as the guide;
• A short (3 km) hike to the Slate Forest to watch birds, listen to their song, and learn about various types of birds;
• After the hike, there is a workshop to build feeders or birdhouses, with participants preparing materials on the basis of samples (measuring and sawing boards) so as to build a feeder or birdhouse which the person may take home.

The story of Oleri Estate began in 1988, when the poet Imants Ziedonis called on the government to save unmanaged and collapsing estates.  Students from the wood sculpture department of the Rīga Applied Art High School responded to the call.  After research, work began on restoration and reconstruction, focusing particular attention on authenticity.  The estate was built in the style of Early Classicism in the late 18th century.  It is surrounded by a landscape garden that was established while maintaining mid-19th century Romanticism traditions, with the selection of fashionable plants that were appropriate for the era and serious planning principles.  The kitchen garden with colourful and high flowerbeds have inspired many visitors to the garden. 

The Zemītis family have managed the Oleri Estate for more than 30 years, organising concerts of chamber music and events involving stories about the garden. 

Visitors can learn about present-day life in an historical rural estate and have tours related to the restoration of the estate's buildings, as well as the tending of the historical garden.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Learning about the restoration of the mansion of the Oleri Estate;
• Learning about the principles of landscape gardens and the historical trips and stories of plants;
• Learning about the historical Oleri Estate landscape garden;
• A meal on the terrace of the estate.

This farm is at the edge of Balvi between the urban and natural environment. 

Owner Arnita is a professional sauna manager and home producer.  Her Arnita's Workshop of Good Feelings includes homemade bread and other goodies, sauna rituals and the use of wild plants for health and good feelings.  Arnita prepares plant teas and syrups, body scrubs and masks. 

Guests will accompany the lady of the house in a tour around the farm to gather wild plants.  Then she will teach each guest how to prepare a sauna switch and a body scrub.

THE PROGRAMME:

• An introduction to Arnita and her workshop;
• A tour of the farm to gather plants to make a sauna switch and a body scrub;
• Preparation of the switch and scrub while enjoying the aroma of the plants;
• A cup of tea and homemade bread and fruit syrups.

The village of Kaldabruņa in Sēlija has a wealth of ancient traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation and preserved in oral history and work.  The Meadow Museum is a place where the traditions are accumulated, and people who know about them gather there.  The museum was established at a 100-year-old building that used to house a preschool.  It was set up by the "Water Signs" organisation. 

Ieva Jātniece was one of the funders of the Meadow Museum and is a story-teller who also runs a glass processing workshop where she transforms windowpanes into jewellery with elegant impressions of meadow plants.  Ingrīda speaks with a sonorous Selonian dialect which differs a bit from classical Latvian.  Andra, in turn, will take you to the garden of medicinal plants, where you will be able to choose plants for herbal tea.  She will prepare a tasty meal from things that are available at Kaldabruņa and offer a tour of a wood processing workshop where Andra operates a laser cutting system to prepare designs for original souvenirs. 

Visit Kaldabruņa to get a true sense of the diversity of a rural lifestyle.  This is an environment in which ancient traditions organically live together with modern technologies.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at the Meadow Museum to meet the hosts and take a tour of the museum's exhibition;
• Demonstration of the "Midnight Meadow" multimedia projection;
• A stroll through the garden of medicinal plants to learn how to brew tea from various plants; during the spring and summer, guests are invited to prepare mixtures of teas from dried plants;
• A visit to the specialised wood processing workshop where a demonstration of laser engraving will be available along with a story about how the relevant souvenirs are designed;
• A visit to the glass workshop and jewellery salon, where Ingrīda will talk all about the route to the glass meadows; you will be able to examine the way in which the jewellery and interior design objects are manufactured and purchase some to take home with you if you wish to do so;
• A creative workshop where each guest is invited to produce his or her own piece of glass jewellery;
• A meal with conversation served outside or indoors by the fireplace, depending on the season.

Valmiermuiža is on the northern border of Valmiera.  The stable and riding school were established during the first half of the 19th century in three buildings that are joined together by a yard with paving stones and are surrounded by a stone and mortar fence with a gate.

The Jurašs family currently manages this location, hoping to preserve the very best traditions in Latvian horse breeding.  The owner has been part of the Latvian horseback riding team, and he and his daughter, Viktorija, have won many prizes at riding championships in Latvia.  The family directs the Valmiermuiža Riding School, with some 50 students aged from 4 to 84 who wish to learn how to ride a horse.  There are also creative camps for children which feature a great many practical skills.  Many kids have never pushed a wheelbarrow, raked hay or fed and tended to animals that are as large as a horse.

Staff at the stable welcome adults and children as guests.  They offer an educational tour about tending to horses, breeding horses and types of horses.  Visitors can help with work at the stable and view an exhibition of items related to the work at the stable and look at an exhibition of horse breeding equipment.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Meeting the owners of the Valmiermuiža stable or one of their trustworthy assistants;
• Learning about the history of the stable;
• An educational tour of the stable to learn about horse breeding, various types of horses and their historical role in the lives of Latvians; should anyone wish to, they can clean the horses and feed carrots to them;
• A chance to look at and handle various tools related to horse breeding;
• It is possible to climb onto the back of a horse if that is arranged in advance.

Vilkapurvi is on the edge of a swamp, and the air is shaped by peat moss which is filtered into a bitterly pure aroma.  There is a bit of primacy in the landscape and the mood of the homestead.  Black alders with strands of hops weaving around them.  A forest anthill near the sauna, green frogs that are tended to by a stork, and an owl which hoots from a tall fir tree. 

Ligita Elksnīte, mother to eight children, has managed Vilkapurvi for the past five years.  The homestead has a sauna, a portable sauna, and a water barrel to keep outdoors.  Elksnīte produces medicinal plant syrups, herbal teas, sauna scrubs, massage oils and infusions.  Wild and garden plants are used to produce salads and green cocktails.  Visitors can purchase products, and the lady of the homestead is a certified sauna master. 

Guests can learn all about herbal plants, prepare massage oil or a plant infusion, and taste the products of the homestead.  The programme can be supplemented with a sauna, where guests will learn about sauna rituals, preparing sauna switches and scrubs, and then taking a sauna under the leadership of the specialist.

THE PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at Vilkapurvi;
• A stroll through the meadow or forest to learn about medicinal plants and how they are harvested;
• A master class on infusions or massage oils, with each guest taking the product that he or she has produced along when departing;
• Tasting of medicinal plant syrups;
• Tasting of grass and weed salads or green cocktails.

The "Sēlija Boats" organisation is located at the "Skārdupītes" homestead, which is some 5 km from Aknīste and on the side of the P73 Vecumnieki-Nereta-Subate road.  The area is being developed for active tourism, hoping that visitors will be able to stroll around the nearby forests and wetland meadows, learn all about the history of boating, rent boats and bicycles, stay at well-appointed tent locations, and cook a tasty meal on a campfire after an intensive hike.

In 2018, Ričards and Santa Šmits moved from the capital city to Aknīste, where Santa was born and raised.  The couple are local patriots and fans of active leisure who want to have an active lifestyle in the countryside and to enthuse others.  They use the "Sēlija Boats" organisation to ensure this step by step.  The local community has organised events to clean up the environment, to set up an appropriate infrastructure for boating, to organise widely attended educational hikes, and to attract financing to facilitate local patriotism in Sēlija.

PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at "Skārdupītes";
• A tour of the farm with tales of how the culture of boating developed, a presentation of types of boats, and a discussion of how they differ and what their origins are; there are also stories about the cultural history of the location and its environment (up to 1 hour);
• Boating down the Dienvidsusēja River in a kayak, canoe or bowl-shaped boat;
• Instructions on boating and safety (up to 20 minutes);
• Boating down the Dienvidsusēja River between Skārdupīte and Kazukrogs (~ 1 h), with a chance to extend the trip to Elkšņi (~3 h, with a chance to taste the famous Alīda coffee if visitors have registered in advance);
• Gathering of herbs for tea in wetland meadows or the river (aromatic and tasty river mint), with instructions from the owners about which herbs are appropriate (up to 30 minutes);
• Transportation to the embarkment point from Kazukrogs un Elkšņi.