2017-08-06 Kaali meteorite crater and Lemme telkimisala campsite – Leetse campsite
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Riksu ranniku hoiuala
I get up and peep through the blinds, a car is arriving towing a caravan! It is 0117, where has he been till this time? He drives round in a circle… twice and finally parks the car and caravan at the bottom of the site to us. I am sure our German neighbours two campers down are not happy either.
We wake at 6.15am, rather than going back to sleep, I get up and make coffee. We are first in the shower at 7.30am and as we eat breakfast at 8.00am, the others are getting up to use the shower and WC. Another warm and sunny day at the campsite at Lümanda, Saaemaa, Estonia, we clear up, fill with water, empty the toilet cassette and are on the road just after 8.30am.
We drive to east to Kaali meteor crater arriving about an hour later. Apart from two other people it is deserted. We buy a leaflet and read that the meteor collided with the earth in about 3,000 BC. The meteor shattered into about eight pieces making one very large crater and seven smaller ones. We walk to the big crater, it is impressive: a circular crater 110m in diameter filled with a small lake in the middle 20m deep. We walk to the top of the rim and try to imagine a rock of 20 tons colliding with the land. We walk down to the edge of the lake, it is a very atmospheric place.
Back on the road we continue across Saaremaa island to Kuivatsu ferry terminal. Here we book a crossing on standby, it costs €11.80 (€8.50 for the camper plus €1.50 each for us). The ferry arrives almost immediately but we do not expect to get on this one. As it happens we are last on, there is just room for us and one more car. We arrive at Virtsu at 1.00pm and drive south on E67 towards Parnü looking for a lunch stop. We do not find one until we reach Parnü at around 3.00pm.
After a good break for a late lunch and a couple of stops for diesel and some food supplies (minced beef, cheese, wine and raspberries) we are back on the road south towards Kabli (where there is a nature reserve), we finally find our campsite at Lemme Telkimisplats around 5.00pm. What a place! Lemme is; where the pine forest meets the Baltic sea. The pine trees (Pinus Sylvesteris) are still growing out of the sand on the beach and the rollers are are roaring onto the same beach from the Baltic sea.
It is stunning, rather like the forests in Canada with levelled off pitches each with a fire pit, BBQ and picnic table. We stop at the gate and Mr C. talks to the woman at Reception. She has no English and we have no Estonian! He collects his i-phone and uses Google Translate to ask if we can camp for the night? She nods. He asks how much it costs? She shows him €3.20 per vehicle. He asks to buy a ticket. She gives him one and takes his €3.20.
Two young men come along on bicycles and ask him in English what she said… they are from Cornwall and have cycled here via Turku (same route that we have driven)! He explains that it is €3.20 for a motor vehicle and as they have a bicycle each we assume they don’t have to pay. He asks them what ‘the woman’ said and they laugh… when she couldn’t understand them she just closed her window and went away! We conclude that was her way of saying ‘go away and camp’.
We walk round the large site, spending some time choosing a pitch, the levelness finally deciding our choice, many of the pitches are very uneven or on a slope. We are in the trees but over-looking the sea, the same roaring Baltic rollers crashing onto the sandy shore. What a place. I fry the mince we bought at Parnü and make chilli with a sauce from a jar, We sit overlooking the forest and trees and try yet another German Gewürztraminer, not quite as good as the last one. We finish off with raspberries and Greek yogurt.
No wonder we sleep well with the top window open and the sea and wind like a lullaby. In the night Mr C. says he is woken by a tremendous crashing noise… the wind blows a large pine cone off the tree above us and it hits the roof with a loud crack. I sleep though it all! One of the many memorable places we stayed in the Baltic States.
Kaali crater and Lemme telkimisala campsite photos
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Motorhome return tour from Turku in Finland to the UK via the Baltic States
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