Team Basil’s day started badly, got worse, but ended on one of the highlights of the trip.

We had an appointment to keep. Basil was due for his service at 9am and the dealer was a 30 minute drive. Basil was packed and ready for the off by 8.20. All that was left to do was pay for our stay, but try as I might I couldn’t find the campsite owner. So failing all else I rang the campsite phone number and the owner answered. He said he would be at reception in 15 minutes. 25 minutes of pacing outside reception and he hadn’t arrived. Worse still he now wouldn’t answer the phone. Unfortunately neither Sarah nor I had the correct money, but I was getting so desperate that I was about to leave what money we had (10 euros less than the correct sum) when the owner sauntered up as if nothing was wrong. We paid up and were off, but very late.

Forty minutes later we arrived at the Hymer dealer in Klaipeda and the fact that it was on a small industrial estate with no motorhomes on display should have been a warning. I walked in with my Hymer and Fiat service books and was met by the very pleasant English speaking man I had spoken to on the phone. He immediately looked puzzled and asked why I had brought the Fiat book with me. I explained that Basil needed his annual service and he apologised and said there had been a misunderstanding. They could do the Hymer annual water ingress tests but they were not authorised to work on Fiats!! He helpfully pointed me to the Fiat dealer, which was only 400 metres away and said I should get them to do the Fiat service and they would do the Hymer inspection.

So I climbed back into Basil with a heavy heart and trundled round to the Fiat dealer, who was also the main BMW dealer, trying my hardest not to scrape any BMWs in the narrow confines of the dealer’s forecourt. To cut a long story short, the Fiat dealer said he could try to fit us in, but we would have to wait all day to see if a slot became available. The thought of spending the day on an industrial estate, 7 km from the centre of town, did not appeal and we said goodbye.

Basil then took us back to the Hymer dealer and while the water ingress tests (required to maintain the 6 year bodywork warranty) was carried out Sarah and I found a pleasant little park, complete with a frog filled pond to wile away the time. While I spent the time trying to find a Fiat dealer in Tallinn to do the service next week, Mabel passed the time frightening frogs! I found a nice Fiat dealer in Tallinn, who has ordered in the necessary filters etc. and providing they arrive in time Basil will finally go under the knife next Tuesday.

We eventually got underway just before lunch and headed north towards Latvia. There were still plenty of forests and the road was arrow straight and a dream to drive on. After lunch we arrived at our target for the day, the Hill of Crosses.

Hill of Crosses

This is exactly as described: a hill full of crucifixes. Nobody knows exactly when the tradition started but possibly after a failed uprising against the Russians in the 1830s. Lithuanians started put crosses on a small hillock just north of Siauliai, probably to commemorate those who died in the uprising. The tradition continued and began to combine Christian devotion with Lithuanian nationalism. The number of crosses grew during the Soviet occupation as an act of nationalism, devotion and defiance. The Soviets bulldozed the area twice and even thought about building a dam to flood the site. Now there are in the region of 100,000 crosses of all shapes and sizes. Some small and simple, others large elaborate sculptures.

Hill of Crosses

The crosses spread out from the hillock, which is only 20 metres or so high, to the surrounding land. On paper it may not sound very impressive, but seeing it is unbelievable. Both Sarah and I thought it was probably the most extraordinary site we have seen on our trip so far. I hope the photos do it some kind of justice.

Hill of Crosses

Hill of Crosses

We had planned to wildcamp in the car park for the Hill of Crosses but it was a bit bare and exposed and I was aware of another spot not far away. When Pope John Paul visited the Hill of Crosses he said there ought to be a place for prayer and contemplation and as a result the Franciscans have build a small monastery nearby. We are very grateful for this because we think it is in the monastery car park we are camped for the night (56.017821, 23.419590)! There are no signs but it is very close to the Hill of Crosses. It’s a lovely landscaped car park and out of Basil’s front window, not more than 50 metres away, we have a clear site of a stork nest, with two adults and three chicks. I will get a photo in the morning. The light’s wrong at the moment.

On the subject of birds, at our lunchtime stop next to a lake I took my birding lens to photograph what I think was a Pochard on the lake, but it was too far away. However as I was trying to get a shot a Bullfinch posed beautifully for me!

Mr. Bullfinch