ABOUT A JOURNEY

MAY 31

For the tenth year already I started off on May 31st to congratulate Taavi, my good friend living in Tartu, on his 25th birthday. The first ride took me to a place called Anna about 70 km from Tallinn. The driver was sleepy and enquired me to speak. I asked questions instead. In Anna, after five minutes of hitchhiking, I stopped the second car. A young lad from Tõrva (to my shame I had no idea, where Tõrva was) took me to my first destination.

Tartu greeted me with a fairly warm summer night. Taavi was not home. I sat on the backpack right outside his front door studying the map of Estonia when he arrived.
"My world just collapsed", said Taavi when he saw me, "I hoped you'd be Silvia". Taavi is always honest. I for myself treasure that, no matter what my ego thinks. Taavi took me for a long walk (to buy toilet paper) and the night proceeded with the usual deep conversations in the evening mist by the side of the river Emajõgi. Taavi and I have known one another for just about ten years and in this time despite all the changes we've undertaken in ourselves and our surroundings, along with the people, we have not grown apart. If "for everything there is an appointed time", how Solomon once wrote, then with Taavi this time seems to have a non-continuous flow. This given time starts its count-down only where our roads cross and then stops as we take our paths, until the day that we meet once again. Perhaps that is why the years have not worn out our friendship.

Now to the things of more earthly content: I received Taavi's old cell-phone, to accompany me till the day I leave. All as always is in balance: in return I forgot my journey-food and a metal plate at his place.

JUNE 1

In this horrid rainy morning I had to acknowledge that I hadn't taken socks along - toes in the sandals were soon unpleasantly wet and cold. What you need is given. I met Ave. Ave, once my travel companion to Tunisia, had this time experienced a working holiday in Australia. After sharing one flower-market visit, a breakfast and latest travelogues, Ave gave me her Australian pair of grey socks and drove me to a hitchhiking spot to go to Võru.

For the past eight months my Brother had been serving time in the Kuperjanov Battalion in Estonian Military. June 1st was the day where he was to be set free. With just one ride I arrived from Tartu to Võru, declining a trip to the Battalion that the Russian-speaking fisherman kindly offered. Brother informed me of plenty of time that I would have before meeting him. It was not raining any more, but there was also nothing pleasant in the cold cloudy weather. I went to the nearest gas station to figure out my route. Asking for directions didn't work - the sales lady immediately arranged a ride for me with a local army officer. This tall and heavy man spoke proudly of his great-grandfather having had worked in the Tsarist army for 25 years, his father who had been in Vietnam and himself. The story was cut short as we arrived to Kuperjanov two hours too early, as expected. I kept myself warm drinking (my own) tea in the local gas station and then as the soldiers were being let out, I went and sat underneath a pine in a safe distance and tried to grasp the feelings of freedom in the eyes of the boys. Soon it came to be Brother's turn.

Hitchhiking Estonian South is much different than travelling the main roads. There no-one would bother picking you up for a few kilometers, rarely you would be taken further than the driver is going. On the highway the road becomes a distraction that keeps the destination always too far. We found so much less stress in the countryside. The drivers, young and old, men and women, with children or without, Estonians or Russians, often took us further than they themselves were going, stuffed our huge bags in their small compartments. At one point, as the space in the car was too small, the driver let us ride in the open cargo area of his pickup. After five hours on the road, having hiked to Suur Munamägi, and the Sangaste Palace, hitchhiked ten cars, we were still just about 70 km from Võru. Otherwise it would not have mattered, but we were expected to come to Hiiumaa in the morning of the next day.

JUNE 2

Despite the pleasure that we took in this road, the destination was still important. After a night in a tent underneath one huge ash tree just outside someones yard nearby Tõrva(I found out where Tõrva was by getting to walk through this town actually!), followed a humble breakfast in the morning, we set off yet again.

Maria called to find out where we were. In one hour of hitchhiking we hadn't gone much further than where we had started. Pärnu was still over a hundred kilometers ahead. Maria, always a joyful, warm and encouraging person, could not hide her disappointment. We from our side tried hitchhiking as well as we could.

When another random car stopped and the couple announced that they were going to Hiiumaa, we were sincerely happy. Finally the luck that we needed! The only detail to consider was that the boat they planned catching went at 6.30 PM. We were aiming at the one going four hours earlier.

"See you at 6.30", they said with a smile dropping us off just outside Pärnu, "Good luck!". We were more optimistic (without a reason as it came out later). Out of one and a half hours we had to spear before the departure of the boat, we spent one hour hitchhiking. The sun was shining, the forest was generous with the pine scent. If only we did not have to be somewhere else at that time - the thought was a burden to me. After an unusually long wait at such a good spot we received our ride. The driver recognised us. It came out that just before Brother had gone to the army we had met on a hike in Aegviidu. He had come on his bike, we on foot. He had made a fire, we had made a meal of mushrooms and buckwheat. The evening became a night as memories of his army life were exchanged for mainly Brother's journey tales. Now eight months and a few days later he picked us up and took us to the Haapsalu crossroad - Risti - adding extra 22 km to his road. That was a ride worth waiting for!

In Haapsalu I was treated to another of the great coincidences (in, sometimes as it seems, a too small world!). Brother's friend Triin was working and living just a few hundred meters from the port. When we entered her construction site of the future home, helping her out I found my course mate Merle Rand. I said hello to Merle and we continued to the boat.

"Will Maria be very angry with us?", asked Brother on the boat.
"Maria is incapable of anger", I replied.
I was right.

"Is this Maria?", asked Brother pointing at a little girl standing in the port awaiting. "Maria has dark hair" I said. Later it came out that the girl, was in fact with the Maria I had had in mind, and her name too was Maria - it was Mia Maria. It also came out that Mia Maria had been a student of mine in the Palace School. Her father - Jaanus Rohumaa was a known theatre director, her Mother - Mae was an artist, and her sister Emily had also been my student.

Ingredients to the most amazing surroundings, of what it even seemed - another world, were their home, and yard, and sea, and a sauna that could float, and fire and kids and everything about everyone and what we spoke of that night. Continuation to which was our bedroom on the balcony of their home. The white nights do not give half a chance for the stars to come out, but it did not matter - the air and the sound of the sea made up for it.

JUNE 3

The sun heated up our sleeping bags at half past eight. After a jog and a swim we witnessed 11 year old Mia in her long night-gown greet the sea. The girl ran out of the house, across the grass and the path of stones and touched the water. She was back in the house before I could get my camera. Nonetheless I will take this picture along in my mind. The perfect family Sunday proceeded with a load of pancakes with whipped cotton cheese and jam. Then we were to leave.

After the rehearsal in the park in Kärdla we were back on the boat and back in Tallinn in no time. How come all the roads back seem so short compared with the rest of the journey?

I promise to come back to the reasons WHY - why such a journey, why Hiiumaa, who is Maria...