Jurmala is the best resort town in Latvia, if not the entire northern Europe. It has a beach of fine white sand that goes on for miles and miles. The town itself is characterized with beautiful, cottage style, wooden houses along with many spa resorts.
Besides the above I went to check out the Dzintari Watch Tower, but when I got there I got taken in by a rope/obstacle course called Tarzan’s. It is a self led tour through one of five courses, which they can do due to an ingenious carbiner that will not let you disconnect until you are back safely on the ground. I chose to do the two hardest ones that are 24-30 feet and 30-36 feet above the ground respectively. Each one has an obstacle you have to overcome to get from one tree to the next. Some of these were as simple as a zip line, a monkey bridge, and riding a bike on a hanging bridge. Other times I had to coordinate my feet between hanging stirrups, hanging on poles, or moving from sitting on one disc to the next. It was a bit frustrating because a lot of the kids doing it could just scurry right across because their center of gravity was so much lower than mine. My favorites were the bike across the bridge (because I was the only one to do it; suck it kids) and a zipline into a cargo net. By the time I was done my arms were jello and the last one you had to jump off the platform from 36 feet up with a device that lowers you down, but I was so done I had trouble taking that last leap of faith. Haha.
After that workout AND an ice cream refresher, I finally made it to the tower and started climbing up….and up and up. Towards the end I was wondering if we were going all the way to Heaven. 🙂 But the view was worth it!
As much fun as I had at Jurmala, if you prefer a less crowded and even whiter and softer sandy beach, I am told you should go to Liepāja and Ventspils. They also have historic sights, lovely city centers, and seaside parks. Enjoy!
