Waking was not nice. Somehow I had swapped voices with Tom Waits and even local cat was stomping so loud that my head was about to explode. Not that I had drank much, but I had mixed (old fool, you never learn!). So for I while I pondered about decapitation as possibly the best cure for my headache. Just few hours of sleep did not make it any better. Fortunately we got underway pretty soon, this time we were again only with Lauri. Company had changed somewhat. Obviously so many people wanted to participate that they had to change crews. Only us with Lauri and Jaan, being boat owners, had the priviledge of going all the way.
It was soon very clear that this day would be much easier. Current was easy, wind had quieted, and while it was mostly cloudy, there was no rain. We were ahead of schedule soon - we knew that on yet another bridge there will be yet another reception, we could not be there too early, so we found a nice high bank and made a stop. Sten went to ask if it is OK that we stay there for an hour. Landlady asked if we would like some coffee and obviously we agreed gladly. Soon we were delivered not just good strong coffee, but homemade smoked and marinated eel preserves as well!
On a Tusti bridge a choir was receiving us, together with at least half of the local population. Then we walked to the house of the choir conductor and had a lunch. Local guitar man who had been with us last night, showed up and lunch turned into an improvised concert. I was really starting to think where I am. I had come to a simple boat trip, but the more I saw all those people waiting for us and greeting us on the riverbanks everywhere, the more I saw how people reacted to us, it feeled more like some kind of a strange pilgrimage.
The rest of the day was rather eventless. We had an early finish on a Kuudeküla bridge, where among the crowd my mother-in-law had come from Viljandi to greet us. Crowd helped to haul the boats up the high banks and carry them to the nearby farm where they had to remain overnight. Mother-in-law grabbed quickly our paddles and said she will take them, so that she could be part of our trip as well.
Most of us then took a few-kilometer walk to Vana-Võidu, where we had a lodging place in the dorm of local technical school. Jaan, together with another guy went to see if it would be possible to break through to Viljandi by the river, so I drove back to Tänassilma to take his car from there to Vana-Võidu. The trick with this ancient waterway is that about 10 km between Kuudeküla bridge and Viljandi lake are not really passable - centuries worth of of Viljandi wastewaters have created an unpassable swamp there. There is still river and water moves, but going would be really difficult. Jaan returned late in the evening and was optimistic - we would do another walking recon from Vana-Võidu in the morning and then possibly try to break through with one boat, being probably first for very long time. He talked me into being his partner this time - well, he did not have to try very hard. Rest of the boats (or at least one boat with fire) would be carried 7 km along the road to the lake.
When I finally got to sleep rest of the gang was still singing in another room. Well, they could afford that. I had still almost a week to go.
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