Coronian Spit

I'd never been a huge fan of long walks and exploring the countryside before going travelling, but since my adventures discovering old and new places to see, it's becoming a really enjoyable activity to me. The Coronian spit, half of which is Lithuanian, the other half Russian, is one of the largest spits in Europe (and possibly in the world to). Much of it is unbuilt and unspoiled, and gives absolutly stunning areas to walk and explore. I started on the northern end, getting off the ferry and heading straight to the beaches. With it being the middle of October and freezing, i only saw two other people while on the beach. The clean sand, gusty salty winds and the sheer beauty of it, really takes your breath away. I spent most of the morning on the beach, just wondering up and down, playing in the sand and kicking the clumps of seaweed and fishermans nets that occasionally dotted the beach. Days don't get better than that!

 The contrast between the greyish sand, light water and golden rust was quite stark. I'm not sure what the metal was or is used for, but it caught my attention, just like the aqua coloured rope a few pictures down.

                                                     Erosion defence boulders

The grass covered sand dunes. If it wasn't for the cold weather, you could be fooled into thinking you were much further south!
The ferries from Klaipeda to the Curonian spit are fairly regular, and there's a bus that runs (I think) every hour from one end of the spit to the other. The main settlement is Nida, where there's a supermarket, (again so I could get picnic supplies-I'm so English it's unreal) as well as an art gallery and a few other little bits and bobs. I then walked up the coast, taking in some of the outstanding scenery as I hiked over dunes and grasslands, following a well worn path, despite only seeing one woman on a bicycle. It is a full day out, and a very tiring one, but very, very worth it.