The site at Vosu, Lepispea Camping  is a big field surrounded by trees and a 50 metre walk to the Baltic and the facilities are fairly basic – one toilet open (there was at least another one but was locked), two showers (in rooms with two picture windows covered by showercurtains) and two washing up stations. The washing machine was €5 – despite its limitations we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here – the only noise came from the birds (especially the Cuckoos) and we keep the mosquitoes at bay with violence and sprays. There were  also fine sunsets over the Baltic, just as we went  to bed. 
 
The lady at reception was telling Sheila that Jackals have come back to the area recently, and there are Bears, Wolves, Wild Boar, Elk, Lynxes and Beavers. So far we have seen a few Deer, two Red Squirrels and a Mouse. 
 

One day  we walked around Altja, an old fishing village with thatched log cabins
and a swaying suspension bridge. It is now clearly a rather up-market
second-home holiday area. We saw a very fine Red-Backed Shrike and enjoyed a
beer at the local tavern which looked to have some interesting food – a
couple of Germans we spoke to were enjoying pan-fried herrings with black bread
and home-made butter. It looked delicious.

Altja wooden houses

Beaver lodge

We also took a walk along the Beaver Trail where we saw some nice dams (but no
Beavers) and an excellent Hazel Grouse – a bird we had never heard of, let
alone seen previously.
The pine forests were surprisingly attractive and colourful, with patches of lichens and an occasional surprise such as a huge anthill with some fairly fierce wood ants. When we visited these forests were perfumed by the abundant clumps of Lily of the Valley, an added bonus. There were markd walking trails and regular information boards. In addition the whole area is great for exploring on your bike.

never saw anyone here and dont know if there was a charge. lovely spot

We enjoyed Vergi which had a tavern and a few boats in its harbour and a gentle cool breeze coming in from the sea. A good place for a bit of bird watching and a beer and a bite to eat - what more could we have wished for. The national park has an area of 280 sq miles and there is plenty to do and see, regrettably we barely scratched the surface.

Oystercatcher

nesting arctic tern

Vergi harbour

0ne afternoon  a couple of our  Finnish neighbours came past and indicated to us that it was our turn in the sauna so we got into our cozzies and spent ten minutes being roasted/boiled.  We did not know what the sauna etiquette was so we kept our kit on but I have a hunch that this was our own private time in the sauna  and we probably could have bared all without disturbance. It took a decently cold shower to cool us down again. The Finns – there were about five motorhomes of them -  would light up the (wood-fired) sauna every day and seem to regard it as a necessary ritual. Slightly odd that a campsite which had only one toilet and two showers had a fully operational sauna. Different priorities for Finnish customers.

We really enjoyed our time here and we were reluctant to move on but there was still plenty to see in Estonia and more lovely spots to enjoy. Our next stop was to be Tallinn.

When we  left Lepispea Camping the woman  in Reception who was very keen to practise her English, gave us a batch of info including a route along a boardwalk through a bog in a nearby forest.  She had spent some time putting together just for us and knowing we were going to Tallinn she gave us recommendations for that trip and even gave us her phone number so if we ever had a problem we would have someone to call in Estonia, she was really very kind. She  also told us that Finnish and Estonian are fairly different but that some Estonians learned Finnish during the Soviet period so that they could watch Finnish TV rather than their own (or Russian) output.

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