We made a short stop at the secret ex-Soviet communication center (known as Zvezdochka) located in the woodlands near Irbene. It was used by the KGB during the Cold War to spy on communications between Europe and the United States. It originally consisted of a 32-meter telescope, along with two smaller telescopes. The existence of the Centre was unknown to most Latvians until 1993. Nowadays it is a scientific research facility VIRAC (Ventspils International Radioastronomy Center). Our next stop was Cape Kolka – the most pronounced horn on the shores of Latvia. Here the waves from two seas clash – the open Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga.
