The Dzukija national park has a limit of 100 visitors a day to protect this fragile environment. It is necessary to get a special permit from the park authorities, not expensive, but difficult to get hold of in peak periods.

...in order to take such lovely photographs. The lovely Ula river cuts through glacial moraines and sandy eskers. Conifers cling tenaciously to the precarious slopes.

But they don't always manage to hang on. Fallen trees were a constant source of 'entertainment' and required a certain amount of paddling skills. Apparently, the majority of people fall in at some stage.

There was just one place on the river where the kayak had to be carried around the fallen trees. Not recommended as a loaded fibreglass kayak is pretty heavy.

This is a picture of Ula's eye, a spring situated about fifty metres away from, and two metres above the height of the Ula river. The water which bubbles out is rich in iron and is said to have medicinal qualities.

The 'landing stage' at Ula's eye. I wore boots for the trip but sandals would have been better. Next time...

"Look out for the orange umbrellas," said the man who rented the canoes. "That's Angela's place." As you can see, there were no orange umbrella's but this is Angela's lovely house - popular with canoeists, including the President of Lithuania. Angela's husband was very generous with the moonshine vodka and after six tumblers of it, I had to have a little lie down...

Want to see Day 2 of my kayak trip?