On July 30th, Thursday, wonderful weather is expected in Palanga – the thermometer should reach 25 degrees, but the day at the Lithuanian seaside resembles a true autumn: cloudy sky, rain, strong wind, and considerably emptied resort streets.
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In the shop windows of clothing sellers – both in stores and in the market stall area – raincoats and other waterproof clothes are most advertised.
However, a woman renting out accommodation in Palanga said that it hardly rained at the seaside this summer – while other Lithuanian cities were flooded with downpours, in the resort, in her words, it only constantly “sprayed”.
So when the sun finally came out on Tuesday afternoon, it was time to take a walk along the seaside. I did not expect it to be so… empty.
Angry sea
I enter the Palanga beach with the Blue Flag status after passing the botanical park. The water quality is announced on a board in the form of happy, concerned, or sad faces, revealing that in mid-July even here a slightly increased bacterial pollution was detected.
It is hard to hold the mobile phone in my hands – the wind is so strong that it tears it from the hands. And the Baltic Sea is a bit angry.
“Level 4 wave. From level 3, a red flag prohibiting swimming is raised,” informs me a lifeguard I met.
Indeed, red flags planted in the sand are fluttering fiercely.
I see only a few young people entering the water, others walk on the sand with… jackets, raincoats, or at least the thickest sweaters they packed in their suitcase in midsummer when going on their dream vacation to our seaside.
People on the horizon – just a handful. While settled in the middle of the Blue Flag zone beach, at the foot of the dunes, enjoying the view of the angry sea, the first person passes by me only after about 8 minutes.
