One of the local traditions in rural Latvia and Lithuania is to wash in the sauna or bathhouse, this is heated by wood in a stove, and herbs and plants are used to create a nice aroma. Sometimes birch twigs and leaves will be used to bash the skin and get rid of the dead skin. In between time in the sauna, people will run into the sea or jump into a pond before getting back into the sauna. Traditionally people would give birth in the sauna and spend the last hours before death in the sauna room. This sauna is from my family’s home on the Baltic coast where we have our weekly sauna.

A small collection of photos from my own adventures around the world. Please note that some of these were taken with slide film before the arrival of digital cameras.