Botanical work by the sea

Fishermen in Mazirbe could not fish, but the locals could swim anywhere. Everyone had to carry their passports on a daily basis, as they could be checked several times in one day. As a botanist who was still researching at the time, I was "caught" on the beach several times. At one time, the director of Slītere National Park officially agreed with the border guard that I could walk the coast section from Saunaga to Mazirbe. I was "assigned" a border guard with a Kalashnikov machine that reported something at each connection point (at that time there were portable telephones and certain connection points from which one could be contacted). It was very difficult for the poor soldier with me, because I went to the dunes from time to time to see the plants, but he didn't already know if I was there for personal or scientific reasons, which caused awkward situations. Nothing was allowed to be photographed by the sea. Looking at it today, it was all pretty funny. There were no conflicts with the armies - everyone did their job. The border guard post was located at the intersection of Kolka - Ventspils and Mazirbe. Border guards usually left there when a bus arrived. We have owned a local shooting range (land full of shells) and we have a helicopter landing area.