Hi mselseth!
My husband and I just returned from Latvia. We are adopting two sisters ages 8 and 9. They are in an orphanage in a rather remote location about 1 1/2 hours from the capital of Riga. It will take two more trips to finalize the process.
The girls are wonderful! They are basically healthy. They have been well cared for, but of course show the effects of having grown up without a family. There are many children like them in Latvian orphanages. If you are interested in older children, especially a sibling group, and are willing to make 2-3 trips over there or stay for an extended time, Latvia is a great place to adopt from. It is true that you do not need an agency, but you would need somebody to do some of the leg work for you. We are using a lawyer who is probably somewhat over-priced, but it could really be anybody. Of course if you do not speak Latvian, you would also need a translator.
Please let me know if you have any more questiions. Check out this web site. It gave me much of my information.
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_latvia.html