Dolomiti (4)

🙂 This post concludes the series

Nearly a month has passed and I hadn’t had the time to focus on the last day of my trekking holiday.  But here we are now…my memories as fresh as ever!

11 July

0815 Sunday’s symbolic lie in

Last night we decided to skip the planned walk as it is 5 hours long and do only a part of it.  So I left Villa Chele for the last time … but before leaving I had to take photos from my bedroom windows and a lovely breakfast of tea, fresh bread and my host’s home made jams, in the garden.  Thank you Signora Louisa for your hospitality!

a room with a view...

My friend and I drove to Rifugio Passo Giau at the base of the Nuvolau.  We will do only about a fifth of the circular walk one could take around this mountain.  From this Rifugio we tried to identify some of the peaks that outline the blue sky.  I’m feeling on a first name basis with the mountains now.  They no longer look identical to me.  And the sense of awe of these massive rocky peaks is now turning into interest.  I’m also very aware that this is my last day here and in my head I’m planning on when I could plan to be back.  This summer if possible!

1030 Rifugio Passo Giau

The cappuccino before we start off is now our routine. And off we go in the direction of Rifugio Averau.  This is my rockiest path to date.  I hardy used the walking sticks today. I was holding on to the rocks on both of my sides to go around the Nuvolau.  In my head the names of the peaks I’ve been lucky to observe are playing a merry-go-round – Cristallo, Il Pelmo, Nuvolau, Croda da Lago, Civetta… with such names even without seeing them one starts to wonder and tries to wander.  The views from this path are again amazing and different from the others we saw the other days.

(As I’m going through the photos I see that I have only videos and I also can’t find a way of uploading them…sorry:-(  But I took a still and here it is.)

Just a taster of the view from under the Nuvolau

A few people are free climbing up the steep rocks to the top.  I know I’d like to do something similar one day… who knows, next time I might try might hand on a Via Ferrata – with a qualified instructor, of course!  Suddenly, I know, I’d like to go higher… and maybe get to the top of  one of the mountains one day.

1230 The beginning of the end

Lunch of toasted panini at the Rifugio and one last look around.  Today the place is full.  It’s Sunday so it’s kind of normal but it also seamed that all the bikers of the area decided to meet up in the car park.  They ruined the atmosphere with their black jackets but I guess they too need their hobby (I was feeling benevolent…usually I’m know to declare that if I ever make it to become prime minister – not that I’m planning to – but just in case I happen to become one, I will ban the noise making two-wheelers!) We were nearly done when the heavens opened multiple taps.  The rain alternated with hail and suddenly it got pretty chilly.  We complimented our selves on our decision to not take the whole talk.  At this time we would have been still quite a way from our end point.

During our drive back to civilization I fell silent.  This is me all over.  I’m usually very silent at the end of something. It is also still raining very hard.  I sort of try to absorb all that I had missed before.  This time it was the Christmas tree looking trees that took my attention.  We were driving on fairly steep and winding rounds descending from a height of …..  The hills here are very steep.  They are also full of the Christmas tree looking trees that grow vertically independently of the angle the terrain they grow from makes with the horizontal.

Hitting the auto strada (highway) on the way to the airport, the sun is shining again and the heat is now unbearable, sort of preparing me to get back home and our summer heat.

1900 Some afterthoughts

I thank you Iaia for initiating me to the Dolomiti and this beautiful hobby.  Can I really take up your offer and come again soon?  The only thing that was missing was my man’s presence to enjoy it all with me.  I hope one day, I’ll take him where I was and that we will explore new paths together.