The night before it was decided the visit to the dolomites would happen today(Sunday) as quite a few people were going home early. After an early breakfast everyone gathered in the car park and soon after the train of vehicles departed for what would be an approximately 2 hour journey. After an hour or so the road winded upwards and I was surprised to see how many cyclists were tackling the long and steep slope. Along the way there were also several villages, with quite a few buildings advertising ski/snowboard hire. The carpark at the top was filled to the brim, showing it was a popular tourist spot. The topic of conversation was not surprisingly, where was matt and nicki’s car?!? They had got lost again..This didnt deter most people from doing there own thing. All around us there were peaks which looked spectacular. The nearest one to us had cable car with 2 person gondolas stretching up the extremely steep rock face. this peak had a opening in the middle in which could be seen a small hut, which i identified as being a restaurant like tha
t of yesterday's walk. Everyone broke off into small groups and i found myself with about 8 other's on a walk up to the top. Some creativity by Dan, saw us bush bashing our way to the right track when the wrong path was chosen. About ten minutes in, the gradient really kicked in and we all found ourselves spread out on the mountain side out and walking our own pace. I pushed on at just below my limit and concentrated on getting into a good rhythm. The combination of the hot sun and hard effort made me regret having worn trousers that day despite being told it would be cold at such a high altitude. The view was fantastic from where the hut was situated and after admiring it for several minutes a strudel was next on my agenda. While siting down and waiting to be served i spotted several people climbing the rock face. It made for an impressive sight. The walk back was both good and bad. Walking down
hill is much harder on your knees and joints but with my new grippy walking shoes i had fun sliding down the loose gravel. I got close to some mountain goats which i thought was pretty neat. Not something you see every day! Some much needed rest was had on the way back in the car with the desire to catch up on sleep not working it seems. When we were nearing the bottom of the mountain we got slowed by some traffic. We saw some police at the intersection and Sabina got out to see what was going on. It turned out there was a parade happening on the street and that the road would be shut for approx 20 min. We stood with the rest of the crowd and watched as the locals dressed in traditional dress walked by. The highlight was when 3 blokes who had these huge whips cracked them non stop for a minute. The noise they made was terrific! After the evening meeting Pr Alf told us that it would be an easier the next day as everyone looked/felt tired. This was good news as far as i was concerned, i felt trashed. Still an early night once again evaded me but thats the way it is sometimes...Until next time, Cya!
The night before it was decided the visit to the dolomites would happen today(Sunday) as quite a few people were going home early. After an early breakfast everyone gathered in the car park and soon after the train of vehicles departed for what would be an approximately 2 hour journey. After an hour or so the road winded upwards and I was surprised to see how many cyclists were tackling the long and steep slope. Along the way there were also several villages, with quite a few buildings advertising ski/snowboard hire. The carpark at the top was filled to the brim, showing it was a popular tourist spot. The topic of conversation was not surprisingly, where was matt and nicki’s car?!? They had got lost again..This didnt deter most people from doing there own thing. All around us there were peaks which looked spectacular. The nearest one to us had cable car with 2 person gondolas stretching up the extremely steep rock face. this peak had a opening in the middle in which could be seen a small hut, which i identified as being a restaurant like tha
t of yesterday's walk. Everyone broke off into small groups and i found myself with about 8 other's on a walk up to the top. Some creativity by Dan, saw us bush bashing our way to the right track when the wrong path was chosen. About ten minutes in, the gradient really kicked in and we all found ourselves spread out on the mountain side out and walking our own pace. I pushed on at just below my limit and concentrated on getting into a good rhythm. The combination of the hot sun and hard effort made me regret having worn trousers that day despite being told it would be cold at such a high altitude. The view was fantastic from where the hut was situated and after admiring it for several minutes a strudel was next on my agenda. While siting down and waiting to be served i spotted several people climbing the rock face. It made for an impressive sight. The walk back was both good and bad. Walking down
hill is much harder on your knees and joints but with my new grippy walking shoes i had fun sliding down the loose gravel. I got close to some mountain goats which i thought was pretty neat. Not something you see every day! Some much needed rest was had on the way back in the car with the desire to catch up on sleep not working it seems. When we were nearing the bottom of the mountain we got slowed by some traffic. We saw some police at the intersection and Sabina got out to see what was going on. It turned out there was a parade happening on the street and that the road would be shut for approx 20 min. We stood with the rest of the crowd and watched as the locals dressed in traditional dress walked by. The highlight was when 3 blokes who had these huge whips cracked them non stop for a minute. The noise they made was terrific! After the evening meeting Pr Alf told us that it would be an easier the next day as everyone looked/felt tired. This was good news as far as i was concerned, i felt trashed. Still an early night once again evaded me but thats the way it is sometimes...Until next time, Cya!
4 comments:
Hi Jared
I have really loved reading your blog - very informative and entertaining too. Your photos are excellent - I really must go to Venice and experience it for myself. This will be a wonderful diary for you to look back on once you are in Tassie or elsewhere long after this trip is over. You are a long way from Coles Kingston when I see pictures of those gourmet foods! Stay safe, Elaine Adams.
just for the record, as will soon be recorded on our blog, we were following someone with a magical GPS who led us 40km in the wrong direction. We even knew we were being led the wrong way but couldn't escape.
Well you chose the wrong car to follow! :D Elaine you are right about that...I don't know if i could stomach going back to Coles or something similar after working at F&M. Such a contrast between the two and obviously a much more interesting place to work.
Mamma Mia!!! Look at the steep climb up those mountains!! I was looking forward to the idea that ONE day we may get to visit the Platzers, but now I'm intimidated! I don't think i would make it alive up that climb, and as for the strudel being an incentive .... there must be restaurants that sell strudel on the lower slopes. I'm thinking that they may even sell postcards of the view from the top as well - which would be perfectly adequate! Surely Nic and Matt didnt make it to the top with Maddie? Perhap there was a method in their getting lost??? Another strudel restaurant around the corner? Good thing for sure that you had your new grippy shoes Gad!! A great effort! You can set your sights on Annapurna now!!!
Love Mum x
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