Hiking and relaxing in the Aosta Valley, Italy

We left Dubrovnik and had an overnight stop in Madrid, before flying to Geneva where we picked up our little VW Polo hire-car. Then, Heather was nominated as the driver while Adrian navigated us efficiently through the centre of Geneva and then onto Chamonix. Here, we stopped for a lunch of croissants, ham, cheese and tomato - it was good to be back in France. Then to shorten our journey into Italy, we went through the Mont Blanc tunnel. By late afternoon, we had arrived at a tiny Italian village called Valnontey, 3km from Cogne, in the heart of the Aosta Valley. Mountains surrounded us and the wildflowers were everywhere. We are staying in a very old stone farmhouse that has been converted into a hotel.

On the second day of our stay, we drove to Courmeyeur (1224m), where we caught various cable-cars up the mountain as far as Punta Helbronner (3462m). From the wooden Glaciers Terrace lookout, the views looking southeast over the Italian Alps were superb (see photo). When looking back, we had a clear view of Mont Blanc (4807m) and Aguille Du Midi (3842m), the latter of which we took a cable car to when last in Chamonix seven years ago.

The next day was reserved for Adrian's hike, and Heather's recovery time. After the abundant spread of breakfast that awaited us each morning, Adrian took off up the Lausson Valley hoping to pass through the Col Lausson at 3296m. We had heard that it was still snowed in and this was confirmed when he arrived at Refugio Sella half way up. He decided to walk up as far as possible before completing a loop back down. When the track finally disappeared into the snow, it was time to return, however, things became exciting when he came across 6 Ibex (mountain deer unique to the Gran Paradiso National Park) blocking the alpine path. He snapped a few photos before a couple of them started squaring up to face him - good time to walk a wide berth around them!

The last day was spent relaxing, wondering around the nearby village of Cogne, and then a short walk up the start of Adrian's hiking path where we saw a curious fox and a Chamois (mountain goat). The views were still fantastic (see photo - note the LOST orienteering shirt for those interested!) no matter where you looked. We finished the day with the obligatory 4 course meal of the evening. One of our favourite meals was the polenta with local fontina cheese - a Valdastone specialty.

Next, we drive to Lake Como where we'll be relaxing for a couple of days.

Goodbye Croatia

Since our last posting, we have visited several other locations in Croatia, including Mljet Island, a small fishing village called Trstinik and the island of Šipan (we have a Croatian keyboard here so we can type the fancy letters!).

All three were fantastic, though Mljet was a standout being mostly National Park and forest. We both walked to a couple of salt lakes (technically not lakes because they are connected to the ocean) a couple of kilometers away which was a nice walk through the forest followed by a refreshing swim in the warm lake waters. That afternoon while Heather snoozed, Adrian hired a bike and rode around the lakes for a couple of hours which reminded him of the Rottnest Triathlon, though not as windy. On the larger of the two lakes is an island with a 12 Century Monastery (see photo) which can be accessed by a ferry. That night we had a very nice seafood dinner watching the sunset before having our obligatory icecream. We have had plenty more swimming stops along the way as well - we've never swum so much!

Today (Sunday) and yesterday afternoon were spent looking around the Old Town of Dubrovnik. Yesterday we walked along the top of the walls which encircle the Old Town. Last night we were treated to a spectacular lighnting show followed by a torrential downpour that confined us all to the dining area of the boat. This has resulted in a much cooler day for sightseeing around Dubrovnik.

All in all, we have had a fabulous time in Croatia and wouldn't hesitate returning. We had a great group of people on the cruise and the five staff were brilliant, especially Vlasta the cook who churned out fantastic meals and ensured we all gained weight by the end of the cruise.

Cruising the Dalmatian coast, Croatia

From the minute we stepped onto our vintage sailing boat in Dubrovnik, we felt like we were truly on holiday! Our cabin on the upper deck is quite roomy and modern (our boat "Pape Prvi" is only a year old). A normal day starts with a continental breakfast at 8am as the boat starts its engines heading out towards a new island. The scenery is captivating, and the blue water inviting as we anchor for a mid-morning swim. There are 24 passengers and a wonderfully friendly crew on board. Lunch is served at 12.30, and consists of 3 amazing courses. We have devoured lots of fish and seafood, an abundance of salads, and some delectable desserts. Lunch inevitably is followed by a snooze and then it is back out to soak up the sun and before long we are stopping for another refreshing swim. Hard life!!

We have stopped at Korčula (supposed birthplace of Marco Polo) which is a tiny village several hundred years old (1500s). Tonight we are enjoying Hvar which is a little bigger and touristy but equally idyllic. We have strolled through many quaint little laneways and walked up to the limestone fortress on top of the hill. The views were worth the trudging (see photo). We have also just indulged in some local dishes for dinner, relaxing al fresco and will no doubt finish the evening with an ice-cream looking over the small harbour.

Visiting family in Whitchurch-on-Thames

Tim and Bev (Heather's cousin), Sarah and Ed have been kind enough to welcome us into their home for three nights. They live near Reading in a lovely home ("Wisteria House") right near the River Thames. The weather has been surprisingly glorious, and we have enjoyed strolling around the immaculate gardens on their property.

I have been lucky enough to experience first hand the hundreds (?) of bats who have recently inhabited the roof space above Sarah's bedroom, much to the family's dismay. I decided to try and get a photo last night (and succeeded), but then at 2am was woken by a louder flutter of ...bat-wings...you guessed it. We think the little visitor snuck in through the open crack of the window, through which I was taking photos. The only thing is, I'm not sure how, or if, he found his way out as everything went quiet before I could help him out! We may have a date again tonight if he is "hanging out" hidden somewhere in Sarah's room...!

Today, Bev and Tim took Dad, Margie and myself to "The Crooked Billet" for a sumptuous 3-course lunch. Needless to say, we all indulged way beyond our limits and succumbed to a much needed siesta following the drive home via the tree-lined English lanes. To those interested - I requested a dollop of clotted cream with my dessert, so you can imagine how that challenged my delicate system. Worth the adventure, though.

It is now only a couple of hours until Mr and Mrs Day are re-united. An enjoyable 10 days has been had by both, to be sure!

Back to Moscow

For the last day and a half myself, Paul, Mick and Mike have been looking around Moscow. Friday was "Russia Day" which marks the end of Communist rule, so most sights were closed, not that there was anything to indicate that though. We queued with plenty of of others at the Kremlin ticket office for 30 minutes waiting for it to open before someone asked one of the guards who said it wasn't open today. However, no one would tell us and there was no sign saying so. Welcome to Russia! We did manage to see the Armoury section of the Kremlin which houses magnificent displays of jewelery, arms, armour, clothing, gifts and other royal treasures from the last 800 years of Russian culture. We wandered around various other parts of the centre of Moscow before retiring back to our hostel at the end of the day for Pizza (not very Russian!) and a couple of Siberian non-filtered lagers.

Today (Saturday), we did manage to get into the Kremlin. There are some magnificent buildings and cathedrals dating back several hundreds of years, coupled with one Soviet concrete monolith from the 60s (looked a bit like the Perth Concert Hall!). We rode the Moscow Metro for the last time back to our hostel before taking our transfer out to the Domodedovo airport, our fourth trip between Moscow and its many airports. Mike headed off to Berlin for another six weeks holiday while Paul and Mick flew off to Melbourne via Abu Dhabi, ready for work at the start of the week! For me, its back to London for an overnight catchup with Heather's family before we both start holidaying together and fly out to Dubrovnik tomorrow (Sunday) morning. You might not from us regularly in the coming weeks, especially as we will be on a boat in the Adriatic Sea for the next week! Bye for now.

Russia - After the Climb

With any achievement there needs to be a suitable celebration. So it was back to Cheget Village for a dinner celebration at a local cafe. Along with local dishes were copious bottles of vodka, so we were able to celebrate in true Russian style long into the night. For some, this resulted in sore heads as a the vodka was just too cheap to pass up, plus we had 60 Euro spare from our Slovenian friends!

The following morning (Thursday) we decided we would leave Azau a day early and head back to Moscow so that we could spend more time looking at the local sights. How naive were we to think that that it would be easy to change our flights, accommodation and transfer once we got to the airport! Along with Mike's problems with the local police because he didn't have all his paperwork in order, Aeroflot wouldn't change our ticket unless we went to their ticketing office in town, something we didn't have enough time to do before the flight left. So we opted to purchase a new ticket with the local KMV (Kavmineralvodyavia) airline which proved to be the most nerve racking two hours of flying any of us have ever experienced. You couldn't talk over the engines because they were so loud and the air conditioning didn't work properly - "it will come on after takoff" was the response from the hostess. Note the emergency exit in the back row next to Mike, complete with safety slide in the black box! We were on an old Tupolov TU154B2 which according to Planephotos.net "KMV is one of the few airlines still running this model". We also discovered that KMV are banned from flying to the EU due to the safety record - yes, we are still alive and the photo is of the plane on the tarmac at Moscow just to prove it! After another two hours in Moscow traffic we arrived at our hostel nearly 12 hours after leaving Azau - what a day!

Mt Elbrus in Google Earth

Click on the links below to view the route taken to the top of Mount Elbrus. The first is from Barrels to Pustyukov Rocks, the second on to the summit (though this may be incomplete - I can't check)

http://www.enigma.id.au/gps/Pustyokov.kml

http://www.enigma.id.au/gps/Elbrus.kml

Russia - Day 6 (Summit Attempt)

At 1:40am the alarms went off in preparation for the big day. Breakfast (unappetising porridge with cheese, ham and bread) was served at 2am and at 3am we all took a snowcat back to Pustukov Rocks to continue the climb to the top. Before the sun rose it was bitterly cold (well below zero) and wild chill makes it even colder so we were all layered to keep warm. I was wearing thermal pants, goretex pants, thermal top, t-shirt, fleece jacket, down jacket, gortex jacket, two pairs of socks, climbing boots and inner boots and two pairs of gloves just to remain warm while moving. If you weren't moving then you were cold!

The morning was superb with a full moon and cloudless sky. Mt Elrbus was lit by the moon and looked sensational, we didn't even need our torches to walk with it was so bright. Once the sun rose we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Caucusus Mountains to the south of Elbrus which separate Russia from Georgia (see first photo). We all moved relatively well for the first few hours with Paul showing the first signs of trouble with the altitude at about 5,100m. However we all soldiered on and by 1:30pm and nearly 9 hours of slogging a mere 3.5km through ice and snow, all four of our Australian group arrived at top of Mt Elbrus at 5,642m at the same time. Apart from Mike, the three others from our group were all suffering and feeling the effects of the altitude, cold and the effort required to reach the top. It is by far the most physically demanding thing I have ever done, though the reward of getting to the top made it all worth while. The photo is of the four Aussies (that's me on the left) and our Barrel 1 friend Mary from the US, with a light snow falling.

The tough work wasn't over and the descent to Pustyukov Rocks was still demanding and took another five hours to return. It was then a snow cat ride back to Barrels, which resulting in a heated and protracted argument with our Slovenian "friends" over payment - all snow cat rides were outside of the original climb cost. By 8pm we were 60 Euros up on the deal, which will come in very handy for our celebratory drinks on Wednesday! We all slept like logs on our wooded beds, something we hadn't been able to for the previous two nights at Barrels. The last photo is of our Barrel with its six occupants - the 4 Aussies, Dave from the UK (complete with thick Yorkshire accent) and Mary from the US.

Russia - Days 4 & 5

Day 4 in Russia (Sunday) involved us all moving up to the very primitive Barrels Hut (3715m) which acts as the base camp to Mt Elbrus climbs. After catching two gondolas and one ski lift to this point, we then walked up to Pastyukov Rocks at 4,560m for an acclimatisation walk. This is about half of the climb and gives you a good chance to walk through the snow and ice as well as get used to the thinner air. We covered 3.5km in 3.5hrs which gives you an idea how slow it is walking through the snow and ice at a higher altitude. The following day was a rest day in preparation for the summit attempt on Tuesday, however we did practice self-arresting techniques using an ice axe in the morning. This is in case you slip on the ice, which given the steepness of the walk you will need to use to stop yourself sliding to the bottom of the mountain! The rest of the day was just relaxing in preparation for a 2am start the next day. The photo is a view of Mt Elbrus (the higher peak is on the left) and the barrels that we stayed in (very basic!).

Exploring East Sussex, UK

I have been staying with Dad and Margie in Bexhill-on-Sea for the last few days. The weather has been kind to us, so on Saturday 6th, we decided to go exploring. First, we drove to Battle, where in 1066, William the Conqueror (and the Normans) defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. A gorgeous little town where we stopped for a quick tea and coffee. Next we headed off to the village of Rye, half an hour down the road.

The main attraction for us in Rye was the walk up the narrow cobbled streets to "The Mermaid".

This inn was founded in the 11th century and was the head-quarters of a notorious gang of smugglers. The inside of the inn was quaint and inviting, and you had to duck to enter though the low doorway. We snuggled into a cosy back bar area where the walls were adorned with ancient weaponry and armour, and the fireplace stretched the entire width of the room. For lunch, I enjoyed battered coddling with salad and yummy chips, and we literally rolled back down the steep cobbled street to head home.

Mt Cheget in Google Maps or Google Earth

Attached is a link to the Mt Cheget walk we did today on Google Maps. Just click the link to view the walk as recorded by my GPS.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=43.253291,42.500063&spn=0.042384,0.11055&z=13&msid=107625359958396125227.00046bb0f1b13bd92962d

Or you can download the .kml file to view in Google Earth.

http://www.enigma.id.au/gps/Cheget.kml

Climbing Mt Cheget

This morning we set off from our hotel at Azau for the chairlifts at the Mt Cheget ski area, about 5km from where we were staying. Azau was a four hour bus ride yesterday from Min Vody and took us past a lot of Soviet era concrete monoliths! The lifts at Cheget take you as high as 3,050m from where we climbed up to Mt Cheget (abt 3,470m). The climb was a mixture of snow and rock so the snow walking was a new experience for me as well as a couple of others. Fortunately there was snow but no ice, and it was quite warm (prob 10 degrees on top) so it was t-shirts only by the end. The photo is from the summit of Mt Cheget looking across to the twin peaks of Mt Elbrus. Today's climb was purely an acclimitisation climb to get used to the higher altitude.

The majority of our group is from a Slovenian Alpine Club who are an interesting bunch. There are eight others in the group - the four Aussies, two Americans, a Canadian and a Pom. I had great delight in informing the Pommy about England's loss to the Dutch in the in the Twenty20 World Cup!!

An evening in Moscow

After arriving in Moscow on Thursday afternoon and meeting up with Paul, Mike and Mick, we finally found our "room" for the night after battling Moscow traffic for two hours. We then caught a train into the city centre and took a look around Red Square and St Basil's Cathedral, the latter looking amazing in the late afternoon sun. After tackling a Moscow foodhall (where your food gets weighed and you pay by the gram) we got back to our rooms at about 10:30pm. It was difficult to get to sleep because it became dark after 11pm and the curtains were paper thin (perhaps they faded due to daylight savings???) and we were woken up at 5am with the sun streaming in! We then caught our plane, a magnificent Tupulov TU145, to Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia to start our climbing adventure.

Time to split up

We have arrived at London Heathrow and have just had a very relaxing shower and massage. Heather is about to be picked up by her Dad and drive down to Bexhill-on-Sea for a relaxing week by the seaside. Adrian is catching a 9am flight to Moscow where he is meeting up with his brother, Paul, and two of his friends who are flying in from Melbourne via Abu Dhabi. We still hope to post the odd blog separately over the coming week.

Transfer in Singapore

True to our word of keeping everyone up-to-date on our travels, we are now in Singapore waiting for our evening flight to London and are currently enjoying the Qantas Club Lounge. We had 87 people on our flight from Perth, out of 300 seats. Needless to say the service was exceptional! Off to have a shower and a scotch (Adrian only!).

Nearly time to go

We hope to keep everyone up-to-date on our travels over the coming two months. Assuming we can find an internet cafe and aren't too busy enjoying European cuisine or warm summer weather, expect to also see the odd photo and GPS track as well.