We've been enjoying the good life back in the US after roughing it through Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Our holiday has been such a study in extremes. Our last week in Peru was spent sleeping in our little 2 person tent, communing with nature (and the outdoor "toilets") and waking up at dawn to begin our amazing trek on the Inca trail. We survived the daily 9 hour strenuous trekking through beautiful scenery. At such altitude, the clouds would often hang lower than the mountains and each sunrise that we saw was worth the effort of waking up in the dark.
It was a tough hike, especially with our lack of training leading up to the holiday. By the time we reached the lost city of Machu Picchu, we were wincing with pain every time we took a little step. Still it was a special feeling when we finally reached the Sun gate and saw the little city far below. We were lucky the clouds parted - it was such a surreal sight with the wispy clouds forming a halo around the Inca ruins.
To all those disbelievers taking bets that Dave wouldn't make it through the trek (yes you sponsor child!), he survived a bout of food poisoning and still made it to the end. Not bad for a first trek! Although I did have to promise him no more treks after this...which is not a hard promise to make since our next holiday will be a roadtrip through the south of France...can't get more civilised than that!
So MP was our very last stop in South America. We've been living the good life in California since then; with road trips along the coastline from Los Angeles to beautiful Monterey, Vegas visits and non-stop shopping and eating. It's been wonderful spending time with my family in LA and playing with the large extended brood of kids.
The next leg of our journey will be to Asia, we're looking forward to sunning ourselves on a little island in Borneo. Ahhh bliss....
Showing posts with label trekking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trekking. Show all posts
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
1 season to freedom
77 more days before we bunk off for 2 months to travel around the Americas!
For the past few years my to-do list remained unfinished. My wanderlust took me through every continent but South America. Every trek I finished I would promise myself, just one more...Machu Picchu will be the last. Come September, I will be able to test this theory. Will the 4 day Inca trail be the final trek before I hang up my hiking boots? For one thing, my knees will thank me. As would Dave, who I can safely say, is not exactly as excited as I am to be camping and crossing at high altitude (the hopefully inapt), "Dead Woman's Pass".
So the slow countdown begins. I need to tamp down my excitement of finally traveling through Peru, Chile, Bolivia. As a foil to the cultural odyssey, we will take another 2 weeks to cruise down the Californian coastline, followed by another 2 weeks relaxing in a couple of tropical resorts in Asia. A perfect balance between activity and inertia, ancient wonders of the world and sprawling malls, deserts and floating islands. It's going to be amazing. Can't wait...
For the past few years my to-do list remained unfinished. My wanderlust took me through every continent but South America. Every trek I finished I would promise myself, just one more...Machu Picchu will be the last. Come September, I will be able to test this theory. Will the 4 day Inca trail be the final trek before I hang up my hiking boots? For one thing, my knees will thank me. As would Dave, who I can safely say, is not exactly as excited as I am to be camping and crossing at high altitude (the hopefully inapt), "Dead Woman's Pass".
So the slow countdown begins. I need to tamp down my excitement of finally traveling through Peru, Chile, Bolivia. As a foil to the cultural odyssey, we will take another 2 weeks to cruise down the Californian coastline, followed by another 2 weeks relaxing in a couple of tropical resorts in Asia. A perfect balance between activity and inertia, ancient wonders of the world and sprawling malls, deserts and floating islands. It's going to be amazing. Can't wait...
Monday, January 10, 2011
Nepal & India (or how to appreciate the simple necessities in life)
A 12-day high altitude trek (5412m) in the middle of a Nepalese winter at sub-zero temperatures gave me a new appreciation for the simple things in life.
My diary contains woeful daily posts of the trek, with my writing becoming steadily unreadable due to the rigor mortis that set into my cold fingers. The entry on completion of this trek contains these scrawls as I laid prostrate on the bed, unable to move due to the pain in my legs and stomach:
Top 10 things I am grateful for -
1. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes when I finally get feeling back
2. A lukewarm shower after 6 days of cold wipes
3. The sun
4. Running water (hot water an added bonus)
5. Being able to sleep without being woken up from near suffocation due to mucus blockage
6. Having the skin grow back under my nose after being rubbed raw from the constant nose blowing
7. Toilets that flush (toilet paper an added bonus)
8. Not needing to sleep in 4 layers of thermals, plus a down jacket, in a sleeping bag, under another 2 blankets
9. Not dreading the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an outdoor squatter toilet where the water in the bucket for a makeshift flush has frozen into ice
10. Electricity
This was the Annapurna Circuit and it's been billed as one of the top 10 treks in the world. I think this would have been true had it been about 6 days shorter and in the middle of peak season, where the relentless scenery would at least be relieved by some people and colour. Don't get me wrong, Nepal is a friendly lovely country. Had I not hyped up my expectations expecting the shangri-la I experienced in Tibet, it would have been more than adequate as a holiday destination. I blame my waning travel bug, though its a poor excuse for the jaded sullen attitude that I couldn't shake off for the entire trip.
I had another one of my stray animal moments when a dog decided to follow me for 7 hours as we trekked from one village to another. This seems to happen at odd times during the course of my travels and it always feels like I've been bestowed with a rare gift of affection. Perhaps it was because we named the dog or maybe the altitude made me go a bit loopy but when the animal left me at our tea-house where we slept for the night, I missed him so much I wanted to cry. I think it's time I hang up my backpack and possibly take some meds.
So in quick summary because I am boring myself with this ridiculous recount of dogs and weeping: there was a safari after the trek where we came within throwing distance to a rhino and had to jump aside to avoid some stampeding buffaloes (or cows or bovine-looking creatures). We then overlanded to India where the highlight was the Taj Mahal (beautiful symmetrical architecture, albeit sterile). We rowed on the Ganges where a dead body floated by. We haggled and bargained for silk and jewellery where we invariably paid too much. And finally on the last day, to avoid being taken to yet another bloody museum or old fort, we decided to waste our time getting our palms read by some old guy sitting on the side of the road whilst an audience of Indians steadily amassed to laugh and giggle at the predictions.
It was an intense trip and one which will improve with age and hindsight.
My diary contains woeful daily posts of the trek, with my writing becoming steadily unreadable due to the rigor mortis that set into my cold fingers. The entry on completion of this trek contains these scrawls as I laid prostrate on the bed, unable to move due to the pain in my legs and stomach:
Top 10 things I am grateful for -
1. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes when I finally get feeling back
2. A lukewarm shower after 6 days of cold wipes
3. The sun
4. Running water (hot water an added bonus)
5. Being able to sleep without being woken up from near suffocation due to mucus blockage
6. Having the skin grow back under my nose after being rubbed raw from the constant nose blowing
7. Toilets that flush (toilet paper an added bonus)
8. Not needing to sleep in 4 layers of thermals, plus a down jacket, in a sleeping bag, under another 2 blankets
9. Not dreading the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an outdoor squatter toilet where the water in the bucket for a makeshift flush has frozen into ice
10. Electricity
This was the Annapurna Circuit and it's been billed as one of the top 10 treks in the world. I think this would have been true had it been about 6 days shorter and in the middle of peak season, where the relentless scenery would at least be relieved by some people and colour. Don't get me wrong, Nepal is a friendly lovely country. Had I not hyped up my expectations expecting the shangri-la I experienced in Tibet, it would have been more than adequate as a holiday destination. I blame my waning travel bug, though its a poor excuse for the jaded sullen attitude that I couldn't shake off for the entire trip.
I had another one of my stray animal moments when a dog decided to follow me for 7 hours as we trekked from one village to another. This seems to happen at odd times during the course of my travels and it always feels like I've been bestowed with a rare gift of affection. Perhaps it was because we named the dog or maybe the altitude made me go a bit loopy but when the animal left me at our tea-house where we slept for the night, I missed him so much I wanted to cry. I think it's time I hang up my backpack and possibly take some meds.
So in quick summary because I am boring myself with this ridiculous recount of dogs and weeping: there was a safari after the trek where we came within throwing distance to a rhino and had to jump aside to avoid some stampeding buffaloes (or cows or bovine-looking creatures). We then overlanded to India where the highlight was the Taj Mahal (beautiful symmetrical architecture, albeit sterile). We rowed on the Ganges where a dead body floated by. We haggled and bargained for silk and jewellery where we invariably paid too much. And finally on the last day, to avoid being taken to yet another bloody museum or old fort, we decided to waste our time getting our palms read by some old guy sitting on the side of the road whilst an audience of Indians steadily amassed to laugh and giggle at the predictions.
It was an intense trip and one which will improve with age and hindsight.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Trekking Kilimanjaro
What better way to start off the new year than to come back from holiday? Just spent 2.5 weeks in Tanzania hiking Kilimanjaro for 6 days and cruising around the northern game parks for the remainder. What an amazing trip! Definitely up there amongst the best trips I've been on.
Fiona and I landed in Arusha at night (luckily with all our luggage in tow) and headed off for Kilimanjaro the next morning with a crew of 9. Unbelievably, it takes 9 people to get 2 girls up a mountain! We chose the Rongai route bc it was the least populated and also had the most diverse landscape.
So our entourage consisted of James our guide, assistant guide Raymond who doubled as a porter, our chef Nemis, Honda our waiter who doubled as a porter, and the remaining 5 were porters carrying the gas, water, tents, bags, etc. It was a big crew though we never saw any of them until we settled for camp. All the porters would rush on ahead of us during the day in order to set up camp and have some popcorn, tea or snacks waiting for us at the end. This was really the most civilised trek I've ever done. We spent most of the day walking with James, well Fiona did. I spent most of the day trying to tune James out and walking ahead because his evangelical talk and slightly skewed perception of himself got on my nerves.
The first couple of days were fairly easy; the weather was sunny and our gain in altitude was low. We spent our time enjoying the sunshine and drinking as much as we could to counteract altitude sickness...as a by-product of the 3-4liters of water we were drinking, we also had to take copious pee breaks. It's no coincidence that the only words of swahili I remember from my trip was, 'Hello' and 'I need to pee'.
The 3rd day gave us a true taste of the pain in store for us. We hiked from 2400m to 3800m, followed by an acclimatising trek to 4000m. I got a mild altitude headache that felt like my brain was pressing against my eyeballs. That and walking at a snail's pace because any increase in speed made me feel like my heart would jump out of my mouth from beating so hard. That was the 3rd day. Fiona was also suffering from a headache and also a loss in appetite. By the 4th day we were practically force feeding ourselves.
Day 4 was the most hellish day I have ever experienced in my life. We woke up to a freezing morning. As we set off from 3800m, the day turned ugly and it began to rain...and then snow. Onwards we trekked through a bleak landscape littered with stone boulders. The incline stretched horrendously on as we trudged our way up to 4700m. By the time we reached Kibo Hut my brain had turned to mush and my body had gone numb from the cold. As we lined up to sign in at the camp site, I could barely prop myself up. After signing in, I crawled into our tent and promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. I woke up at 3pm for lunch, roamed about the camp site and then went back for another nap. Dinner was at 6pm, Fiona and I could have won zombie impersonations at this point. The altitude caused both a loss in appetite and energy, any quick movement would cause my head to throb or my heart to hammer away. After pushing our food around and making appropriate civilised noises, we retired back to the tent again in order to rest up for our 11.30pm climb at night up to the summit. After a restless few hours in the tent, both Fiona and I woke up early and started assembling all our gear for the long climb to the summit. This day seemed endless.
Our summit climb started in pitch black. We were accompanied by James and Raymond and the slow pace was set. Above us, we could already see torchlights snaking up the trail from people who had started before us. It was freezing that night despite me wearing 4 layers of thermals on top + down jacket + rain jacket. The bottom consisted of 4 layers as well. I was rugged up like the michelin man but my fingers and toes were slowly becoming numb from the cold and our slow pace. The night was long and consisted of tiny shuffling steps and constant assessment of any symptoms of altitude sickness. After a few hours, Fiona started to feel sick so James stayed back with her. Raymond and I had to shuffle on ahead as we couldn't stop too long in the cold. The worse was still in front of us. The entire path up to Gilman's Point was absolutely hellish and endless. There were sections of loose scree where one step forward meant sliding half a step back. I felt like stopping every few steps to get my breath back. Everytime I asked Raymond how far we still needed to go, he would point at some light and say we were nearly there. I stopped asking after a while because we never seemed to get any closer. This was possibly the darkest point of the trek, my fingers were icicles at this point, I was so tired I felt like curling up into a ball and going to sleep on the ground. I had to keep forcing myself to take one step after another and distract myself from the cold and exhaustion. I remember repeating the mantra 'Of course you can', these 4 words over and over again, in time with my steps. I thought of how disappointed I would be coming all this way and not making it to the top. These random thoughts distracted me enough until I made it to Gilman's Point. I thought the worse was over. By all accounts, all we had to do was make it to Stella Point, walk around the crater and get to Uhura Peak. Sounds so simple and in hindsight it really wasn't so bad. Being witness to a beautiful sunrise at 5700m and seeing the glaciers and crater, with Mawenzi peak in the distance...there was no question I would use my last bit of energy to make it to the peak.
It really was a special feeling to finally see the sign at the top of Kilimanjaro. By this time I was delirious with exhaustion and relief. I spent some time taking photos and a video of cringe-worthy commentary that consisted of the words 'I made it, I made it!'. As I was heading back down, I saw Fiona and James coming up, she was only a short while to the summit. It was a relief to know she was ok despite dry heaving and vomiting all the way up.
We scree-skied all the way back down, with me wiping out on my butt once. It made going down so much faster but it was hell on my knees and toes. Still I couldn't wait to get back to the bottom - any pain was worth it at this point. I got down at around 11am, received a round of congratulations from the porters and crawled into my tent to finally get some rest.
The day wasn't over yet. After being up since 7am the previous morning hiking to Kibo Hut and then another 12 hours through the night up and down Kilimanjaro...we had to trek another 9km to our next camp before finally resting for the night.
So, all up, definitely the most painful experience of my life but it was an incredible feeling to make it to the top that made it all worthwhile. Would I do it all over again? Hell no. Once is enough.
Fiona and I landed in Arusha at night (luckily with all our luggage in tow) and headed off for Kilimanjaro the next morning with a crew of 9. Unbelievably, it takes 9 people to get 2 girls up a mountain! We chose the Rongai route bc it was the least populated and also had the most diverse landscape.
So our entourage consisted of James our guide, assistant guide Raymond who doubled as a porter, our chef Nemis, Honda our waiter who doubled as a porter, and the remaining 5 were porters carrying the gas, water, tents, bags, etc. It was a big crew though we never saw any of them until we settled for camp. All the porters would rush on ahead of us during the day in order to set up camp and have some popcorn, tea or snacks waiting for us at the end. This was really the most civilised trek I've ever done. We spent most of the day walking with James, well Fiona did. I spent most of the day trying to tune James out and walking ahead because his evangelical talk and slightly skewed perception of himself got on my nerves.
The first couple of days were fairly easy; the weather was sunny and our gain in altitude was low. We spent our time enjoying the sunshine and drinking as much as we could to counteract altitude sickness...as a by-product of the 3-4liters of water we were drinking, we also had to take copious pee breaks. It's no coincidence that the only words of swahili I remember from my trip was, 'Hello' and 'I need to pee'.
The 3rd day gave us a true taste of the pain in store for us. We hiked from 2400m to 3800m, followed by an acclimatising trek to 4000m. I got a mild altitude headache that felt like my brain was pressing against my eyeballs. That and walking at a snail's pace because any increase in speed made me feel like my heart would jump out of my mouth from beating so hard. That was the 3rd day. Fiona was also suffering from a headache and also a loss in appetite. By the 4th day we were practically force feeding ourselves.
Day 4 was the most hellish day I have ever experienced in my life. We woke up to a freezing morning. As we set off from 3800m, the day turned ugly and it began to rain...and then snow. Onwards we trekked through a bleak landscape littered with stone boulders. The incline stretched horrendously on as we trudged our way up to 4700m. By the time we reached Kibo Hut my brain had turned to mush and my body had gone numb from the cold. As we lined up to sign in at the camp site, I could barely prop myself up. After signing in, I crawled into our tent and promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. I woke up at 3pm for lunch, roamed about the camp site and then went back for another nap. Dinner was at 6pm, Fiona and I could have won zombie impersonations at this point. The altitude caused both a loss in appetite and energy, any quick movement would cause my head to throb or my heart to hammer away. After pushing our food around and making appropriate civilised noises, we retired back to the tent again in order to rest up for our 11.30pm climb at night up to the summit. After a restless few hours in the tent, both Fiona and I woke up early and started assembling all our gear for the long climb to the summit. This day seemed endless.
Our summit climb started in pitch black. We were accompanied by James and Raymond and the slow pace was set. Above us, we could already see torchlights snaking up the trail from people who had started before us. It was freezing that night despite me wearing 4 layers of thermals on top + down jacket + rain jacket. The bottom consisted of 4 layers as well. I was rugged up like the michelin man but my fingers and toes were slowly becoming numb from the cold and our slow pace. The night was long and consisted of tiny shuffling steps and constant assessment of any symptoms of altitude sickness. After a few hours, Fiona started to feel sick so James stayed back with her. Raymond and I had to shuffle on ahead as we couldn't stop too long in the cold. The worse was still in front of us. The entire path up to Gilman's Point was absolutely hellish and endless. There were sections of loose scree where one step forward meant sliding half a step back. I felt like stopping every few steps to get my breath back. Everytime I asked Raymond how far we still needed to go, he would point at some light and say we were nearly there. I stopped asking after a while because we never seemed to get any closer. This was possibly the darkest point of the trek, my fingers were icicles at this point, I was so tired I felt like curling up into a ball and going to sleep on the ground. I had to keep forcing myself to take one step after another and distract myself from the cold and exhaustion. I remember repeating the mantra 'Of course you can', these 4 words over and over again, in time with my steps. I thought of how disappointed I would be coming all this way and not making it to the top. These random thoughts distracted me enough until I made it to Gilman's Point. I thought the worse was over. By all accounts, all we had to do was make it to Stella Point, walk around the crater and get to Uhura Peak. Sounds so simple and in hindsight it really wasn't so bad. Being witness to a beautiful sunrise at 5700m and seeing the glaciers and crater, with Mawenzi peak in the distance...there was no question I would use my last bit of energy to make it to the peak.
It really was a special feeling to finally see the sign at the top of Kilimanjaro. By this time I was delirious with exhaustion and relief. I spent some time taking photos and a video of cringe-worthy commentary that consisted of the words 'I made it, I made it!'. As I was heading back down, I saw Fiona and James coming up, she was only a short while to the summit. It was a relief to know she was ok despite dry heaving and vomiting all the way up.
We scree-skied all the way back down, with me wiping out on my butt once. It made going down so much faster but it was hell on my knees and toes. Still I couldn't wait to get back to the bottom - any pain was worth it at this point. I got down at around 11am, received a round of congratulations from the porters and crawled into my tent to finally get some rest.
The day wasn't over yet. After being up since 7am the previous morning hiking to Kibo Hut and then another 12 hours through the night up and down Kilimanjaro...we had to trek another 9km to our next camp before finally resting for the night.
So, all up, definitely the most painful experience of my life but it was an incredible feeling to make it to the top that made it all worthwhile. Would I do it all over again? Hell no. Once is enough.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Another one to tick off the bucket list
December last year, I was lounging around in the middle of an Egyptian oasis with Pommy as we wrote out our to-do list for this year. My list was ludicrously long and consisted mainly of travel destinations...one of which was to hike Mt Kilimanjaro.
In 3 weeks time, as I trek up to the roof of Africa...I can tick this off the list. Hopefully I make it to the top of this 5890m mountain, haphazard training notwithstanding.
Had it not been for my 2 week eating and drinking binge through HK and Sydney...and another week lost to the Linda Blair diet (minus the head spinning) - I would be quietly confident I was in semi-fit condition. Alas, good intentions and all that. Some hard-core gym cramming methinks for the next 2.5 weeks and then some heavy praying on the way up the mountain is in order.
In 3 weeks time, as I trek up to the roof of Africa...I can tick this off the list. Hopefully I make it to the top of this 5890m mountain, haphazard training notwithstanding.
Had it not been for my 2 week eating and drinking binge through HK and Sydney...and another week lost to the Linda Blair diet (minus the head spinning) - I would be quietly confident I was in semi-fit condition. Alas, good intentions and all that. Some hard-core gym cramming methinks for the next 2.5 weeks and then some heavy praying on the way up the mountain is in order.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Q2 08 Update
Been quite tardy about updating this blog for a while, non-stop travels over the weekends and glorious daylight over the weekdays are to blame.
Since Egypt in early Jan, I've been hopping about (in no particular order):
- Barcelona - ostensibly a cultural trip to check out Picasso and Gaudi but in reality more of a shopping trip for hip spanish clothes
- Andalusia (Seville, Cordoba, Granada) - Spain again, can't get enough of their paella and very cool sites like the Mezquita and Alhambra, loved the local flamenco performance we caught. Did I mention the paella?
- Shannon, Ireland - driving trip over a weekend and when I say driving, I mean full on driving - we drove non-stop over 2 days and covered the very picturesque Dingle peninsula, up to the awesome cliffs of Moher, the Burren, up to the Sky Road near the Coonamara forest. Ireland is gorgeous and hooning about the narrow roads at 100km/hr was a good laugh
- Brussels and Bruges - very cool comic paintings around Brussels which was fun trying to find. Bruges was just gorgeous
- Paris and Versaille - I unequivocably love Paris and can return again and again
- Weekend hiking trip in Wales - walking nonstop for 6.5 hours from Chepstow to Redbrook (nearly 30km) left me hobbling about town for 2 weeks due to a sprained foot. Very foolhardy to say the least, but at least we saw a slice of Wales and the very strangely named 'Offa's Dyke trail'!
- Oh yeah I checked out Stonehenge and Bath as well during a random weekend, had the best scones there!
So I've been quite focused this year, traveling a lot and making more travel plans. Am heading to Scotland in a couple weeks to hike Ben Nevis and check out the mysterious lochs. July will be an extended trip up to Norway for the glorious fjords and the midnight sun all the way in a little town called Bodo - I can't wait to pass the arctic circle!
Not much else has been happening in my life apart from the unending packing and repacking I've been doing. I've been quite remiss with London life apart from what I can squeeze in during the weekdays which is surprisingly a lot given the wealth of shows here! Came back tonite from Lord of the Rings, unfortunately I slept through 3/4 of this 'musical', it was abysmal.
All else has been great and getting better now that spring is here.
Since Egypt in early Jan, I've been hopping about (in no particular order):
- Barcelona - ostensibly a cultural trip to check out Picasso and Gaudi but in reality more of a shopping trip for hip spanish clothes
- Andalusia (Seville, Cordoba, Granada) - Spain again, can't get enough of their paella and very cool sites like the Mezquita and Alhambra, loved the local flamenco performance we caught. Did I mention the paella?
- Shannon, Ireland - driving trip over a weekend and when I say driving, I mean full on driving - we drove non-stop over 2 days and covered the very picturesque Dingle peninsula, up to the awesome cliffs of Moher, the Burren, up to the Sky Road near the Coonamara forest. Ireland is gorgeous and hooning about the narrow roads at 100km/hr was a good laugh
- Brussels and Bruges - very cool comic paintings around Brussels which was fun trying to find. Bruges was just gorgeous
- Paris and Versaille - I unequivocably love Paris and can return again and again
- Weekend hiking trip in Wales - walking nonstop for 6.5 hours from Chepstow to Redbrook (nearly 30km) left me hobbling about town for 2 weeks due to a sprained foot. Very foolhardy to say the least, but at least we saw a slice of Wales and the very strangely named 'Offa's Dyke trail'!
- Oh yeah I checked out Stonehenge and Bath as well during a random weekend, had the best scones there!
So I've been quite focused this year, traveling a lot and making more travel plans. Am heading to Scotland in a couple weeks to hike Ben Nevis and check out the mysterious lochs. July will be an extended trip up to Norway for the glorious fjords and the midnight sun all the way in a little town called Bodo - I can't wait to pass the arctic circle!
Not much else has been happening in my life apart from the unending packing and repacking I've been doing. I've been quite remiss with London life apart from what I can squeeze in during the weekdays which is surprisingly a lot given the wealth of shows here! Came back tonite from Lord of the Rings, unfortunately I slept through 3/4 of this 'musical', it was abysmal.
All else has been great and getting better now that spring is here.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Gimmelwald - living in a milka ad
I lived through a milka ad over the long weekend in a timeless little village called Gimmelwald in the Swiss Alps. It was the perfect hiking trip with fresh air, snow-capped mountains, alpine meadows, waterfalls and stunning scenery at every turn. I loved it so much I could have stayed there forever and become a cowherd.
I first read about Gimmelwald on the net, the more I read, the higher it jumped on my must-do list. The reality of it did not disappoint. It's a tiny village of about 130 people, without any cars or streets, you could walk through the main street in 5 minutes, slowly. I fell in love as soon as I stepped off the cable car (the only way to access this village, unless you like to walk for long distances).
As soon as I dropped off my backpack at the local b&b, I set off on a hiking trail. I walked along a path that seemed nestled between mountains. Looking right I could see the alpine meadow, on my left a flowing stream. The trail took longer than expected because I kept stopping to pick my jaw off the ground. The scenery was vivid and beautiful.
It was the same throughout this long weekend, I walked the flower trail, the mountain trail, I ventured up to Shiltorn where they shot a Bond movie in the 60's. The summit of Shiltorn is a revolving restaurant, though why revolve when you could walk the perimeter and experience the crisp cold air? I took one of the steep descent trails and was amused by the 2 signs I passed along the way warning people not to hike in heels.
My last hike of the trip was to Sprutz, a large waterfall. It was very cool, especially being able to go through the waterfall. On my way back to Gimmelwald, I sat on a little bench to 'savour the moment'. Out of nowhere a cat appeared and sat herself next to me and kept me company. As I was ready to get up and leave, she put a paw on my foot as though to stop me and then rested her head on my foot and promptly dozed off. Why fight it? I decided to join her and took a nap myself. When I woke up, she led me down the trail back into town. What a perfect send-off.
I first read about Gimmelwald on the net, the more I read, the higher it jumped on my must-do list. The reality of it did not disappoint. It's a tiny village of about 130 people, without any cars or streets, you could walk through the main street in 5 minutes, slowly. I fell in love as soon as I stepped off the cable car (the only way to access this village, unless you like to walk for long distances).
As soon as I dropped off my backpack at the local b&b, I set off on a hiking trail. I walked along a path that seemed nestled between mountains. Looking right I could see the alpine meadow, on my left a flowing stream. The trail took longer than expected because I kept stopping to pick my jaw off the ground. The scenery was vivid and beautiful.
It was the same throughout this long weekend, I walked the flower trail, the mountain trail, I ventured up to Shiltorn where they shot a Bond movie in the 60's. The summit of Shiltorn is a revolving restaurant, though why revolve when you could walk the perimeter and experience the crisp cold air? I took one of the steep descent trails and was amused by the 2 signs I passed along the way warning people not to hike in heels.
My last hike of the trip was to Sprutz, a large waterfall. It was very cool, especially being able to go through the waterfall. On my way back to Gimmelwald, I sat on a little bench to 'savour the moment'. Out of nowhere a cat appeared and sat herself next to me and kept me company. As I was ready to get up and leave, she put a paw on my foot as though to stop me and then rested her head on my foot and promptly dozed off. Why fight it? I decided to join her and took a nap myself. When I woke up, she led me down the trail back into town. What a perfect send-off.
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