The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The Hidden Guianas

Of the four great, pristine rain-forests left on the planet I explored one of them, the Iwokrama, on a journey to the three least visited countries in South America. More than 80% of Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana is covered with dense jungle, much remaining uncharted. Along with the mangroves, savannas and coastline, these natural habitats play host to some of the richest biodiversity ever recorded. My itinerary, organized by Wilderness Explorers, showcased the breath-taking diversity of these three unique countries, located on the North-eastern shoulder of South America.

The Guainas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana

Suriname

I arrived in Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo, a couple of days early to better adjust to the time (and weather!) change from southern Utah. The excellent restaurant and refreshing swimming pool at the Torarica Resort made acclimatization for the following two week trip with five Brits that much easier.

Presidential Palace Paramaribo, Suriname, was the centerpiece of a walking tour of the historic town center
Houses near Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo, highlighting the Dutch clapboard architecture
Paramaribo’s Saint-Peter-and-Paul Basilica, one of the largest wooden churches in the world
Egrets at sunset on the Commewijne River, Nieuw Amsterdam. While we did not see any pink river dolphins, the sunset tour on the river was special nonetheless.
A house on the former plantation of Rust en Werk (“Rest and Work”), on the Commiwijne River. Presumably Rust refers to the dissipated lives of the Dutch plantation owners and Werk refers to the slaves’ arduous toil.
Atjoni marina, Upper Suriname River. A three hour drive from Paramaribo brought us to the end of the road above the Brokopondo Reservoir and the start of our two hour river journey upstream in one of these pirogues.
Passing a lodge along the Upper Suriname River
A lizard on a wooden sculpture at the Saramaca museum of indigenous culture
My Danpaati lodge cabin view. The lodge was definitely deluxe, with en-suite bathrooms, a salt water swimming pool, and a fine dining restaurant and bar.
An interesting tree on our walk near Dan Village

To respect the wishes of the Maroon inhabitants of Dan Village, I had not taken photos of them. Sadly, the tree above was the last photo taken with my Panasonic Lumix, which drowned in a rain-forest deluge moments later. RIP.

French Guiana

Technically not a country, but rather and overseas department of France, our travel day from Paramaribo to Cayenne, French Guyana, consisted of six hours travel by van, divided in two by a river border crossing on a motorized pirogue.

Moiwana Monument in Eastern Suriname. The 1986 massacre of women and children that took place here was never properly investigated or the perpetrators held accountable.
The Transportation Prison at St. Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana. Our schoolmarmish guide seemed enthralled by grisly details. Papillon was incarcerated here for a few months in cell #47.
Our tour of France’s inhumane penal system continued on the Îles du Salut. Shown is a view of a prison on St Joseph Island, closed only in 1953.
St Joseph Island cemetery for the wardens and their families. The inmates’ bodies were simply dumped in the Atlantic Ocean.
A pool for the wardens on St Joseph Island. Quite refreshing after our circumambulation of the island!
Devil’s Island seen from Isle Royale, where we had lunch in a restored tourist hotel. The white building seen here is where Alfred Dreyfus was held in isolation for several years.

Guyana

The onward journey to Guyana was no less arduous – and certainly longer – than that to French Guiana. Five hours of driving back to Paramaribo, and then a flight to Georgetown early the following morning reinforced to me the isolation of this corner of South America. The congested, dilapidated capital of Guyana aside, our trip definitely concluded on a high note as the Iwokrama Rainforest, savannas of southern Guyana, and dramatic Kaieteur Falls were without a doubt the tour’s highlights.

Kaieteur Falls, at 226 m (741 ft) the highest single-drop falls in the world. An hour long flight on a Cessna 208B to a remote airstrip followed by a half-hour walk brought our group to some stunning view points
Down-valley view from Kaieteur Falls
The Vagabond Hiker standing well back from the edge at Kaieteur Falls

A tiny golden rocket frog near Kaieteur Falls. Lack of a decent camera really told here.
Atta River Lodge hibiscus. Not many flowers were in bloom at the end of the dry season. We flew from Georgetown to the Iwokrama airstrip for a three day journey into the rain-forest and savanna of central and southern Guyana. We stopped briefly for lunch at this Research Station and lodge.
View from Turtle Mountain, Iwokrama Rainforest. The trailhead was a short boat trip from our rain-forest lodge. Although the hike was less than two hours round trip, we were all soaked with sweat long before the end.
Our indigenous guide and an interesting tree in the Iwokrama Forest. Much of the forest is protected, and the rest sustainably harvested, or so we were told.
The Essequibo River from our boat, returning from the Turtle Mountain hike. The Essequibo is the largest river between the Orinoco and the Amazon, flowing north from Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
A male Cock-of-the-Rock, the photo taken through a spotting scope. This walk and bird watching excursion was a great break from our long drive to our next lodge, in the savanna.
Surama Eco-Lodge, near the eponymous village located in the savanna, our home for two nights. Like the Iwokrama Rain-forest Lodge, it is run and staffed by the local people.
An early morning hike rewarded us with this great view from Surama mountain.
An afternoon walk brought us to the Burra Burra River where a local boatman took us in his canoe to observe birds and caimans. The trip was far more interesting than perhaps this photo shows.
A birding walk on the final morning at the Surama Ecolodge ticked more than two dozen species for us. A great end to the two week trip!

As a codicil to the story of my deceased Lumix, I just acquired an Olympus Tough TG-6, a rugged water-proof, dust-proof, shock-proof, etc, camera. We’ll see how this latest device works out on my next trip, to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province in two weeks, the subject of my next blog post.

The Vagabond Hiker

European town & country walks (and a few hikes)

In reviewing my photos from this past summer, I realized there were quite a few that had been excluded from the limited blog topics chosen. This miscellaneous blog post is meant to remedy that shortcoming, and highlights some of the wonderful cities’ Old Towns as well as a few interesting hikes that had slipped between the cracks.

The Town Walks

There is no better way to see the Old Town of nearly any European city than simply to walk around it. Rarely have I found that a morning perambulating has not yielded great rewards. . .

Sofia, Bulgaria City Garden, near the Grand Hotel Sofia where I stayed for 3 nights waiting for my luggage. . .
Church of St. George, Sofia, the oldest building in the city, began in the 4th century as Roman baths.
The iconic St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
My favorite building in Sofia, the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker
Krakow main square panorama from my breakfast table. Normally jammed, the square was nearly empty at 7:30 Sunday morning. Staying on the main square was wonderful – and quiet – since my hotel room was in the back.
Night view of St. Mary’s Basilica, Krakow, Poland
Vltava River view, Prague, with the cathedral and castle. Two mornings spent walking around Prague were very enjoyable, and being mid-week it was not as crowded as I had feared.
Astronomical clock, Prague, the oldest Astronomical clock in the world still functioning
Modern stained glass in the St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague
View from the upper part of Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Town hall square, Tallinn. The city seemed almost empty.
Old town wall, Tallinn
Helsinki Cathedral, Finland. I took the 2 1/2 hour ferry from Tallinn across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. As the city was built in the 19th century from a fishing village, the town center is far more modern than most European cities.
Havis Amanda fountain, Helsinki

The Country Walks

My three days in southern Finland was for the most part spent away from Helsinki and makes a great starting point for the country walks. . .

Hotel Hanaholmen view from my window. About an hour walk from Helsinki center, but a world away.
Sculptures and the Baltic Sea, Porkkala Peninsula. I went on a guided walk in this nature reserve about 45 minutes west of Helsinki. This was part of a temporary mixed-media art exhibition.
Liesjärvi Lake, Liesjärvi National Park. Inland about 90 minutes from Helsinki I went on a second guided walk where we foraged for mushrooms.
Reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina), Liesjärvi
Dutchman’s pipe (Monotropa hypopitys), Liesjärvi

In July, I took a weekend road trip from my Val d’Aosta base across the Col du Grand St Bernard to Switzerland to watch the men play tennis in Gstaad. I of course had some time for walking.

Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland. I stayed here rather than pricey, touristy Gstaad where the men’s tennis tournament was held.
Near Chateau d’Oex, a pedestrian bridge across La Sarine River
Another view of bucolic Chateau d’Oex, from my hike ascending to Pra-Perron

More Northern Italian Hikes

Apart from the Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso (PNGP) hikes (already described in an earlier blog) I returned twice to Italy between my other trekking and traveling adventures and managed to squeeze in a few more. . .

Derelict house on the south slopes of Monte Faie, near Lago Maggiore. I stayed near the southern end of the lake for 5 days between two trips.
View of Lago Maggiore from Monte Faie summit
Ragged (Seguier’s) Pink (Dianthus seguieri), seen on Monte Faie
View of Cima Sasso (1916m) view on the descent of Monte Faie
An Ibex above the Col du Grand St Bernard. While spending a week in Aosta in early September, I did a spectacular hike: 8 miles, 6 lakes, 4 passes, and 2 countries!
A zoom photo of this old male Ibex (Capra ibex)
View towards Mt Dolent (3823m, center-left and just free of clouds) from the Col des Chevaux. The tri-point border of France, Switzerland, and Italy is 100m NW of the summit.
The 3rd of the Lacs de Fenetre near the Col du Grand St Bernard
Lago Chamole, seen on the ascent of the Punta della Valletta.
View from Cresta Nera towards Mt Blanc (in clouds). My traverse of the Punta della Valletta near Aosta was another spectacular hike in early September. This point was a short diversion on the way to the summit.
View of La Grivola from Cresta Nera. The Punta Rossa della Grivola which I climbed (see earlier post) is the left-most visible peak here.
The village of Cogne from Punta della Valletta (3090m). Amazingly, from this point I could also see the city of Aosta in the main valley.
Selfie of The Vagabond Hiker on Punta della Valletta summit
View of the knife edge traverse of Punta della Valletta
A backward look at an assisted traverse, Punta della Valletta. Despite some initial misgivings, I did this without protection.

With this blog I finally conclude my Europe 2022 adventures! Planning for the summer of 2023 when I once again will return to Europe and perhaps even Central Asia has already begun. For now, though, I am busy preparing for a two week, three country trip to the Guianas on the northern coast of South America, leaving Tuesday. That last minute trip will be the focus of my next blog post.

The Vagabond Hiker

Sardinia Walking Week

Before you say – “oh, another post from Italy”, I should make it clear that Sardi consider themselves apart from “mainland Italians,” with their distinct culture, traditions, and language. While many tourists come to Sardinia to bask on sun-drenched beaches or to emulate the sybaritic lifestyles of the glitterati on the Costa Smeralda, there exists a completely different aspect to this island. As well as helping to preserve the traditional lifestyles of the locals, the dramatic mountains and gorges of central Sardinia make for some fantastic walking, and my KE Adventures trip highlighted some of the best easier day hikes on the island.

Our group of fourteen diverse clients included eight Americans, by far the most on any of the nearly 20 KE trips on which I’ve been. In addition to four Brits, our group also had a Belgian and a Pole to give it a bit of international flavor. This was a center-based holiday where we stayed at a charming, locally-owned hotel outside the town of Dorgali, located in the center of the island, between the east coast and the Supramonte mountains. One website’s summary I think accurately describes the latter:

The Supramonte is a vast limestone plateau that extends in the province of Nuoro within the towns of Orgosolo, Dorgali, Urzulei and Baunei. It is an immense rugged and wild massif, made up of caves, forests, canyons. . . one of the wildest areas of the island. Over 500 sq km of rocks and mountains that form vertical walls, sinkholes, caves, [and] underground rivers.

https://www.perfectsardinia.com/destination/central-sardinia/supramonte/

Below are some photos I took last month. Decide for yourself whether the central Sardinia coast and mountains live up to their billing!

View of the Laniattu Valley on the Day 1 ascent where we traversed Monte Tiscale, a rather modest peak.
A gnarled juniper
The Nuragic complex of Sa Sedda e Sos Carros, a bronze age village high in the mountains. Their ancient culture was interesting, but lacking a written language means much of our knowledge of them is simply speculation.
On Day 2 our walk went from our hotel in Dorgali to Cala Ganone on the coast. Here is a view west towards Monte Corrasi (left), which would be our objective for the final day.
View of Cala Ganone and the Mediterranean Sea on Day 2.
An Autumn Crocus (Colchicum lusitanum). It was too late in the season for many flowers, but I’ll share photos of a couple we saw.
One of our (innumerable) group photos. I often felt apart from them as not many were regular hikers, causing excessive stops each day due to a lack of fitness for about half of them.
A gorgeous old juniper (Juniperus phoenicia)
Red squill (Charybdis maritima), whose blooms signal the end of summer
Coastal view on Day 3, where we hiked from Cala Ganone south along the coast to Cala Luna.
An ammonite fossil. The limestone which predominates on this portion of the island is fossil rich, though most are found away from the well-trod paths.
Spiaggia di Cala Fuili. Along with Cala Luna, access is only by either foot or boat. I won’t share any photos of Cala Luna. While beautiful, even mid week in September it was absolutely rammed with boat people. Perhaps 8 AM on a rainy December morning would be an ideal time to visit?
Monte Bardia from my hotel room balcony in Dorgali. This would be my objective on our mid-week off day.
View from the Parco del Carmelo towards Dorgali at the beginning of my ascent of Monte Bardia on Day 4.
Some of the numerous domestic goats we saw on the ascent. One other hiker joined me on this hike.
Another view of Dorgali from our ascent route
View from near Passo Ghenna di Silana on our Day 5 descent to the gorge known as Gola di Gorropu
Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) on our misty descent
With some of our group descending into the gorge
A view of Gola di Gorropu as the mist begins to clear
Entering Gola di Gorropu. There was a ticket booth as this gorge has been monetized for tourists. It provided some fun scrambling for those of us so inclined.
Day 6 was the culmination of our hiking week: the summit of Monte Corrasi, high point of the Supramonte. Here is a view of the town of Oliena on our ascent.
European yew (Taxus baccata), now a protected species in Sardinia
Monte Corrasi summit view east towards Dorgali and Monte Bardia (center)
The Vagabond Hiker on Monte Corrasi, view west
A summit pano from Monte Corrasi, also towards the west

I’ll leave the reader at our high point as the rest of the trip was literally and figuratively down hill. I caught a rather bad cold from a client that persisted for nearly two weeks and from which I am only now recovered back in St George Utah.

I do have some “odds and ends” photos from the Alps this past summer that are interesting enough (to me at least) that I will share them next month as a final blog post for 2022. Until then, enjoy the wonderful autumnal weather wherever you happen to be.

The Vagabond Hiker

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