Europe – Page 2

Walks and wanders in Slovenia and the Azores

December 30, 2024

As I mentioned at the conclusion of my last blog, The Traverse of the Picos de Europa, my plan in late September was to embark on a one-week trek in Slovenia’s Julian Alps, including summitting the high point, Mount Triglav. Following this trek and some cultural explorations in Slovenia, in early October I was to travel to São Miguel Island in the Portuguese Azores for several day hikes.

Unfortunately, everything went pear-shaped from the start.

A fall walking in the Picos necessitated a midnight trip to Santander hospital to suture up a finger. This injury made a high-altitude trek in poor weather imprudent, so I contented myself in enjoying easy walks around Lakes Bled and Bohinj. After returning to Britain and continuing to the Azores, running through Madrid airport in street shoes on a very tight connection (due to the usual delays at Heathrow and the absolutely predictable effects of Brexit), subsequently hobbled me to such an extent that for several days I could barely walk. Meanwhile, my luggage didn’t make the connection in any event and was ultimately delayed 5 days on a 7-day trip. My time in the Azores thus became far more sedentary and my itinerary resembled that of a typical tourist. Nonetheless, I did manage to capture a few good photos and hope to return to both Slovenia and the Azores when I can do them more justice.

Slovenia, a small country bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, is an ex-Yugoslav republic that always had more in common with Austria and Hungary than it did with its Balkan neighbors to the south. Not only is it far more developed, but the culture and architecture clearly owe much to the Austro-Hungarian empire. I spent three nights in the capital, Ljubljana, followed by about 10 days in Bled, on the east side of the eponymous lake.

Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, Prešeren Square, Ljubljana

View northeast from the Castle path, Ljubljana. My superb AirBnb was in a quiet wood near here.

River view in the medieval town of Škofja Loka, *enroute* to Bled

St. Martin Parish Church at night from my Bled condo

An autumnal view from the balcony of my Bled condo. I had to book very early to get this basic but amazingly situated condo.

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seen through the trees, and located on an island in Lake Bled.

Bohinj path. Lake Bohinj was a 45-minute bus ride from Bled, and was MUCH less developed.

Nettle-leaved Bell-flower along Lake Bohinj. There weren’t many wildflowers this late in the season.

A colorful inlet stream (Sava Bohinjka) on the Lake Bohinj circuit path

Another view along the Lake Bohinj (Bohinjsko jezero) circuit path

Bled Lake with parish church and castle. I did the easy 6-mile circumambulation of the lake several times.

Bled Lake and Church of the Assumption view from Mala Osojnica. This was the only real hike I did, gaining several hundred feet up a steep and slick trail to this iconic viewpoint.

After my eventful flights to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores, I rented a car and settled in to my amazing ocean front AirBnb, Casa da Rocha, in the village of Ponta Garça on the south coast. As mentioned, I did very little actual walking, but did capture several lovely landscape photos during three day road trips that encompassed the island.

Isle Vila Franca do Campo. Photo taken from along the promenade near my favorite seafood restaurant, the Atlântico Azorean.

Vista from my balcony at the AirBnb *Casa da Rocha*, in Ponta Garça. Note the Isle Vila Franca do Campo in the background.

Looking towards the *Casa da Rocha*. This was one of the best AirBnb’s I have stayed in yet.

Late day view from *Casa da Rocha*. In my hobbled state I spent much time on my spacious balcony.

Fumaroles at Caldeira das Furnas, in the center of the island.

Northeast (Nordeste) coastal vista with Hydrangeas. After visiting the fumaroles, I continued my first road trip around the eastern portion of the island.

Ribeira dos Caldeirões Natural Park, a very popular tourist attraction, particularly among the selfie-obsessed.

View south from Miradouro do Salto do Cavalo, high on a ridge. With generally southwest breezes, mist off the Atlantic was a frequent occurrence in October.

Finally, a sunny day at Vila Franca do Campo!

North coast in the mist with ubiquitous Easter lilies

Mosteiros coast in western-most Sao Miguel

Returning back to St. George Utah via London, I spent the remainder of the autumn exploring more of the amazing red rock landscape of which I never seem to grow tired. In reviewing some of my (and others’) photos, another blog post from southern Utah seems to be in order. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Traverse of the Picos de Europa

October 27, 2024

Last month I joined a KE Adventures guided group on a one-week hut-based traverse of the Picos de Europa, the highest and most dramatic mountain range of the Cantabrian mountain chain in northern Spain. For those who wish more detail about the Picos as well as its national park, I recommend this website.

This trek has been on my bucket list since before 2020, when it was cancelled due to Covid. Starting above the hamlet of Soto de Cangas, where we spent the prior night, the trek in general went from west to east. The first 3 days we traversed the Macizo Occidental (western massif) and the final three the Macizo Central. (The lower, eastern massif lacks much infrastructure and only occasionally sees overnight visitors). Our fun group of 7 clients and guide, Bruno, hiked almost 55 miles with more than 20,000 ft total elevation gain across some of the most rugged limestone peaks in the world. Enjoy the photos!

Map of the mountain ranges of Spain. The Picos de Europa are the highest portion of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain

Day 1. Landscape with huts above the Lakes of Covadonga, where we began our 6-day, generally west-to-east trek

European monkshood (*Aconitum variegatum*)

Large-flowered selfheal (*Prunella grandiflora*). While September is certainly not the best time to see wildflowers in the Picos, there were several species still in bloom.

Asturian Mountain cow. We saw numerous herds of this local bovine.

Heather, our guide, Bruno, and the Vegarredonda Refugio, our first night’s lodging on trek

Cantabrian chamois (*Rupicapra pyrenaica parva*) with griffon vultures soaring overhead. We saw so many chamois that, sadly, the novelty wore off.

A small limestone cave. Some of the deepest caves in the world are found in the Picos de Europa.

Either a vulnurable Iberian rock lizard (*Iberolacerta monticola*) or a common wall lizard (*Podarcis muralis*). Where their ranges overlap, the former is found at higher elevations. After looking at dozens of photos of each, showing widely-varying coloration, I’m still not sure which species this fellow is.

Eroded limestone rock formations, known as lapiaces. The Picos are almost entirely limestone.

An Asturian calf joined our group for a short while

View northwest from the Mirador de Ordiales

Some of our group at the Mirador de Ordiales

Our group on the summit of Pico Cotalba. Bruno graciously shared many of the photos he took during the trek.

Day 2. Our group in front of an outbuilding of the Refugio Vegarredonda, where we slept the first night.

With Oliver and Peter, walking by a chilled sheep dog

Merendera, an autumn crocus (*Colchicum montanum*)

Our group descending to the Covadonga Lakes in the mist

Our group at Lago de la Ercina. Due to the geology, very few lakes exist in the Picos.

Another photo of some of the many Asturian cows (and a few bulls) we saw

An orograph at Cabeza la Forma pass, showing many of the nearby mountains, none of which was visible in the fog.

View of the Cabezo Llerosos group with cows

Day 3. The splendidly isolated Refugio Ario, where we stayed the previous night, seen in the morning light

Resting with Oliver and Peter (lower left) on the long descent to the Cares Gorge

Rebecca, seen here descending to the gorge, with a goat in the foreground

The Cares Gorge and path hewn out of the mountain. Although undoubtedly the most popular day hike in the Picos, the gorge didn’t seem overly crowded to me.

The Cares gorge with a tunnel and bridge

A portion of the Cares Gorge hydro plant

Now heading north after a rest stop at Cain at the head of the Cares Gorge. From here it is less than an hour to Poncebos, where we enjoyed a hotel for the night.

Day 4. This day we climbed from our hotel in Poncebos to the Refugio de Urriellu. More than 6000 ft vertical gain. In the rain. I took zero pictures. Bruno’s camera malfunctioned in the wet conditions. Therefore, no photos from that day are extant. I am also trying to erase it from my memory, but without much success.

Day 5. Morning landscape leaving Refugio Urriello. The weather steadily improved this day.

Some of our group descending near Tesorero and Peñas Urrielles

Mountain vista with El Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Urriellu in Asturian) on the right

The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Torre de los Horcados Rojos

The unlikely Cabaña Verónica, a high mountain refuge. This building is an anti-aircraft battery, taken from the aircraft carrier USS Palau.

A view from Cabaña Verónica, above the clouds

Peter descending towards Hotel Aliva. Located at the end of a jeep track, Avila is somewhere between a refugio and a hotel.

Day 6. View from the Hotel Avila towards the Royal Chalet

The Teleférico Fuente Dé top station. According to Rick Steves, this cable car is the longest single-span aerial lift of Europe, with cable length of 1450 m (4757 ft)

Descent view from Pico Valdecoro to Espinama, where our final night’s lodging awaited us.

A magnificent Oak on the descent to Espinama

Following this wonderful trek in Spain, my intention was to complete another hut-to-hut trek in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and then spend a week in the Portuguese Azores hiking around its main island from my AirBnb base. Alas, neither trip panned out the way I planned. As the scenery was spectacular, in a post next month I’ll share a few photos from some short walks I did in Slovenia.

Rather than bewail the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, however, I am now planning my 2.5-month winter trip to Rajasthan (India), Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and Oman on the Arabian peninsula. The Rajasthan trip has large cultural and wildlife components as well as several day walks. Mountainous northern Oman has some amazing trekking, and my KE Adventures trip in late February encompasses many of the highlights. Lanzarote has long been one of my favorite winter destinations, and the subject of not one, but two blog posts from 2018 and 2019. I’ll probably take a break from blogging for those six weeks. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Travels with Clifford

February 23, 2024

As long-time followers of this blog may know, my youngest brother, Clifford, has both graced many photos and been behind the lens for quite a few more. Beginning with Maui in 1990, Clifford and I explored Belize in 1993, Wales with our dad in 2000, and coastal California and the Southwest US numerous times since 2007. More recently we traveled and hiked together in Tasmania and mainland Australia in 2017, Malta in 2018, Ireland in 2019, and Costa Rica in 2022. Clifford’s innate curiosity, far-reaching knowledge, boundless enthusiasm, and child-like sense of wonder for the natural world enriched my travels in so many ways. Here are some recent fond memories. . .