As mentioned in the previous blog entry the Dolomites are steep pale coloured cliffs that jut roughly and jaggedly up into the atmosphere, making a most dramatic skyline indeed. There were many, many instances of us stopping at any possible pull-off point to direct cameras at the view. In fact many of those pull-off points were merely metres apart. Different angles and varying gaps in the trees gave wildly different views.
The incredibly pointed peaks looked as though they were only made yesterday, with very little erosion evident, certainly there was no rounding of the ridge lines. As we commented previously the shaley scree slopes were absent, but there were a few ‘rivers’ of dust that seemed to flow down from the heights. Obviously these were the result of the grinding effect that the winter’s heavy coating of ice has on the hard rock faces.
Needless to say the sights were absolutely breath taking, with a great deal of exclamations and pleasurable noises coming from both of us as we negotiated the skinniest, windiest, most outrageous roads imaginable. Georgie did a great job of locating those fabulous and just a tiny bit treacherous trails again. Quite heart-stopping at times, but heaps of fun.
Until: the plurry computer karked it again. On a steep hill, as we wound around hairpin bends. Again! An internet search on Georgie’s phone revealed that this is a fairly common complaint for Fiat Ducato motorhomes, apparently the electronic device that operates the throttle cuts out on other people’s machines too. Luckily for us the ‘old turn it off and wait a bit before turning it back on trick’ worked for us again. But not until we’d blocked the road for a few minutes. Sheesh!
Anyhow, we were determined to not allow a stoopid ‘poota to ruin those magnificent views for us, and we soldiered on, only a little shook up by our second hire vehicle’s unreliability. We stayed the evening atop a high mountain pass and watched the Sun set behind those impossibly pointy peaks. Rod enjoyed a lovely early morning walk through the high mountain tops, but by 7:30 am there were lots of other people out walking too, making things a little too crowded for that little black duck, so he headed back to the vehicle to bang together a cold bowl of weetbix for himself and a hot cuppa for Georgie.
Nordic walking is a real ‘thing’ here in Europe. People striding along with a stick in each hand, clack clack clacking up the roads and trails. Apparently it’s very good exercise, even if it is a tad noisy. And then there are the people who have wheels on their skis who use the sticks to ‘ski’ up the winding mountain roads. Healthy young people are everywhere, mountain bicyclists are elevated to positions of heroes, with plaques and statues abounding that celebrate various cyclists’ achievements. So many people walk the mountain trails, and I’m sure the place must be thick with humans during the snow season. Being fit and energetic is something lots of people do here.
The flowers in the shadow are revealed:
Ah yes