July 31, Tue: Return to Oberstdorf, Prep for Switzerland

Goal: return to Oberstdorf from Einodsbach Hutte, prep for Switzerland

Lazy day. Slept in. Followed Sign back to town.

• Great breakfast at Einodsbach Hutte and visit with owner



• Drop 1000 feet to valley floor and about 6 miles back to town. Lots of neat old houses, all with flowers. Took a side route through the forest above a beautiful lake. Went underneath the largest ski jump in the area. Can´t imagine how anyone could accelerate down a 60 or 70 degree slope, sight unseen for the landing area.



• Crossed river many times, often with bridges that are works of art. See pic.
  
• Interesting water trough in town.
  
• Hit town, went to Information and found another place to stay for the night. Needed to be nearer the Bahnhof (Train) to exit town early tomorrow morning for Switzerland. We also needed someone to offer breakfast at 7am. Found a great place for 50Euro for two.



• Washed clothes and hung out to dry; stopped at Bank and got more Euros.
• Stopped by Interet cafe to update this blog.
• Went to Baunhof and bought train tickets to Interlachen and Grindewald and reserved room at NaturFreundeHaus (hostel).
  

July 30, Mon: Heilronner Weg- AMAZING

Goal: Climb from Kempener Hutte (1845m) to Madelegabel (2645m) and high trail over to Rappensee Hutte.

• Awoke at 6am with storm dying down.
• By end of breakfast, stopped raining.
  
• Everyone scrambled to prep their packs and try to beat the weather, hoping it would improve.



• After 30 minutes on trail hit main junction. Left is E5 trek and everybody went that way.
  
• We turned right and headed upward into the clouds.
  
• Got to mini-summit with view of 10 to 20 meters, wind howling, and snow field to cross.
  
• Previous night it snowed up here and wiped out the foot steps. One pair of climbers were ahead of us some where, so followed footsteps. Did figure 8 as they too were looking for signs of the trail.
  
• We were very fortunate to view a somewhat rare animal on 10 m from us in the clouds. We found out later it was a steinbock. Will research it later.
  
• Never did see them, but heard someone below us in the clouds. Eventually connected with them --- a wonderful father/son combination from Germany.
  
• We ended up becoming good friends and hiked with them for the remainder of the day.
  
• Navigated over the passes up to Madelegabel (2645m) amidst hail, high winds, and the boys hair had icicles on it. We were dressed well with a shirt and windbreaker, light gloves and as long as we kept moving it was bearable.
  
• See pic for horizontal and vertical ladder at the Heilbronner Weg to move between peaks. I´ve seen pics of this and have wanted to accomplish this trek for many years. So cool.
  
  



• Shortly thereafter the trail squeezed through a verrrry narrow opening. Must have been interesting creating this route.



• We all took turns breaking trail and leading. The young son (19 yrs) was very good on the uphill (humbled us with deep breathing).
  
• Lee and I both agreed this was the most amazing day yet, and it wasn´t even half over.
  
• Descended to Rappensee Hutte, 2092m (our goal) by1:50pm.
  
• Had deserts and tea at the Hutte (with the father/son). We all decided it was much to early in the day to stay, so continued on down the valley.
  
• Hit the Enzian Hutte an hour later, and keep on descending back into the Oberstdorf valley and decided to stay at the Einodsbach Hutte (1115m). Great decision.



• 24Euro per person, inc. breakfast.
  
• Had a great dinner with Rainer and Felix (father/son). We had a local special called LeberKase, mit spiegelei and bratkart for 7.50Euro.
  

Long, hard, beautiful, incredible day to remember. 7700 feet ascend/descend, 11.5 miles (over 27,000 steps according to the pedometer).

To date:

• 46,000 feet ascend/descend
  
• Over 170 miles hiking/climbing.
  
• Every day rated a TEN to this point.
  
• No injuries worth mentioning, ready for Switzerland in two days.

July 29, Sun: Oberstdorf Hut Hopping

Goal: hike from Obersdorf up to Kemptener Hutte (3000 feet above town).

• 10am left town
  
• 2pm arrived at Kemptener Hutte.
  
• Funny Priest story (will tell later)



• Kemptener Hutte, 1845m (elev), 14Euro/person, 3rd floor attic (see pics).



• 36 beds in groups of 6 (side x side). People of all types (German climb-hike clubs, families, solo hikers, etc.)



• Single COLD shower on 1st floor.
  
  
• Great menu and cooks. 7Euro for bockwurst and puree, and nudelgericht and pasta.
• Met couple from Berlin who are on a 6-day E5 hike. Many groups do this trek from Germany into nérn Italy. Sounds like alot of fun.



• Met 2 Germans on trail. One spoke a little English. The other one, very litte. When we said Oregon, he responded Washington. Then Rainier. We conveyed we climbed in several years ago, as did they. Immediate bonding and was fun.

Rain storm that night. Huge thunder, downpour, very high winds just howling through our bunk house. Clouds so thick one could only see 10 or 20 meters.

Hope it clears by tomorrow so we can continue the main piece of our trek.

8 miles today, 3000 foot climb.

July 28, Sat. Travel Oberstdorf; climb Rubihorn

7:10am bus from Reutte, Austria to Immenstadt to Oberstdorf, Germany. Arrive 11am.
Hike 1 mile uphill to Gausthaus Liberia (33 Euro/person inc. breakfast).

• 1pm: began climb to summit of Rubihorn. 3,500 feet in 2 hr 45 min with daypack. View of entire valley, including range we will be hut-hopping in the next 3 days.
• Descend via different route through Gaisalpsee (high lake). 3 mile trail around mt back to Cafe Breitenburg (a small cafe above the city). Great dinner.
• Walk through town at night.

14.5 miles today.

July 27, Friday: bike to Castles, Climb Tegelbergkopf

Another great day. Bike, Hike, Climb, more bike.
8am rent bikes (10 Euro for the day).

• Biked 12 miles from Ehenbichl (Austria) -> Reutte -> Pflach -> Pinswang (crossing back in to Germany) on a steep 10% grade to a trail that wound through the mts to Hohenschwangau. Butt very sore.



• Parked bikes. Hiked up to Castle Neuschwanstein then up to Marienbruke Bridge. Great pics.



• Crossed bridge and suddenly no tourists. We climbed a narrow trail up the ridge (over 3400 feet from the valley floor (our bikes). Took 2 hours and ate lunch at the Tegelbergkopf Hutte.



• Descended by a different route back to the valley floor (1 hour with ears popping). Legs somewhat fatigued. Biked back to Ruette, took a shower and short nap, then biked back to town for dinner.

Great day with some good pics.

Biked 28 miles, climb/descend 6800 feet (9 miles hiking).

Travel to Oberstdorf (Germany) tomorrow for a week in the Bavarian Alps.

July 26, Thr: climb to Ehrenburg ruins

We are in the community of Ehenbichl. A hidden gem in the heart of the Tirol/BavarianAlps region. Slept til 9am. Crisp cool air and tired body will do that. Best breakfast to date. Breads, jams, yogurt, meats, fruit, cheese, juice, coffee. Plenty to keep us going for much of another beautiful, sunny day. Most all our clothes are dirty and we asked Sieglinde (the owner) about a laundry mat. She just smiled and said I´ll do them for you. Upon returing later in the day they were all done. This place is too good to be true.

Headed up the mountain behind us that contains the Ehrenburg ruins. Worked through some fields and hit the forested base. Eventually found a small trail that headed upward. Pretty steep towards the end as we approached the old rock walls. I can´t imagine trying to attack this fortress. The base walls were steep and it took us quite a while to find a weak spot where we could work our way through to the interior. There were additional walls as we continued upward, but there is an upper trail system that is well developed, apparently from the other side of the mountain and it was easy going from here.

I took a 360 degree panarama video from the summit. Hopefully I can reduce or stream it for all to see. Looking back down into the valley, the river flowing through it, and all the surrounding mountains makes this place my favorite so far. Most folks just don´t drift over this far. They stop where the train stops (Fussen) and have no idea what they are missing.

There is a tiny airport runway where hang gliders take off once the winds pick up. We watched about 6 or 8 take off and cruise around us for about an hour. For launching, it appears they have some type of motorized contraption that accelerates them less than 100m down the runway then they rise at nearly 45 degrees to 1000 feet (level with us) in a few seconds. Then they drop this device and it plummets down to the earth and lands at the end of the runway (kind of parachutes). Not only are they buzzing around us, but there are hang-gliders on the other side of the valley also.

We met a young man (only 56) who came up from the other side of the runis and had a good conversation. He is from Colo. Springs but his wife is stationed near Reutte for a few years so they are currently residing here. He loves the area and says it is one of his favorites of all of Europe. He hasn´t been to Switzerland, but barring that I would certainly agree.

Took a little different route down. Went over the walls in a more direct route towards Reutte. Eventually pushed out to a path and side road which led back to town. Phoned home, got a bite to eat, stopped at the Information booth to get more info of the area, walked around town a little, then walked the 2 miles down the river back to Ehenbichl.

We decided to stay an extra day. Called over to Oberstdorf and said we´d be a day late. No problem. We decided to rent bikes tomorrow and bike about 10 miles back into Germany on a back road and visit the castle created by crazy von Ludwig (Neuschwanstein). Enough people have talked us into taking the tour, although it´s not really our thing. We´ll then lock up the bikes and climb up to the Tegelberg Hutte (several thousand feet) which will look down into Forggensee Lake area and over to the mountains near Reutte. Get a quick bite to eat then then descend a different route that goes back into the valley floor and back to our bikes. Bike over to Fussen for dinner and back to Reutte/Ehenbichl by dark.

July 25: Travel day. Steve to Munich. On to Reutte.

Long travel day (or rest day). Travel included 1 boat, 1 bus, 1 car, 6 trains, walking.

• 6:50am Hallstatt boat to Hallstatt train stop
• 7:10 On to Salzburg, switch trains, on to Munich.
• Arrive Munich to drop Steve off (flies home tomorrow) around 2pm
• 3pm Lee and Barry on train from Munich to Fussen
• Arrive by 5pm. Eat dinner in this touristy little town at the base of the Tirols at a local cafe. Chatted with a young lady who just graduated from a college in Texas and taking a break before starting law school. Her friend bailed at the last minute and she decided to go on anyway. Also talked with a retired police officer from England. We had an interesting conversation (as his place is currently flooded in the recent storms).
• 7pm Bus over to Reutte (back in to Austria). Met a cute couple (both Phd students from Slovakia) who were also taking a break before going back to school. Learned a little about their country and the transition they went through when breaking away from the Czechs. They were both very fit and did an impressive hike/climb of the main peak between Reutte and Fussen. Got to Ruette about 7:45pm.
• Called Segrinde of the Pension Hohenrainer in Ehenbichl (about 2 miles out of Reutte).
• She picked us up at the Platz (plaza) in Reutte and drove us to her place. Very gracious, kind lady.
• I took a 360 degree panarama from our porch. We are at the base of the Ehrenberg ruins and are encircled by mountain peaks.
• This place is like a dream. Tomorrow we will hike out the back door (after breakfast in this great pension), across the fields and up the cliffs and climb over the old ruin walls to the top of this old fort. Then descend and cross the river and up a peak on the other side of the valley. Then back to town where they have a huge olympic size outdoor pool to cool off.

Summary: very long day but great scenery and alot of fun. Looking forward to tomorrow.

July 24, Tuesday (descend from Simony Hutte)

Spent night up at the Simony Hutte. Slept great and breakfast was amazing for a summit hutte. Juice, coffee, cheese, meats, yogurt, granola, bread, apple and jams/honey. Left at 9am to descend 5,100 feet back to Hallstatt. For reference, that´s about the distance from the summit of Mt Hood back to Timberline. Full cloud cover on summit so decided to work the downhill pretty hard to beat the incoming weather system before it hit the valley floor.
7.5 miles, 17000 steps, 3 hours downhill (a little more than half the 5.5 hours we needed to ascend). Legs felt great and we´re recovering quickly. We took several detours on the way down. In one area we discovered a little tree house platform. Not sure what it was for.

We had several great peeks of town from above so hopefully the pics will do it justice.

Just as we hit town the rain, thunder and lightening began. Perfect timing.

Our hostel was closed from noon to 2pm (or that´s what we thought we interpreted from the German note on the door) so we stopped at an outdoor tent restaurant and had lunch next to the lake. Also updated this blog. The guy here is a computer enthusiast and likes new things so we showed him about blogging. He also told us that our buddy (Steve) had stopped by and emailed us. Steve´s feet are pretty trashed so he did a salt mine tour and some lighter hiking. Anyway, it turns out that our Hostel decided to close down for the day even though we had reservations. Steve checked around town and found us another place to stay.

Had a great meal at a little restaurant right on the lake looking up thorough town. See pic.

Summary: this little trek out of Hallstatt really shows off the best of the Dachsteins and the town, although a little touristy, is very picturesque and fun to visit.

July 23, Hallstatt (Austria)

Left Salzburg on the 7:10am train to Hallstatt. Several transfers over about 3 hours. Took boat across Hallstatt See (lake) to this beautiful town built in the side of a cliff. Arrived 11am. History dates back to around 500-800 BC salt mines. This is a great base to hiking and climbing in the Austrian Dachsteins. Beautiful mountains consisting of limestone and karst.

Found Hostel on side of cliff for 13euro per night. Steve stayed here on night one. Lee and I left at noon for the Simony Hutte which sits just below the summit glacier of the tallest peak in the Dachsteins. Steve hiked up the first 2 miles to a roaring spectacular water fall that cut deeply into the 1000 foot cliffs.

Lee and I hiked 7.5 miles up 5100 feet with full pack in 5.5 hours. This is about the same elevation gain as Timberline Lodge to the summit of Mt Hood. Had to conserve water so drank about .4 liters per hours. Worked out just fine. Passed Weisburg Hutte on the way --- very dark and unfriendly and we are suggesting to fellow hikers/climbers to pass it by. Arrived at 5:30pm at the Simony Hutte. Very friendly and welcoming people. Awesome view of glacier, summit, and surrounding country.

SIMONY HUTTE: stayed on 2nd floor, which is just a large room (low ceiling) consisting of 20 bunks side by side. Cozy --- families, hikers, climbers. Had noodle soup, cheese and sausage for dinner. Slept like a rock (pretty tired). Another great day.
Had long conversation with a teacher from Berlin and a couple from Stuttgart. Learned all about their city and area. Lots of fun sharing stories.

Couldn´t resize pics (sorry) so they average 1mb.

Stories - travels in Salzburg

Quick story. We arrive at the B&B at 2pm. Barry stayed here 4 years ago and knew the family. Nobody home so we drop our packs and head to town (about a 2 mile walk). Spent several hours getting the layout, a bite to eat, etc. Returned to B&B --- nobody home. BUT the 3rd floor of the house was open and we knew that was our room. Unpacked, showered, hung out the clothes, etc. Bridgette arrives home about dark, looks up and I say HI from the window. She kind of freaks --- who are you? I showed her the confirmation email and she apparently did not recall. But, once we worked through that she was a very gracious host and treated us fantastic. I believe the main problem was that in Europe all the floors are off by one. Example, the 1st floor for us is really the ground floor for them. Therefore, we were actually in the WRONG room. We were in their Apartment. The actual room she had for us was very tiny. But, no one had reserved the apt so she let us use it. Full kitchen, extra bedroom, very nice.

We definitely need an easy day. Steve has some pretty bad blisters and our feet/legs are pretty trashed. However, we wouldn´t have changed anything to this point.

Rented BIKES. Awesome tour of town, nearby hills, forts, beautiful gardens, plazas, fine dining, street performers, the works. A day to remember.

July 21-22 Salzburg

Travelled from Selva to Salzburg. What fun. 7:15am bus to Waidbruck. Transfer to bus to Brixen (made it by 2 minutes --- whew, barely made it). In Brixen we had to speed walk over the river to the train stop and had 2 minutes to spare. Geez this is getting interesting. Train to Innsbruck where we transferred to Salzburg.

Well, ALMOST. Got onto the wrong train (right track, right time, wrong train). Local college kid new enough English to let us know ... this train is not LONG enough for the train to Salzburg. Must be the next one. We chose to believe him. He was correct. Had a great conversation --- they know more about our culture and politics than we do. He know about all the Democratic candidates and was convinced the American people would overwhelming vote that way due to the decisions of the current administration. We could not argue.

At the border the train stopped and the kid explained that the electrical system was different in Austria and they had to switch engines. Interesting.

Arrived by 2pm and proceeded to walk about a mile to our next Bed and Breakfast. The main street from the train station to the river is Jahnstrabe (Jahn Street) so had fun taking some pics. One lady looked at us kind of funny and I attempted to say Jahn was my name. She replied I´m married and immediately went back into her apt and closed the door. What did I say?

Selva Stories

1- Families are fit and do alot of hiking. We got one great pic of a family climbing the Gran Cir. This is narrow, steep, and demanding. We were impressed. One mother from Berlin actually had her child in a pack on her back and was descending a slippery, tough 2000´drop.

2- Steve hike the other side of the valley. Met 3 family members from Germany. An hour later 2 more family members joined in (from another trail) and about 2 hours later 3 more family members joined in. All met here on a long holiday and this is what they do. One guy (a runner) wanted to practice his English so he and Steve had a good time with that.

3- On the high-trail up to Puez Hutte 3 other club hikers got a little competitive with Lee and Barry. Option 1- let them establish their superiority. Option 2- we´re at 7000 feet and feeling strong- get more aggressive with the climbing pace. Took the heart rate up to 130 and gradually pulled away and broke them. Saw them on the summit and they just smiled.

4- As we hit the valley bottom we ran into 4 guys playing a local swiss instrument (alphorn). What a way to end a perfect day.

• Here is a short V I D E O of these 4 guys.

July 20 Selva Hiking Day 2

From Selva, took the Dantercepies gondola to 2300 m.

• Short hike and decided to climb Gran Cir (2900 m.) 9,570 feet. Similar to 3 Fingered Jack or Mt Washington. No special hardward needed. 51 minutes up, 23 minutes down. About 2000 foot climb.
• V I D E O (360 degree panaroma) of the Dolomites from the Gran Cir.
  

• Then hiked the Dolomiten hohenweg (high trail) to the Puez Hutte. 2.5 hours of ascending and descending. Hutte sits at 2475m (8200 feet).
  
• Descended valley wall (very steep and a real foot/knee/leg burner). Ears popping all the way down. 4,400 foot drop back to town. 13 mile loop and about 10,000 feet in ascend-descending.
  
• Legs are pretty trashed --- plan for easy day tomorrow. Great dinner in valley (Val Gardena) watching gorgeous sunset.

july 19 Selva Hiking Day 1

We are in the magical Val Gardena region of northern Italy. This is the home of one of the most famous Ski areas in the world, boasting over 400 lifts/runs in the region, and host of the annual World Cup races. One could spend months here hiking every day and not hit the same trails. We will return.

• 9am bus to P.Sella. Hut (hutte) hike to August H. -> Pertinin H. -> PlattKofel H. -> Langkofel H., climb to ToniDemetz Hutte. (about a 1500 ft climb to this hut).
  
• Descend to Plan Sogalunch Plateau.
  
• Signs flaky and got a little misdirected. Decided to follow cow trails down the stream because we could see Selva several thousand feet below in the valley.
  
• 5pm so had 3 hrs of light left. Reacquainted with trail eventually and beautiful forest path to Selva.

Over 10000 climb/descend over 8.5 hours for 14.5 miles. Pooped.

• 
  During the day Steve toured the other side of the valley (tram, and beautiful plateau hikes). Met and hiked with 10 other people (all from one family) and had a great time.

Attempt at night shot of Selva from our Bed and Breakfast which sits up on a hill above town.

Snoring in Cinque Terre

We´ve had a little problem with Stu's snoring of recent. The room and building often shakes. He claims he doesn´t snor, however. But proof in Cinque Terre told him different. We were all out on the porch chatting and the topic came up. The kids adjacent to our wall said it sounded like another train coming through. The two sisters had a room on the other side of the kitchen (2 walls from us) and didn´t know the train came on that side of the building. The walls are solid rock.

SOLUTION:
Nite 1- Barry took his clothes line and tied it to the upper edge of Stu´s pillow and stretched it across the room to his bed. Whenever Stu snored he yanked on the cord until he stopped. This reoccurred 20-plus times that evening. Our fear was someone coming from another room to use the toilet would trip.
Nite 2: Steve extended his hiking poles to the max, exposing the carbide tip. A few carefully placed pokes also solved the problem. He kept sitting up wondering what was happening. It was pitch dark.

So, lots of great stories and all is going well. Just a bunch of old men having alot of fun.

July 18, Wed. Roommates and On to the Dolomites

10 hour train/bus from Cinque Terre to Bologna to Bolzano to Selva/Wolkenstein. Beautiful trip, and our room/chateau balcony look right out into the peaks we will be trekking on over the next two days. Pics to follow if we can find a place to get them uploaded. These mountains are so spectacular --- predominantly limestone. It´s in the mid 90´s, but we´re used to it and getting fitter every day. Planning or 6 to 7 hour hike tomorrow. More later.

PS Stu left from Milan this morning and had a great time so we are down to three. Separate post will follow on his snoring. Great input from several other young travelers who we´re in our room at the hostel in Cinque Terre.

Roommates oung folks in our room were traveling for months by themselves or with a partner. They included two recent graduates who will become 1st zear teachers (one from Boston and one from Vancouver BC. Had wonderful conversations with them. A pair of sisters from Spokane went to L&C HS in Spokane and were fiends with Brittnez Henry recently set the U of O womens hammer throw record. Another mate was from Boston and recently returned from 3 years service in Iraq. And, on the trail and train(s) we´ve met and had conversations with many people from all over the world. This is just an amazing experience and those young people are so wise to see the world before they settle down. We asked them how they afforded it and many said they were using their left-over student loans in some creative ways. That´s proof to us that they had a good education.

July 17, Monday, 5 Town Hike in Cinque Terre

Left Riomaggiore at 9am. Hiked to Manarola (20 minutes). Then up the hill to Corniglia and stopping at some amazing scenery (about 1000' up here). Then to Vernazza, which is a set of steep winding trails up and over to the next town. Every village has steep vineyards stretching from the sea to the top of the hills above the towns. Much of the soil was carried in, and the terraces are so steep it is hard to believe they can keep it irrigated and pick the crops. The terraces are held in place by carefully built rock walls. Amazing is the only word to describe this.
And finally a 75 minute hike over another set of steep winding trails to Monterosso. This is a very touristy town, unlike most of the others. We went for a great swim in the ocean, then took the train back to Riomaggiore.
Stu takes off tomorrow from Milan, and we will leave La Spezia at 8am for Bologna and Bolzano, ending up on a bus into Selva (in the Dolomites).

10 miles today, and legs/feet getting stronger every day. Very warm and muggy, so put down a liter of water per hour. Nice to be getting fit again, and we are now ready for the mountains.

July 15-16 Florence -> Pisa -> Cinque Terre

J U L Y 15:

Florence. Stayed at the Hotel Andrea (about 1/2 mile from the Bahn). We were on the 4th floor and had a great view.

• We did a 7-mile walking tour hitting most of the highlights of the city, including all the main plaza´s (piazza). Took pics of the Duomo Santa Croce, a replica of the statue of David, hit tons of open markets for fresh foods, and walked over the old bridge on teh River Arno (see pic).
• Several outdoor cafes with musicians serenading.
  

• Rick Steves suggested a tiny no-name gellatto shop in a small vallage-like neighborhood on the other side of the river. We actually found it but it was no longer in service.
• But, we were right at the base of the Giardino gardens and then hiked up to Fort Belevedere where they were preparing for an open-air night concert.
  
• On the way back we got a might bit confused and ended up walking several extra miles back to our hotel. Streets move out like spokes on a wheel from the Duomos (cathedrals) and we sure got twisted around.

J U L Y 16:

Left Florence 8:35am, and arrived in Pisa 11:30am.

Deposito bagagli (left baggage/packs) at terminial. Bus to Campodei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). Inside the city walls,next to the Duomo (Cathedral) is the bell tower. Appropriately named Leaning Tower of Pisa. Seen in books and TV, but amazing to see F2F. Will post pics later.

200 ft tall, 55 ft wide, 14000 tons.

5 degree tilt. Doesn't seem like much, but sure is noticeable (15' off axis).

Built over 2 centures by 3 architects. 1173AD original build (base layer) but noticed leaning after 5 years.

1272AD next layering, but tilted backward.

1372 top belfry, also tilted backward. Unstable ground, and continued to lean.

1990: dried soil with stteam pipes and buried 600 tons of lead with cables. Didn't work.

Then drilled 15' holes and sucked out 60 tons of soil. It actually straigtened a little, and stopped progressing the leaning.

On to the Cinque Terra (upper Mediteranean called the Ligurian Sea). Arrived in La Spezia by 1:30pm. 8 minutes to RIOMAGIORE, the first of the 5 tiny coastal sea towns. Stayed at a hostel called MarMar. View of town and sea. Room mate (Sam) is from Boston. Graduated from Harvard and will begin teaching this fall. He will be a superb teacher. Amazing insight for such a young man.

Other room mate was also from Boston. He went to Iraq out of HS and served 3 years. He's now touring the world to put it behind him. Amazing stories (another blog for this). He shared many stories that tells us what many folks already believe. No reason to be there, leadership has no idea or plan of what in the world is going on. He stated that seldom do they know who the enemy is, and numerous civilians have been killed. He also stated that numerous shooting of our own soldiers occurs as every is always jumpy and fires at pretty much any noice if they feel threatened. He stated things are currently escalating out of control. Many of the big 'reconstruction companies' are making millions of dollars over there and are tied directly to the current leadership. Part of this young mans task was to drive these people between their projects, so he heard a lot. Many of his buddies who were injured are having serious issues getting treatment upon returning and are shown little respect from their branch of the service for 'not re-enlisting.' He is just happy to be alive and out of there.

Boat ride to Porte Venere. We still had 5 hours of sunlight so decided to take a boat ride over to Porte Venere. It takes about 30 minutes and was so much fun. They explained the history of the region, the topography, and we went right by the cliffs and caves where they filmed that memorable scene in the Guns of Navorone. Lots of tourists over here, but well worth the trip.

Gorgeous evening, great local food, and a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is a hiking day.