Geneva

June 29:  We had a noisy night but fortunately it cooled down to acceptable temperatures.  We had breakfast in the hotel and ventured forth to visit the United Nations Geneva.  We walked up to the train station and caught the tram that goes to the front gate of the UN.  This is not the gate for visitors, but is the location of the statue of 'the Broken Chair" erected to remind people of the horror of land mines, cluster bombs, and the like, that maim civilians more than combatants.  The statue is a standard four-legged chair, red and big enough for a giant, with one shattered front leg.

The visitor entrance is 500 meters uphill and around to the side of a large, lovely complex with attractive gardens and views across Lake Geneva.  We joined what I called the 3-line gambit.  The first line was a security pass through a metal detector.  The guard was friendly but metered us out in small numbers.  We had to take everything out of our pockets, take the belt off, even if it was fabric, take off our watches, and some people had to remove their shoes.  This was the longest wait.  The second line was to check identification (one passport per group, a photo was taken and wrist band issued).  Betsy was the leader of our group of two and received the ID check.  The third line was to pay the entrance fee.  As OAPs, we got in for 20 CHF (Swiss Francs).  We paid with a credit card since we had no Swiss Francs.

After the processing gambit, we walked to another building and arrived in time for the 11 am guided tour in English.  Pablo, a young man, led the group around, explaining the history and mission of the UN as we went.  We went into several of the 50+ conference rooms, ranging in capacity of 20 to 2000 people.  Each has desks for delegates/attendees, chairs for support staff behind them, and observation areas for NGOs, non-member reps, etc. as well as glassed levels for interpretors.  All meetings are conducted in either French or English, but there are 4 other official languages - Russian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic.  At present there are 193 member countries, with South Sudan being the most recent addition.  The UN in New York is the political HQ, with the General Assembly and Security Council.  The UN in Geneva is the mission HQ for humanitarian and similar activities.  

Pablo pointed out some of the art or displays on the walls that have been  contributed by member countries.  We next saw a conference underway and listened to a bit of the proceedings.  We heard two countries present 2 minute statements protesting human rights violations in Urkraine, particularly in the eastern portion, or Crimea.

We left the modern building (mid 60's architecture) and entered one built in 1929, specifically for the League of Nations.  Pablo pointed out the door handles which still have the League of Nations logo.  The structure is handsome and probably adaptable, since it still serves well.   We visited the largest assembly hall which concluded our tour.  We wandered back to the gift shop and bought a couple of  souvenirs, mostly to support the UN's mission.

We walked back around the UN grounds, outside and then through a botanical garden to the lakefront.  We walked back to town and our hotel, where the luggage was stored.  Along the way, we had views of classical mansions (block-like), lots of people jogging, sunbathing and even swimming, two families of grebes (4 or 5 goslings and very attentive parents), a distance view of what we think was Mt Blanc, snow capped, and the city with the jet fountain. 

We retrieved our luggage, walked to the train station and caught the TGV to Paris, Gare Lyon.

We arrived into Paris after racing along at up to 186 mph, after getting out of the mountains.  We walked to our hotel, a modest one but it should be quiet and convenient. 

Rome for the last day

June 27:  Today was a relaxed day with some walking about.  We first had a "caffe and cornet brioche" at the recommended place, Tazza d'Oro,  just off the Piazzo Pantheon.  The custom is to pay first, then deliver the receipt to the barista, who makes the coffee and yells for the croissants.  The shop looked like it wanted to be an Italian Starbucks and frankly it might have been.  There were a variety of roasted beans, cups and gadgets, and expresso machines that cost more than 900 euros.

Our primary destination for the day was the Plaza Della Republica and the adjacent Santa Maria degli Angeli Cathedral.  The cathedral was the last architectural design completed by Michalangeo at age 83 and was built over the largest Roman bath ever found - Terme di Diocilezano.  The church now sits over one of the three large historic pools (all long since destroyed), I think it was the Tepiderium (the middle temperature one).  Michalangeo incorporated some of the bath's columns and foundations in the church.  

Inside the church, there is pendulum with historical context, all in Italian, a meridian laid on the floor that tracks the sun angle, decorated with the signs of the zodiac, and a 'museum' that has posters recounting the design of the church and providing context for the baths.  The meridian uses a small hole high in the church wall that allows a ray of sunshine to hit the line at a certain time each day.  Thus, the sun angle is precisely determined and the date in the solar year can be estimated.

We exited the church and circled it to a history museum set over more of the bath complex.  Unhappily for us, it was closed on Mondays.  Instead we walked up to the Spansh Steps, which are completely blocked off for renovation.  This didn't deter the tourists who were there in droves.  We walked back to the hotel to cool off and read.  I am reading the 11th book by Louise Penny, The Long Way Home, only one more after this one to finish the series. 

We went out for a second walk and dinner by heading first toward the Largo di Argeniina, a large Roman ruin set below street level.   We were in search of the resident stray cats, which we had missed on an earlier pass.  There are perhaps 50 cats of different sizes, colors and ages living among the ruins.  Local people bring them food and water, and the cats have alll been sterilized and vaccinated and seem happy with their lot.   

We then wandered on toward the river.  We spied a variety of riverside tents on the Trastevere side, which drew us in.  The tents housed  a variety of market stalls and several restaurants and bars.  We walked up and then down before deciding on a place for drinks and dinner.  Most of the restaurants were full of Italian fans routing for their soccer team which was playing Spain in the Euro 2016 championships.  We heard two loud screams and later lots of car horns - Italy won 2 goals to none.  Rome had dropped a few degrees this day and there was a nice breeze along the river, so it was very pleasant.

Our dinner was at a natural food restaurant - seafood salad and tuna Tandori, in small portions but well prepared.  We started with a piadina, which is an Italian quesadilla with filling, eggplant in this case.  We wandered to our hotel and enjoyed gelatos before retiring for packing and bed.

We are off to Geneva tomorrow via a 9:00 am train to Milan and a second train into Switzerland, arriving at 4:21.  Read below to see if this worked out.  I am writing this on the first train which is going 246 km per hour.

June 28:  Up early today, taxi to Rome Termini and caught the train to Milan, traveling through a number of tunnels.  Note, after the previous entry, we reached a speed of 300 km/hr, or 186 mph.  Arrived in Milan on time, and walked easily over to train bound for Geneva.  We knew the platform number before those in the station, since they flashed it in the Milan train car just before we got off.  So, we were the first people on.  The ride to Geneva was slower paced, with several stops but the scenery was impressive.  We weaved by Lake Maggiore, through the Alps, went by Visp, the junction that leads into Zermatt, and followed the Rhone River all the way to Geneva.  We passed the Chillon Castle and Lausanne, both on Lake Geneva.

We checked into our hotel (Admiral - 3 stars), got free public transport passes, and immediately went out exploring.  We walked down to the lake front and saw the 140 meter high fountain jet, and the Park Anglais with its 'flower clock '  celebrating Swiss watchmaking.  Then we climbed up to the old town to see the cathedral, a couple of parks, and various narrow quaint streets.  We passed a restaurant specializing in crepes that we returned to for dinner.  We each had a salad and then a special crepe, which looked more like a pizza than a crepe.  The bases were buckwheat pancakes.

We then wandered through a different part of old town and discovered an outdoor concert that was underway.  We stood and listened to several pieces.  The orchestra appeared to be largely young musicians.  There were soloists on the trumpet, marimba, and a small type of accordion, Argentinian-style.  We walked back to the hotel, crossing the Rhone River at the outlet of the lake.  There were swans, ducks, and coots on the amazingly clear and fast moving water.

Rome 3

June 26: The Forum is a frying pan; the Coliseum is a wok; and we are each a single grain of rice among many grains that are being broiled.  It was a little cooler today, only 89 degrees F.  But we sweated just as much.  We are thankful for the city's brass taps that supply fresh water for bathing and drinking.  And we appreciate siesta time in our air-conditioned room.  We still take a couple of showers a day.  Though I am not complaining, just recording and commenting.

Today's efforts were directed at ancient Rome.  We had a quick breakfast at a coffee bar near the Pantheon and walked to the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, a large, white wedding cake structure that rises above most of the city.  Two statues of horses ride on top of the towers which can be seen for miles around.  The monument is next to the edge of the Forum, the ruins of ancient Rome.  There are good aerial views down to the Forum, which was originally a marshland on which Rome was built.  The emperors built palaces on the surrounding hills, the most famous being the Palatino.  There is a broad avenue was built by Mussolini that runs along one side of the Forum and away from the Monument.   Vittorio Emanuele was responsible for uniting Italy in the 1870's and is thus considered the father of the country.

After navigating around the perimeter we reached the ticket office for the Forum and the Coliseum.  We stood in line under the blazing sun for about 20 minutes to purchase 12 euro tickets for both sights.  We entered with no delay and toured around most of the Forum grounds.  There is a church that was discovered in mid-1900's and restored for visitors.  It was used by a number of generations, after the Roman era, and had multiple fresco layers on the walls and niches.  It also has an indoor ramp part way up the hill toward the emperor's palace.  It was destroyed in 890 in an earthquake.  The archeologists have done a good job deciphering what the church must have looked like in various eras, as shown in a well-done slide show.

We saw a number of sights in the Forum, including temples to various Roman gods and the Vestal Virgins, the marketplace, and the like, which formed the center of life for typical Romans.  Most of the ruins are largely piles of rocks and bricks with a few columns and capitals.  There were few explanatory signs and without a tour guide, it was tricky to determine what we were seeing.

We next walked up Palatino (the Palatine Hill) to a massive complex that was the emperors' palace.  (The word 'palace' comes from the name of this hill.)  Each new emperor added wings and it ran quite a way along the hilltop.  It overlooks the Circus Maximus, site of chariot races, which is not restored and looks like a grassy ditch with one turn.

We dropped down and exited the Forum and proceeded to the Coliseum.  While we had tickets, we had to pass through a metal detector, which took about 40 minutes, though the waiting area was mostly in shade.  Once inside, we walked around the arena about twice, once on a lower level and once on the main upper level.  There were lots of tour groups and tourists who all had to have a photo of themselves with the arena in the background.  The structure appears to have had very little renovation or reconstruction, though a large stage has been built at the original arena level (elevated above the hallways that were used to move animals and gladiators of yore) at one end.  It is in better shape than when we visited Rome in 1992 and  we saw no sign of the stray cats that used to pervade the place.

After about 40 minutes, we had had enough and exited the Coliseum.  We walked back along the main avenue, thankfully blocked off to all cars, to the base of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument.  We reentered modern Rome and found our way to a lunch buffet place that we had passed on the way out.  For 10 euros each, we had an all-you-can-eat lunch.  We next scouted places for dinner with Leslie and Dennis.  It is their last night in Rome before moving onto Salzburg, Austria.

We made it back to the hotel room near 4:00 pm and began to cool down.  By 6:20, we were ready to go again and met up with Dennis and Leslie at da Diego, an outdoor restaurant and bar near our hotel.  We had wine, beer, and dinner of salads, melons, pastas and dessert.  I had tiramisu or as Dennis calls it "terrible sue."  However, it was good, even Dennis admitted that it was not like what he had had that earned his nickname. 

We strolled over to the Trevi Fountain, still packed with hordes of coin tossers,  and then over to Piazza Navona.  The plaza has lots of 'artistes' and vendors trying to earn a few euros from the tourists.  We watched a spray painter paint a picture accompanied with rap music.  He flipped the cans around theatrically and used various techniques to apply the paint to the paper.  He built the painting up in layers and used an aerosol paint thinner to remove layers or smudge colors together.  He even had a unique way of packaging the finished product for carrying by the buyer.

Rome Two

June 25: Siesta time.  Really, it is time to retreat to the air-conditioned room to escape from the heat. It is 35 degrees C under clear skies outside.  I have no excuse not to write up the blog.  

Today's outing was to the Borghese Villa/Garden, which is really a city park in the northeast quadrant of Rome.  First, we wandered a bit to find breakfast, ending up in a 'nature eat 'place for a slice of quiche, fresh squeezed OJ, and cantaloupe.   To get to the villa/garden, we passed by the Trevi Fountain and the hordes of tourists throwing coins over their shoulders.  The fountain is where water` historically arrived into Rome, from 20 km away.

We walked next to the Spanish Steps and climbed to the top side on a set of side stairs, only to discover that the upper ramps above the main steps were closed for some type of renovation.  I know we did not see the steps properly, but we were not going to walk down again in the heat.  We arrived at a viewpoint overlooking the city and admired the view of red roofs and domes.

I wanted to stop for a coffee and pastry, but we trucked on. We got very warm and settled for ice cold water and a long sit on a bench just inside the park until the sweat dried off our clothes.  We watched a trumpet player set up across from us - a busker who would play his trumpet accompanied with pre-recorded background jazz.

We walked next to the main avenue leading up to the Villa Borghese, now an art gallery, among people riding Segways, pedal-cabs of various sizes,  and other rentable modes of transport.  The park is one of Rome's largest and is a favorite place for locals.  We walked into the Villa, but the gallery was fully booked through Monday.  Reservations are required and must be purchased in advance.

We looped around the park, seeing the entrances to the Zoo, a pond with rowboats and a 'folly,' and a few other museums / galleries.  We worked our way back to the edge of the Hill (Pincio), overlooking Piazza de Popolo, with its Egyptian obelisk and Neptune Fountain.  The square appeared to be set for a music festival with a stage.  A drummer was warming up and blasting the plaza with amplified drum beats.

We walked a bit away from the square and had lunch (including cold beer) in an air-conditioned restaurant.  We walked back to the hotel directly, stopping briefly at a market for some supplies - OJ, beer, and water.

After a long, quiet siesta in our room, we walked uphill (slowly to stay cool) along the Via Nazionale to meet the Osters at an Irish pub.  On the way, Phil popped into a leather shop and bought a new belt and a change purse.  After beers, we followed Dennis and Leslie to a restaurant further uphill that they had enjoyed the previous evening.  The Ristorante da Giovanni is recommended by Rick Steeves so attracts many American tourist but also locals.  We had an amiable waiter who was tickled with our attempts at Italian.  We shared a Caprese salad - really good tomatoes and mozzarella, then Phil had veal scaloppine with mushrooms, peas, and lots of butter, while Betsy had a tasty serving of eggplant parmesan.  The waiter talked us into gelato and fresh strawberries for dessert.  Then it was back down, through mostly quiet streets, to our hotel and bed.

Rome in the Heat

June 23:  We were in Lecce until 4:30 pm before catching a late afternoon train to Rome.  The day was not too eventful.  We packed up our luggage, moved it into the Oster's room, since we were "checking out" mid-afternoon, and walked around the southern half of Old Town Lecce.  We saw more churches, narrow alleys, eroding limestone block buildings, and the last of 3 city gates.  We also toured an archeological museum, which contained lots of pots (Grecian in style) and other finds from the Puglia area.  Much of the artifacts were found in old Roman cities and in "grottos," or caves.

We idled in the B&B courtyard for the first part of the afternoon, reading and socializing with the 2 cats.  Mid-afternoon, we walked slowly (it was hot) about half a mile to the train station dragging our luggage.  We waited an hour at the station and caught the 4:30 pm high speed train to Rome.  "Due to technical difficulties on the track," we were delayed about 30 minutes getting into Rome.  Most of the ride was anything but fast.  However, the last hour into  Rome, we attained speeds of 247 kph, or 151 mph.  

The Osters walked to their hotel which is a few blocks from the Rome station.  Betsy and I grabbed a cab to take us to our hotel, about 2 miles away, on a quiet lane near the Pantheon.  We arrived at 11:00 pm, after check-in time, but the receptionist was still on duty and expecting us.  We have a spacious, air-conditioned room with modern plumbing.  It's on the first floor and overlooks an unused courtyard.

June 24:  We slept in today, before venturing out.  We went first by the Pantheon, around the corner from our hotel, but didn't go in.  There were guards holding automatic weapons all around it - probably just routine security.  We next arrived at Campo de Fiori and its street market, which had lots of local produce, pasta, and other things "all made in Italy - trust us."  

Pasta sales in the market

We found a restaurant for breakfast on one edge of the market.  It seems that 10 euros will buy different forms of breakfasts.  We opted for juice, coffee, vegetable omelettes, and fresh fruit. The day was already plenty warm for sightseeing, and it got hotter (90 degrees or more).

We next wandered around the Jewish area of Rome on our side of the Tiber River before crossing at the island of Isola over the Ponte Fabrico and Ponte Cestio.  

Frog Fountain just before crossing the Tiber

Over the Tiber River, which looks to be full

We were now in the Trastevere section, which was originally Jewish, a little seedy, but lately trendy.  We passed several churches and spent some time in the ancient church of Santa Maria in Trastavere, which has 12th and 13th century mosaics (lots of gold leaf) along with richly decorated baroque chapels.  

Santa Maria

Santa Maria's mosaic floor 

We wove our way up to high points overlooking the city in the Janiculum Park.  We went by a war memorial (or a memorial dedicated to 1849 independence), the Fonte Acqua Paola (a large ornate fountain), a huge statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Faro al Gianicola (a column with a light fixture on top like a light house) and the Bambin' Gesu Pediatrics Hospital.  We took a short break in a park by the Garibaldi statue and tried to cool down.  We had a panini, cold tea, and fresh cherries from the market.  We continued toward the Vatican area, possibly passing a gate into it, before crossing back over the Tiber on Ponte Principe Amedeo di Savoia.  

Fonte Acqua Paola

The view, with Pantheon in the middle (low dome)

We walked the main road to Piazza Navona, then back streets to the Pantheon and to our hotel.  We are cooling down and drying off in our room.

Piazza Navona

Rome feels like both a living, working city and a tourist museum, full of people with purpose.  Some buildings have been cleaned and restored, others seem to have centuries of grime.  The height restriction that no building should be taller than St. Peters still seems to hold - there are no high rises in sight.

Around Lecce in the heat

June 22:  A low key day, with a relaxed breakfast in our room.  The landlady delivered hot fresh pastries to our door, but we had to make our own coffee.    

We found a modern, single panel controlled laundromat about 8 blocks away.  Betsy babysat the clothes washing while I went to the train station with Leslie and Dennis to see if we could change our departure time to something earlier in the day (for tomorrow).  We couldn't.  I returned by way of an ATM and got back to the laundromat just as Betsy was fininshing with the washing/drying.  (For our records, the washing cost 4.50 and drying 2 euros.)

Betsy and I spent most of the afternoon wandering around the northern half of old town Lecce.  It has lots of narrow, twisting lanes among numerous churches and 3 to 5 story buildings, with inner courtyards, we presume, since each builiding has large double doors big enough for a car to pass, and  a person-sized door cut into one of the large doors.  We also saw various piazzas and a nice park with statues of famous Lecceians (?), a fountain and playgrounds.  We had black cherry gelato in the park.  We also saw a most impressive historical city gate that reminded me of the Arche de Triumphe.

We re-joined the gang at the hotel for a siesta, happy hour, and later, fixed salad for dinner in.  We drank up our leftover beer, wine and sodas.

We ended the day with a stroll around the old town and got some great evening photographs of the churches, etc.

Day 8 Otranto to Lecce

June 21:  Today's ride, our last on this trip, was from Otranto to Lecce.  It was mostly level through farm lands but also mostly into the wind, which had increased from the previous day.  We rode just under 31 miles, either bypassing small towns or going quickly through their centers.  It was difficult to tell whether these towns were active, since most of the buildings were shuttered against the summer heat.  The most challenging aspect of the ride was deciphering the Randonnee instructions.  They are reliable and coherent in the countryside, but get very confusing whenever we hit a densely settled area.  We had a picnic lunch outside a cafe on the outskirts of Lecce, and arrived in Lecce at around 2:00 pm.

On our ride we passed by some lagoons (lakes) just outside of Otranto, then rode around Borgagne, through Melendugno, Castri di Lecce, Lizzanello,  Merine, and into Lecce, which is quite a large city (pop. 100,000).  We followed a rather roundabout path to a pleasant hotel in the heart of the city - L'Orangerie d'Epogue.  It is a 'courtyarded' building, probably a palazzo, and we each have a different ground floor, very spacious room, with breakfast tables in the room.  There are two hospitality cats in the courtyard, one a small black shorthair (whom we met - Molly), the other a small white and black long hair.

After checking in, having some re-hydration, stripping the bikes of our stuff, and cleaning up, we hustled out to meet up with a guide, Simone, for a tour of the old part of the city.  She was very nice and informative, even though we were somewhat tired and seized every opportunity to sit in the various churches, cathedrals and basilicas we went into.  She told us about the impressive stone carvings on the church facades, about olive oil 'fermentation' and the use of the oil as a fuel, and specific details on paintings, etc. inside the churches.  We started at the main square of the city where there is a partially restored Roman amphitheater and a large column marking the end the of the Apian Way, the road that connected Lecce to Rome.  Most of the significant buildings in Lecce are highly ornamented Baroque masterpieces, built to celebrate the city's prosperity.  Lecce was quite an artistic and cultural center in its day.

We found our way home to the hotel, had a bit more hydration (i.e., happy hour), and then went for pizza.  We arrived at a pizza restaurant, La Perla, at 8:00 pm and were the first people to be seated.  We had ordered four pizzas, two salads, water and wine within minutes of sitting down, were eating by 8:20 and were done by 8:45.  By 8:30, the entire restaurant was full, mostly with families and small children, and noisy.  Sergio, our waiter, and one other, managed to serve the entire restaurant with speed and efficiency.  The slowest part of the process was getting our bill.

Day 7 Otranto Loop

June 20:  We had a second night at Masseria Montelauro today, so the bike ride was an out and back along the coast road.  There was an option to go all the way to the tip of Italy (Marina di Leuca) but it would have been over 103 km round trip  We chose instead to bike down to Castro, specifically a sea cave just north of the town, and return.  We completed about 25 km one-way, or a total of 31 miles round trip.  We had several climbs on the way down with nice downhills, which became uphill climbs on the way back.  Also, on the way back we were mostly into the wind.  It was blowing hard enough to stop me going downhill.  

The ride started from our masseria toward Otranto for 2 km, then turned south along the coast.  We passed an old "military zone," which I though looked like a POW camp - a little broken down, with peeling paint.  However, there was a large "golf ball" indicating an active radar site.  

We next arrived into Porto Badisco which had a very nice swimming "canyon."  We stopped for a break at the town park overlooking the water and snagged a couple of mulberry berries, which are intensely sweet and purple.  They would make a great cloth dying agent.

We rode past several ruined Norman (?) watchtowers, which appeared to be sited within sight of each other from one headland to the next.  We arrived at Santa Cesarea Terme, a resort town with thermal baths and Moorish themed architecture.  The spa building in particular featured curved arches and domes. On the way we passed "Villaggio Paradiso," with several nice resorts, so we can say we have been to Paradise.

After another up and down, we reached Castro and dropped down to sea level to visit a sea cave called Grotto Zinzulusa.  We locked up the bikes and paid for a tour.  Emanuele, an archeologist who spoke English, guided us through the cave.  We went about 300 feet into the cave, passing a glassy, brackish pool at sea level, and then descended slightly, seeing the standard limestone cave formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns.  We reached the end of the path at a large room of smoother sedimentary rock without any stalactites, etc.  Emanuele explained that the deeper cave was probably carved by an underground river that did a hairpin-type curve at the softer sedimentary rock, eroded the large cavern, and then flowed out to the sea.  The upstream cave is unexplored since it is underwater and the passages are too narrow for divers to pass through.  The cave has a long history, including prehistoric and modern dwellers, and natural resources including endemic crustacean species and bats, although the bats moved away after tourism started.  Emanuele was very enthusiastic and loved talking about his archeological work.  He was particularly proud that a new archeological museum was about to open in Castro that would feature Greek and Roman relics from the area.  The Greeks built an important shrine to Athena here, and archeologists found a beautiful carved torso of the goddess only last year.

Our ride back was pretty tough, with the long uphills and oncoming wind.  We detoured into the small city of Otranto to visit the historic old town with its castle, fortified walls, and churches.  The basilica had a stunning ceiling, especially the central part which was carved, coffered, and painted blue and gold.  The floor throughout the church was decorated with mosaics of life sized animals, both real and imaginary - dogs, lions, dragons - plus a few human figures.  We did not see any information that explained the significance but the figures were quite vivid.

When we were done with the city, we hustled uphill back to the inn.  We immediately changed into swimming gear and spent some time at the pool, swimming, have refreshments, and reading.

Dinner was at the masseria again, though we tried to moderate the amount we ate.  It was again a four-course dinner with great vegetable antipasti, spaghetti (half-portion), grilled steak, and orange sponge cake with a caramelized top.

Day 6 Ostuni to Otranto

June 19:  Today's ride was different that previous ones; we began by coasting down from the heights of Ostuni to the train station.  As anxious travelers we got there more than an hour ahead of time and  had a long, boring wait.  We caught the 10:35 am train to Squinzano, which is one station stop before Lecce, and probably about 60 miles south of Ostuni.  We then rode a good ways to the seaside, along major roads "with no shoulders."  The phrase "with no shoulders" is code for lots of traffic.  Most of the prior days' roads also did not have shoulders, so we wondered why our directions included this precaution today.  It didn't take long to figure it out.  The ride was mostly flat and covered over 46 miles.  

Before reaching the coast, we passed through olive groves (reverberating with the sound of cicadas), scrub land, pine woods, and a military base that seemed inactive but full of trees.  The road sides were full of flowering weeds - blue chicory (or bachelor buttons),  scabiosa (flowers like a  purple dandelions), white Queen Anne's lace, and various yellow flowers.  At points with more human presence, there were colorful bushes of plumeria and bougainvillea.  As usual, there were miles of stone walls but fewer stone buildings.  We reached the coast at the little scrubby resort town of San Cataldo and picnicked on a cement wall overlooking the beach and sea.  The water looked nice, but there was some sort of mucky sediment at the water's edge so we were not tempted to wade.  

For the rest of the afternoon we cruised along the coast, seeing a few beach resorts and cafes,  but most of the beach views were blocked by shrubbery.  When we could see the sea, it was light turquoise near the shore and darker turquoise further out.  Our route led us through an extensive nature preserve owned by the World Wildlife Fund.  There was no one about to answer our questions on a Sunday afternoon, so we don't know anymore about why WWF has a property here or what they are protecting.  There were eucalyptus trees and bamboo, and we spotted one exotic bird, but our bird guide is in the stored luggage, so we can't look it up.  The day was warm and hazy, with light breezes, so we didn't overheat too badly.

We knew we had some altitude to climb on the last stretch, so when a roadside cafe appeared at about 4 pm, we stopped for cold drinks and snacks to replenish the energy stores.  The final leg went past a large lagoon and through the scenic town of Otranto, which we may explore more tomorrow.
We arrived at the Masseria Montelauro, a mile or so outside of Otranto,  at around 5:30 pm.  And, so began the resort life - for 2 delicious days.

The masseria or inn has a handsome two-story main building and two wings arranged in a quadrangle around the pool and garden.  The structures, as typical, are white painted stone with interior arches and high ceilings but they seem modern, particularly in the plumbing and fittings.  On the south side is a vegetable garden and a paddock with a donkey and 2 ponies.  There are at least 3 resident, small,  dogs who amble about being sociable.  

We dumped our gear and immediately went for a swim to cool down.  The inn served appetizers at 6:30 on the terrace so we sat outside and nibbled while talking to the dogs.  About 7:30 the group sat down to dinner on another outside terrace with a bamboo roof.  We had a wonderful 4 course meal that started with a platter of sliced eggplant and zucchini and another plate of stuffed eggplant and stuffed zucchinis.  Then there was a pasta course with a mix of orechiette and macaroni in a simple tomato sauce (like the dish for the previous night's cooking class).  Next came thin slices of grilled beef.  Kathy, the vegetarian in our group, was given a large bowl of very fresh green beans for that course.  Dessert was a 'semi-freddo' of vanilla ice cream around some kind of nutty filling.  We were stuffed and very happy by the end.  We talked for a while with a Texan couple who are just finishing the 7-day Randonnee route before heading to Umbria.

The evening was lovely with a nearly full moon rising over the trees to the east and nice breezes but we took our tired bodies quickly to bed.

Day 5 Locorotondo to Ostuni

June 18: Today's ride was a partial repeat of yesterday's first to Martina Franca and then on to Cisterino and Ostuni. We covered the ground to Martina Franca for the third time, having done it twice yesterday going out and back. That it is interesting by the third time, one knows the turns, so we did not need to refer to the detailed instructions provided by Randonnee . Of course, They provide instructions assuming the seven-day tour we know t raveled into Martina Franca, as if we had never seen this city. We are on a nine-day tour; we could have bypassed the city we had known this before departing this morning.

We next went to Cisterino, a small cleaning white hill town, arriving about 11. The big main church was decorated for a wedding with garlands of white baby's breath accented by pink flowers and white porcelain balls. It was very simple and very attractive. Since the morning was warm, we treated ourselves to ice cream from a cafe in the main square. 

About 1 pm, we stopped again in Casalini, a pleasant hill-top village  (really, a wide spot on the road), by way of country roads. There was limited traffic and the route undulated, changing rather quickly from nice downs to heart -pounding ups. We had a picnic lunch (fresh bread, local tomatoes and cheese, and salami) in a very small town park with a couple of benches and a "brass tap." Our instructions always point out These taps and they are a welcome sight. They Provide fresh, cool drinking water and allow us to top up our water bottles. The Undulations causes abundant sweating and hydration is most important.

Our instructions identified in place about 1 km from our lunch spot That provided olive oil tastings and had a collection of antique bikes, so we sallied forth. We arrived about 1:30 pm, and met a guy who was just shutting the gates. We have had some difficulty with the custom of afternoon siestas. This country shuts down from 1:00 to 4:30 pm everyday. So we returned to our lunch spot and continued our journey for the day.

The next segment of the trip was quite interesting and exhilarating. We cut across the main road and headed for a perfectly straight, one-lane wide, roller coaster road That took us to a high point overlooking the sea. We had to deal with a surprising number of cars and trucks on this narrow road (with walls on Both Sides) Which forced us to pull over. of course, the cars had to pull into lay-bys to pass each other as well. When we Reached the top, we turned right (south) onto a highway along the escarpment That ran most of the way to Ostuni. The interesting thing was that the road ended a mile or so past where we joined it, and only cars That drove the one-lane road would ever roller coaster as upon us on our journey to Ostuni. The exhilarating part was the pavement was smooth and the downhill sections were long, so we could power along fearlessly and fast. We covered miles in over 5 minutes, reaching speeds up to 28 mph.

We arrived into Ostuni, another large city of white buildings on a hill, with views over the coastal plain, around 3:00. Our luggage was at the hotel and we checked in. The WiFi works very well, so I did some computer work before joining Mark, Kathy, and Betsy for beers / drinks at a shaded, outdoor cafe in the main plaza. We returned to the hotel, cleaned up and attended our cooking class. Our hotel, The Earth, is on a side street in the old part of the city. It looks historic and has a few odd shaped rooms and terraces overlooking the city. The plumbing is modern and our room is spacious. 

More about that later. I need to go to bed.

The cooking class was just around the corner at a restaurant which was we think is owned by the "instructor." She is a stern woman and occasionally gave serious instructions to her staff for ingredients, etc. She Demonstrated the making of dough (flour and water, only), bread balls (popitas?), Tomato sauce (more like a fresh tomato sauce or topping made in 5 minutes), and a meat rollup. She Demonstrated how to make oriechette and then she let us try. We were "pasta-shaping failures." She Also Showed how to make macaroni, Which Involved in worms of dough and a thin metal rod. I need more practice. She finished up the class by making an almond brittle (my words) with only sugar and almonds. The caramelized sugar was in a frying pan; this part of the demo was behind a glass panel.  

Day 4 Locorotondo Loop

June 17: Fully outfitted with our own biking gear (hurray for padded shorts), we DECIDED to do a short ride today - only 22 miles. We had breakfast at the hotel local bar (110 Dock) with loud disco music playing in the background . We DECIDED out to prepare our meal tonight, taking advantage of the tiny kitchens in each flat. Happily, there was a large Friday market in the nearby plaza, where we got all of the fixings, except olive oil.

We then got onto the bikes for a ride down off of Locorotondo, through the lowlands (agriculture) and up into Martina Franca. It is a rather large city, with several squares or piazzas and parks. We navigated through the city and continued south, passing an area of gated villas, some very nice and a few abandoned, many with trullis. We had a nice ride along quiet roads east and then north back toward Martina Franca. The route on the map Looked like a big isosceles triangle. We took a different route (from the one recommended by our guides) back to Martina Franca, thanks to GPS MotionX, to avoid riding on a highway.   from Martina Franca, we Followed the same route back to Locorotondo.

After parking the bikes, we had some light refreshment at 110 Dock, a local bar. We retired for a restful, quiet afternoon.

We Gathered at the Oster's apartment and dinner prepared using the ingredients we Purchased in the morning.   We had lots of beer and wine, appetizers of prosciutto and melon, main course of orecchiette with tomatoes, pesto and roasted vegetables, farmer's salad (tomatoes, cucumbers , and peppers), a local soft cheese and bread.   We had a great time prepping, eating and languishing 'on the veranda.'     

Day 3 Up to the Trulli's

June 16:  Today, we leave our hotel for 3 nights, our luggage which has not yet come, and the seaside of Monopoli for the heights of Coreggia and Alberobello and finally to the wine center and hill town of Locorotonda.  Our ride was about 21 miles with over 2,000 feet of elevation gain.  The ride started with a sustained climb from sea level to near 1,500 feet elevation, through olive groves.  We climbed up one large switch back to a saddle.  Just before the saddle, the wind greeted us with a "stiff breeze."  It was to accompany us for the rest of the day, surprisingly always blowing at us.

Our first major destination was about 10 kilometers uphill to San Michele, then along the ridge line to Santa Lucia.  We skirted the edge of Santa Lucia and proceeded next to Coreggia, where we stopped for lunch supplies and coffees.  We visited the one store and the one sparkling new cafe in the village.  Speeding cars, which are something of a nuisance for us on the narrow roads, sped through the village without slowing.  We next went to Alberobello, which is a major tourist attraction known as the "Trulli" capital of the world.

A "trulli" is a stone building with a conical roof made of stones.  The masons, who must be quite skilled, create a a cone of stones that is finished on the outside with blocks like pavers or slates.  The trulli can be combined together to make a larger living or storage space and often have stone decorations at the peak.  Alberobello has several streets lined with trullis selling tourist souvenirs.  

Before walking a little around town, we had a picnic in a park of fresh bread, salami, cheese, fruits, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.  We strolled up the touristy street to a church at an high point, and wove our way around and down back to our bicycles.

Our ride to Locorotondo was undulating with a few short climbs and dips.  The final mile or so was uphill to the old town portion of Locorotondo, which is very much a hill town.  We swept around part of the edge with great views to the southeast.  All of the buildings are painted white.  We found  the Reception office for our hotel,  which had a bike garage next door.  We are all staying in various extraordinary apartments scattered about in the old town.  Betsy and I have number 45, a one level floor plan with the kitchen and bath in front by the door, next room is the bedroom, and a third room back is a second single-person bedroom.  I have made this last room our changing room.  The structure is built of stone blocks and arches, all painted white.  We have a front door, two little air vents and a skylight in the back room but no other windows.  The room is quiet except for birds and passing foot traffic but a little short on cross-ventilation.  Dennis and Leslie's flat is on an outside wall with a tiny terrace overlooking the countryside, while Mark and Kathy have a flat up several steep flights of stairs.

Mark, Dennis and I were wandering around the old town looking for a grocery store, when we got a message from Pietro that he arrived with our luggage. O Joy!  I theorized that the lost baggage contractor at Rome Airport, who is hired by British Airways, only delivers recovered baggage to Rome, all other bags are given to DHL, the worldwide delivery service, which then treats the baggage as "parcels."  Thus, delivery for most parcels take 3 or 4 days.  In any event, the bags' zippers were all zip-tied and each bag had a shipping label applied which identified they were being handled by DHL.

We had happy hour on the Osters 'wind-tunneled' deck (it is about 4 feet wide and 12 feet long with a nice view to the south).  The gusty wind, which blew all day, continued to blow well into the night.  We had dinner at Tanya's (our hotel receptionist) recommended restaurant, which was quite good.

Day 2 Ride

June 15:  We had a great ride today of about 40 miles.  But it was not without mishaps, though a number of high points, too. The bad news was our luggage still has not arrived; it is suppose to be here tomorrow by noon, but we have frankly lost all faith in the courier service.  Also, Dennis had two flat tires at the same time which forced him and Mark to repair, but they still arrived back at the hotel minutes after the four of us.  They had a thrilling ride downhill, reaching over 40 km/hr and took a few busier highways than we did.  It was good to see them because we had no idea where they might be if they fixed the tires or even if they could.

In any event, we started the ride about 9:30 am and first went along the seaside to Monopoli. We spent some time walking through the old town, which has narrow, twisting roads and several old cathedrals. We watch some guys unstringing monofilament for making trawl lines for fishing.  It was interesting to see the "appropriate" technology they used - six spools were hung from a line stretched between trees and after combining six strains together, they wound it on two widely-spaced nails pounded into a stone wall.  The young guys were the labor and several older guys managed the effort.

We next rode to Polignano a Mare, which is famous for its coffee speciale-a coffee based drink with some liqueur, gelato, lemon peel, and steamed water that foamed the gelato.  We arrived at the town square as a brass band seated in a bandstand was playing a symphonic suite from Tosca.  We enjoyed our special coffee while listening; the plaza was filled with an audience of mostly old men.  The town also has a narrow canyon leading down to a beach, limestone with terraces, paths and gardens on each side and town buildings built on the top.  We rode across a bridge that spans the canyon and provided a great view of the sea and the people enjoying the water.

We passed a few more smaller seaside towns before attempting to follow our directions and ride up hill to Conversano.  We finally managed to get past the freeway with help from MotionX GPS.  We arrived into Conversano after 1:00 and had a picnic on some shaded steps at the high point.  After lunch we walked a bit around seeing castle towers a couple of grand homes and more narrow, winding streets.

Our ride home was through agricultural countryside, with olive trees, vegetables/herbs (parsley is one example), and nurseries. No too far out of Conversano, the flat tires occurred.  The ride home from there was mostly focused on just getting home and thinking about to assist, which it turned out was unnecessary.  We were all pretty wasted and needed serious rehydration. 

The shower felt great; some used the pool, but we are bathing "suit-less."  Dinner was a short walk out to a pizza parlor on a patio next to the sea and with a nice setting sunset.

Bike pickup and Day 1 Ride

June 14:  We had a very relaxed start to the day, since we were scheduled to meet Peitro, our local Randonnee contact at 11:45 am to review our biking plans and to answer any questions.  Randonnee is the Vancouver, BC-based travel company who made the arrangements for our 9-day Puglia tour.  After a leisurely breakfast, some checking on our lost luggage (it was in country and handed off to a courier for delivery) and working on our claim for compensation from British Airlines, our group met Peitro.  

He was very helpful and provided some additional local commentary which was not in the written materials.  He ferried us in groups of three to the bike shop, to get fitted for our bikes.  Most of us got Cannonade hybrid bikes and the rest Cannonade 'racing' bikes.  The have small tires and ride nicely.  Dennis and I bought riding gloves.

We rode from the bike shop back to the hotel, about 4.5 miles, stopped for a short break during which Dennis and I took a short dip in the pool to cool off, and then started our Day 1 loop ride.  We rode southeast from the hotel on a quiet inland road about 5 miles past farms of very old, twisted and gnarly olive trees, often with vegetables plants in between the trees.  We then traversed over to the seaside road for our return.  We passed a sleepy port town, with lots of restaurants and bars (everything else was shuttered since it was siesta time), and onto the Egnazia Museum and Ruins.  We stopped at the museum which chronicles the archaeological history of this Roman town with lots of artifacts and dioramas.  We then rode out to the ruins and walked around them. They were mostly low stone walls showing the outlines for homes, basilicas, a market square, Roman-style baths, remanents of mosaic floors, and a road, complete with chariot ruts.  The road surface was about 3 feet below the surrounding farm land that bordered the site.  Dennis theorized that one could go out into a nearby field, and by digging, find the road and possibly many other interesting things.  He imagined how digging in one's backyard anywhere might lead to interestlng discoveries, something that would be much more unlikely for us in Portland or elsewhere in the US.

We rode back to the hotel completing about 18 miles in total for the day.  We cleaned up, had happy hour outside on the veranda and walked down to the seaside for dinner at Elia Restaurant.  I had probably the best tuna ever - fresh, tender and with a sesame seed crust.  It was called Tuna Tataki.  The portions were large.  We shared a bottle of a local white wine, very crisp and dry.

Monopoli Arrival

June 13:  With little luggage, our back packs, Leslie, Betsy, Dennis and I easily walked from our hotel to the Rome Train Station and caught the 4-hour train to Monopoli. Kathy and Mark, who had their luggage, were with us and also had little trouble.  Their one humorous story about luggage was that after squeezing into the lift at the Rome hotel they couldn't first close the lift door and then couldn't get it open again because of the tightness of space.  Kathy commented that it most of looked funny to anyone who might have seen it.

The ride to Monopoli was on an high speed train and was first southeast along the western side of Italy, then eastward over the spine of Italy and then along the eastern coast.  Leslie had pre-purchased tickets for us all with reserved seats, so the whole trip process was efficient and easy.  When we arrived, the shuttle from our hotel was waiting for us.  But, the four of us without luggage decided to go into town for shopping and sent Cathy and Mark on ahead.  Our hotel is 7 miles southeast of the main 'downtown' center.  After first hitting a pharmacy, we discovered all the stores were closed and would not reopen until 4:30 pm.  So we walked around a little and had lunch.  

The shuttle return and drove us to our hotel - Masseria Donnaloia.  It is a converted, original "fortified farmhouse."  It is quite nice and will be a comfortable home for three nights. 

At 4:30, the four 'luggage-less' folks caught the shuttle back into town for shopping.  After a bit of wandering we found thrifty stores for shirts, underwear and socks.  Betsy did buy me a very nice pair of two layer, padded bike shorts, as a birthday present.  They will work for biking and without the padded layer, I can use them as regular shorts.

We returned to the hotel for dinner, late in the Italian style, and then went to bed.  It was a long day.  We pick up of bikes tomorrow and complete the day 1 ride.

Travel day - Ft. William to Rome, Italy

June 12:  This should be a short report.  We arose early to catch a bus from Ft. William to Glasgow.  We went back through a number of towns we stayed in while hiking the West Highland Way.  We next caught a shuttle bus to Glasgow Airport.  We waited to checked in, had lunch, easily passed through security and awaited for our gate assignment.  The flight to Heathrow was showing a delay of 20 minutes - no big problem.  We waited until an hour before flight time for the gate assignment and walked to the gate.

And then, our travel went south or sideways, and that is polite.  I had a few choicer words for it.

The delay extended to about 45 minutes, the plane was late in arriving.  Thank goodness there were no mechanical problems, etc.  But, then the building fire alarm went off.  All of the exit doors at our gate closed automatically.  After a few moments of bewilderment, we were herded to another exit door that led down to the ramp area along with everyone else on our flight.  The klaxon and an annoying annoucement continued until we all had exited.  After standing outside for 15 minutes we got to file back inside and were lined up for boarding.  No explanation given for the alarm.  We boarded the plane and the captain promptly announced that there was a baggage issue that was causing more delay.  And then, he announced that push back of the plane was further delayed by traffic control.  After an uneventful flight, we arrived at Heathrow.  We began dealing with customer service and airport security information that was more mis-information.  After being prevented to transferring to the gate for the flight to Rome, we were rebooked on a later flight.  We walked into the lounge area and saw on the information boards that our original flight was also delayed and passengers were being directed to go to the gate.  We trotted off to the gate and after some discussion got re-ticketed for our original flight, though with different seats (read this as "middle" seats).  The plane had not yet boarded.  We had enough time to trot to the bathrooms as they commenced boarding.  As I write this, we are awaiting takeoff about 45 minutes late.  Read ahead to find out how our luggage fared.

Oh well, no so good.  The luggage didn't make it.  We filed our baggage claim - we might see the bags on Tuesday or later. 

We negotiated a shuttle ride into downtown, checked in with a very helpful but quiet concierge and collapsed into bed at 1:00 am. We slept for 5 hours arising at 6:15 am.  The concierge gave us coffee, juice and fresh croissant before breakfast service actual started.  We decided to not wait for the luggage and instead use the pre-purchased train ticket to Monopoli, our biking trip start point.  Not sure what and when we will buy a few essentials.  

To be continued.

In and around Fort William

June 10 and 11:  Yesterday the weather deteriorated and we got a chance to do domestic things to prepare for the next portion of our adventure.  Jan, Cathy and Ron climbed Ben Nevis and summiteers in 2 1/2 hours.  They had some rain and reported that there was little to view on top.  They came downhill expeditiously and were at the hotel by around 3:00.

Our first chore of the day was to find out if we could ship a package of stuff we no longer need to the Windermere Post Office.  The Post Office personnel here in Ft. William were not to helpful but the sales people in WH Smith were.  We bought two boxes and some packing tape.  The Osters were doing the same thing though they were shipping to the States.  I help them get there boxes packaged and returned to the guest house.  

Our next chore was to move to a new hotel, with all of our luggage.  Eight of us are staying two more nights in Ft. William.  I called a taxi, requesting a van, and we loaded all of the luggage into it.  Dennis and I rode in the taxi, the rest walked to the new hotel - Premier Inn.  Unfortunately the rooms were not ready until mid-afternoon so we strolled down the pedestrian mall to the Highland Museum. We walked around its eight rooms covering natural history, wildlife, domestic affairs, commando training, geology video and a few quirky exhibits all associated with the Ft. William area.  The Osters took off for an afternoon at the Cameron Clan ancestral home, museum and land holdings - Leslie is a Cameron.  Mark and I retired to a coffee shop for very good cups of coffee and a snack.  Betsy went in search for bug bite stuff and more blister aids/cushions.  She came back to the coffee shop after successful finding these items and joined us for a cup of her own.

We returned to the hotel and secured our rooms. Betsy and I sorted through our stuff deciding what could go into the boxes that we would ship.  We easily filled them and after taping them up walked back to the Post Office to mail. 

By the time we returned once again to hotel, everyone else was back from climbing and from visiting the family properties. 

We gathered at the adjoining restaurant and bar for drinks and then dinner.  We all retired to bed.

 

While checking e-mail, I discovered a message from our hiking buddy Kirk Hall, who suggested we might be interested in seeing Neptune's Staircase, a series of 8 locks on the Caledonia Canal, about 2 miles from Ft. William. This became an inspiration for today's sightseeing.

We arose late for us, around 7:30 am, and had breakfast at a nearby grocery store restaurant. It was cafeteria-style but with cooked to order breakfast items.  After reconnoitering with others, we decided to walk a little of the Great Glen Way, another long distance walk that goes from Ft. William to Inverness, to the locks, then to catch a train to the town of Mallaig. This is a coastal town and the terminal for ferries going to the Isle of Skye.

Neptune's Staircase is the largest set of locks in the UK but are rarely ever used.  They were engineered by Telford around 1820.  We walked from the bottom to the top and visited with a commercial, luxury canal boat captain who was preparing his craft for a trip tomorrow. 

To be continued.  I am back to updating, it is now Sunday the 12th and we are in the Glasgow Airport awaiting our flights to London Heathrow and then to Rome, Italy.

After seeing the Staircase, we crossed down the street to the Banavie Train Station.  We waited about 15 minutes and caught a train to Mallaig.  It was a little over an hour to this working port town.  We passed through several glens and small lochs.  The most famous sight was the Locheil Viaduct, a backdrop used in the Harry Potter films.  There is a tourist steam train that runs to Mallaig which needs reservations (why we went via a modern train).  And the steam train was also used in the Potter films.

We had lunch and completed a 2-mile circular walk around Mallaig before catching the train back to Ft. William.  We saw a number of ferries arrive and depart.  The ride back was comfortable and offered nice views of undisturbed hillsides with some native trees instead of the spruce plantations.  We guessed that these lands were to steep to be cut in earlier times.

Our group of eight gathered for a quick beer in a crowded, yet traditional pub for beer and cider and the went to dinner at a much quieter, calmer restaurant.  We toasted our success again before saying our farewells to Jan and Ron, who were not going to get up in the morning to see us off at 6:30 am.

Kinlochleven to Fort William - the last day on the WHW

June 9:  We made it!  It was a long day with just over 15 miles of walking.  Most of us were foot weary and dragging a bit by the end line, in downtown Fort William.  All told, I and others recorded a total 12 days of walking and just about 120 miles from Glasgow.  Most amazing is the fact that it did not rain a single drop on us for the entire trek, an experience most WHW walkers never know.

We started the day and hit the trail early and had an immediate 800-foot climb up out of Kinlochleven.  We leap-frogged with lots of other people who were also completing the hike today.  After getting to the crest of the hill, we walked along the north, undulating, side of a wide glacial valley, following a small river.  The opposite side of the valley was the steep, north side of Glencoe Valley.  We stopped for 'elevenses" and again about 1 pm at the "most perfect lunch spot" ever.  We sat on a hillock with a broad view into several valleys, sheep pastures, and the steep southwest face of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK at over 4,400 feet.

After lunch, we passed through several past (i.e., clear-cut) and current forest plantations to reach Glen Nevis.  The route went mostly downhill but had a couple of steep, short ascents, intermittently in shade and hot sun.  We then dropped down on a gravel track to the valley bottom, passing a large Youth Hostel complex, campgrounds, and several hotels.  We had a clear view of what is called the "tourist route" up Ben Nevis, which most people use to summit.  It is a series of large zig-zags.

The last mile of the walk was along the main road leading into Fort William and then onto a pedestrian mall to the finish line - a very long 3/4 mile.  After pictures were taken and congratulations shared, we retired to the Ben Nevis Pub for 're-hydration.'  Several of our group ran out of water just as they finished.

We walked back about 1/2 mile to our guesthouse for the night, cleaned up, and walked out again, albeit slowly, to the Crannog Restaurant on the village pier for a celebratory dinner.  We congratulated ourselves on finishing the walk but as importantly, Carolyn and Ron were both celebrating birthdays.  We all toasted their new age with a bottle of Prosecco and one candle in their desserts. Betsy had an amazing dinner of local langoustines, which are partway between a crab and a lobster.  They had tough shells but very sweet meat, and a plateful of 5 made a very rich, if messy, meal.  Phil helped crack shells so the meal didn't go on forever.

We made it back to the guest house and collapsed into bed.  Our guest house proprietors had bought the guest house just 3 months ago and provided very attentive service and information.

Plans for tomorrow were made.  I have been suffering from planar fasciitis so I passed on climbing Ben Nevis.  See tomorrow's blog for what others did.

Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

June 8:  Today, our next to the last day on the WHW, the hike extended about 10 miles (it was suppose to be 8 1/2 miles) up the Devil's Staircase and down into the River Leven Valley to the 'industrial town' of Kinlochleven (think a 'factory town with the factory shutdown').  We ascended over 2,200 vertical feet, reaching the highest point on all of the WHW (about 1,900 feet).  The first 2 miles of the hike was along the A82 road at the head of the Glencoe Valley, then we turned away from the road climbing up the Devil's Staircase to the high point.  The staircase was not as bad as its name - there were even a few switchbacks that made the uphill parts easier, and is thought to have been named by English soldiers who had to drag cannon and other military armaments up the hillside.  The views back into the valley were grand, with the clouds burning off during the morning.

We next had some downhill and then a grand traverse along the south side of the Leven Valley, with a view of the Blackwater Reservoir, which feeds a powerplant in Kinlochleven that was originally used for aluminum smelting.  The plant is still operating (it has 5 of the original 11 double Pelton turbines and DC generators remaining; its original capacity was 23 megawatts), though the aluminum smelter is gone.  In one of the old buildings on the aluminum smelter grounds, there is the Ice Climbing Center of Scotland, with an actual 14-meter high, indoor ice wall.  We visited it after climbing down to just about 100 feet elevation along a steep jeep track and occasionally beside 8 penstocks.  I estimated that the penstocks, which feed the powerhouse, were over 1,000 of head.

We checked in to a very nice B&B with good Wifi, showered and gathered at the best pub in town - The Highland Getaway.  We sat outside on an upper deck with a full view of the river.  As the temperature dropped, we moved indoors and enjoyed a pub dinner.   We strolled back to the B&B to get prepared for our longest walking day on the Way - 14 to 16 miles, our final day into Ft. William.

Rest Day in Kingshouse; Trip to Glencoe

June 7:  We had a leisurely breakfast since it was a rest day, and most of our group took a taxi to Glencoe on the coast for the day.  Betsy and I stayed behind and did a little photo editing before going for a walk on the edge of Rannoch Moor.  This moor, of about 50 square miles, is the largest uninhabited area of the UK.  Betsy saw a book that suggested that Rannoch Moor is "one of 500 natural areas everyone should see in their lifetime."  We walked along a gravel track up from Kings House Hotel about 2 miles past a variety of streams, moors, lochans and bogs.  We found a mole trap on a log across a stream (definitely a trap, possibly for moles since we saw one later nearby), flesh-eating plants - the sundew and butterwort alongside some pools (bogs), and some great views of the hills.  It was pleasant and peaceful, even though we watched several thunderstorms growing to the west and south of us and fully expected to be rained on.  However, all of the storms passed by us.

Mid-afternoon, we took a taxi to Ballachulish , the town next to the Village of Glencoe, to catch up with the rest of our group.  We met up at Laroch Pub and Restaurant, then Betsy and I strolled through a historic slate mine, then to the seaside ,and finally around the town.  The slate mine operated up until 1950s and its quarry pond was being used for introductory kayaking lessons.  We saw a group of youngsters doing drills to get comfortable in their sea kayaks, including standing up and singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes."  The seaside had a few remnant shacks made of stacked slates, that were used by 4 men to shape slate - a sign said that they could produce over 100,000 roof slates in a year.

We had drinks with the gang, first outside, then inside because of rain, and then moved to the restaurant area.  The food was fantastic -- featuring fresh seafood -- and creatively prepared.  We shared starters of  a goat cheese salad with apples, pears, hazelnuts and little wild blackberries, and seared Isle of Mull scallops with cauliflower puree, capers and golden raisin dressing.  Betsy had mussels with cider and parsley veloute, and I had baked cod with pomme puree, wilted spinach, broad beans and shellfish fricasse.  By the time we left, it was raining hard.  Eight of us squeezed into a taxi and rode the 12 miles back to Kingshouse, passing the Three Sisters (mountains), Hidden Valley (a trail into mountains), and the access road to a valley containing a manor house used in the filming of Skyfall, a recent James Bond movie.  It was mostly dry at our hotel, but the river behind the hotel was almost overspilling its banks.

Some Photos

 The Bunkhouse

Dinner in Crainlarich

House Sparrow

Oban Harbor

Oban Distillery and McCraig's Tower

Bridge of Orchy

A Munro

A typical hillside

Catchup - Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse

June 3 (cont). Dinner was at the inn.  Betsy treated the upcoming birthday people (Carolyn, Ron and me) with presents.  We were each given a 4 oz. flask, flexible plastic with a canvas cover, with a pithy saying on each one – mine says “Love Potion #9.”  They were carried all the way from Portland in anticipation of the rest-day trip to Oban and the Oban Distillery.

June 4: Rest Day.  We had a great day trip to Oban on the train, about 35 miles west of Tyndrum, from Tyndrum Lower Station.  (There is a Tyndrum Upper Station; trains passing this station go north to Ft. William.)  We caught the 8:35 am train and managed to squeeze into a nearly full train (only 2 cars long), for the hour long ride to Oban.  We all had individual seats that put us in contact with a wide variety of other passengers traveling to Oban.  I sat opposite a father and son (Scots) who were taking a weekend bicycle tour on the Isle of Mull and Iona, and next to a young doctor.  We talked the whole way to Oban.

Oban is on the coast; a few islands separate it from the Irish Sea.  It is famous for its Whisky distillery, McCaig’s Tower, and Dunollie Castle and Farm.  Our group broke up and went different ways, though 5 of us arranged a tour of the distillery.  We walked up the hill to see the tower first, a round, double-tiered, rock-arched structure built in the 1880s to put local stonemasons to work.

We next took an hour-long, informative, tour of the distillery.  Up to the distillation process, whisky (note, the Scots drop the ‘e’ when spelling whiskey) is produced just like brewing beer.  The distillation process boils off the alcohol from the water and thereby increases its concentration.  This is done twice to produce ‘raw whisky’ with alcohol concentration of 70%.  It is then put into casks made of white oak, purchased from Tennessee and Kentucky bourbon manufacturers, and aged for 14 years.  Some of the alcohol evaporates during this period, which is called the “angels’ share” yielding about 55% alcohol.  Ionized water is added to bring the final product to 40% or 80 proof.  The other interesting fact about this whisky is how the four special aroma or flavors are imparted to the whisky from this distillery.  The flavors are smoke, orange peel, sea salt, and honey.  The smoky flavor comes from the peat used to dry to the malted barley.  Orange peel comes from the larch wood used to make the fermentation vats.  The sea salt comes in during the ageing process as some of the alcohol evaporates from the casks.  And the honey comes from the white oak wood casks.

We had a taste at the end of the tour and it was surprisingly good.  Ron and I bought a small bottle to share and fill our newly acquired birthday flasks.

After the tour, we walked the waterfront out to the Castle, arriving just as it was closing.  Note, Dennis and Leslie reported that the adjacent house was full of artifacts and furnishings going back many years.  This is the clan headquarters for the MacDougal family, I think.

We walked back toward the center of town, stopped at a local pub for drinks, and then had a delicious dinner at EE USK, which is gaelic for ‘fish.’  They offered fresh local seafood, including langoustines, mussels, and crabs in various presentations.  We caught an 8:36 pm train back to Tyndrum, which we had pretty much to ourselves.  We spread out and watched the scenery.


June 5:  Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy.  We had an easy walk from Tyndrum to the Bridge of Orchy, on an old military and drover’s road.  The English military built the roads system initially to move troops efficiently after the Jacobite Rebellion and the roads were later used to move cattle and sheep to markets in the lowlands.  The towns we have been staying in were founded to serve the drovers.  The walk was just under 7 miles in length and had little elevation gain, although the sun was intense.  We arrived shortly after noon.

After an hour break and rehydration, Jan, Ron and I walked up to a saddle between several ‘bens,’ which are called ‘munros’ since they are over 3,000 feet high.  I went no further than the saddle at 2,400 feet.  Ron hiked with Jan up to the highest peak. and Jan summited several more peaks by herself.  We each walked down the steep, rocky slope on our own.  Note: trail engineering in this country is pretty simple – straight up, straight down.  Switchbacks or contouring is a waste, I guess.  The views were stupendous with mountains in all directions.  Except for the forest plantations (tree farms), the hills are treeless, but covered in grasses, heather and moss.  Scattered boulders tumble down from the craggy mountain sides.

The rest of the group hung out at the hotel, seeking shade, until our rooms were ready.  This hotel also has a traditional looking main building and 3 rows of modern attached guest rooms.  The rooms seem well designed, with room for hiking boots and backpacks.  However, the bathrooms have motion sensitive lights – a mixed blessing, since they stay on quite a while and will probably be blinding in the middle of the night.  The views include bare bens to the east and west, forested lower slopes, and the River Orchy, with low granite ledges creating scenic water falls and pools.  Other hikers and tourists were picnicking and wading in the water while we idled away the afternoon.

We did our usual stuff before dinner, had drinks in the bar, and then dinner – more good food, and discussed our plans for tomorrow.  We have a 12-mile section to Kinghouse, with some elevation gain.  The weather was hot today and is forecast for the same tomorrow.


June 6:  We had a long hike of over 12 miles today, with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain, so we started early.  Carolyn and Tom left Bridge of Orchy at 6:30 am; the rest of us left after breakfast around 8:00 am.  (The hotel provided a very good breakfast, with berries, fruit smoothies, and choices of smoked salmon, smoked haddock or kippers.)  The walking route was on old military and drover roads mostly, after reaching Inveroran with hotel, manor house, and glassy loch.

The hike went first through a “forest plantation” of Sitka spruce trees.  This and many other plantations were planted in the 1960s and 70s with a tree that was easy to grow and low cost.  Sitka spruce, from North America, fit the bill but as such things usually go, they proved to have ecological impacts – pests arise, wildlife shun them because no light reaches the forest floor so nothing else grows, and they release acid rain during downpours to the streams, killing small fish and invertebrates.  Scotland was covered with forests when the Romans came but now only has something like 14% forest cover (up from 4% in 1900).  The original forests were oak and Scots pine.  The spruce plantations were supported as a tax shelter for wealthy investors.  There is an effort to take out the monoculture conifer plantations and replace them with more native, mixed trees.

We skirted the western end of Loch Tulla, with a country estate known as Black Mount.  The estate is owned by the Fleming family; Peter Fleming died here in 1971.  He was a travel writer and the older brother of Ian Fleming of James Bond novels fame.

We then climbed very gradually along the shoulder of Black Mount, with its many munros.  The sunshine blasted our backsides for most of the morning.  We passed plantations that provided welcome shade on a hot day and crossed numerous small streams, stopping by one to wet our hats, shirts, and bandanas.  The mountainsides above the route were rocky, steep and very rugged.  We reached a high point on the hike today at 1,460 feet a little after 9 miles and stopped for lunch. As we came around a corner, we could see our destination, Kingshouse, and had a view over the Rannoch Moor.  The moor, at 50 square miles, is the largest uninhabited wilderness in Britain and home of diverse wildlife and two flesh-eating plants – sundews and butterwort.

We also passed the access road to the Glencoe ski resort with its chair lifts up Meall a’ Bhuiridh.  The most spectacular mountain that marks the beginning of Glen Coe Valley is Stob Dearg, with near vertical rock sides and numerous avalanche chutes.  We arrived at Kings House Hotel, in the middle of the glen, at about 1:30, checked in, and immediately began planning our rest day activities while ‘re-hydrating.’  About 2 pm, the gathering clouds erupted into a thunderstorm, with the first rain we have seen in week.  It didn’t last long but we were happy to be inside.

Kings House is another historic pub and inn, with a warren of guest rooms upstairs and multiple public spaces (2 bars, dining room, and “residents” lounge on the ground floor.  There were several ‘hospitality’ deer on duty when we arrived.  The inn looks like it will be a good place to spend two nights.  Dinner was a bit slow regarding service, but food was good.  Betsy arranged a bottle of Moet champagne for everyone and sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for me.  The waiters even included a a tea candle.  It was a grand birthday.