Snow Caving 2010

6th Annual Snow Caving Extravaganza

Year 6 was perhaps the best year so far, which is encouraging because it means we are getting better and better. After getting a late start and taking our sweet time to get up the mountain, we began the treacherous hike just over the ridge, where we would leave civilization out of sight. Once the camping site was determined, we began digging our cave with some sense of urgency because we would begin to lose daylight in the coming hours. I say "we" but I really mean everyone except me -- it was hard to just sit there and watch all the work being done but with my surgery less than 2 weeks behind me, I didn't want to risk anything that would make the trip more difficult than it already was... So I was the supervisor and the master planner and I am very grateful for the easy going and understanding attitudes of all the guys regarding my situation. Cave building went fairly smoothly, except for the fact that our first cave was stopped short by a large rock and a tree, causing us to turn our auxiliary storage cave into a sleeping cave. By the time it was dark (around 5:00), we had built our two caves with a central "hangout spot" sheltered from the elements for the most part by large walls and a tarp... it was absolutely beautiful. We spent the next couple hours eating and talking, it was great to catch up with the fellas. 

Getting ready for the hike deep into the wilderness

Don't feed the wildlife...oops!

         

     

The Fellas

The Setup

After a wonderful night's sleep, we awoke to a beautifully clear morning and the fellas got straight to it, building jumps and getting air. I watched and took pictures, just enjoying God's awe-inspiring creation. 

Then it was time to leave and try to Tim home for his dentist appointment. We caved-in our site headed back to civilization. 

PS Foxes may be cute, but they are also a nuisance

a trail of garbage outside our campsite, courtesy of the foxes 

PPS See more photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zchunter87/SnowCaving2010#

Europe Blogging Complete & Link to Pictures!

I finally finished my blogging for Europe and I uploaded a selected 378 pictures of the ~1,600 I took on the trip.

You can see them at: www.picasaweb.google.com/zchunter87/Europe2010

Vatican City

What can I say about this place... It's simply amazing, especially the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. I took a guided tour through the Vatican because it was recommended by Eney, Brock, and Kruse (they started in Rome and said the tour was helpful) and it made the everything that much more interesting and impressive. Michelangelo's work in the Sistine chapel was really just a repaint reluctantly done in servitude to the pope for very low pay, and St. Peter's Basilica is massive and elegant.

illegal picture of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

inside St. Peter's Basilica

looking down on the way to the top of the basilica

Ancient Rome

Coloseum



Pantheon

The Forum

It was amazing to be around things so old and with so much history.

Arriving in Rome

Joe, Matt, and I left Cinque Terre real late and got to Rome real early the next day. In the train station, we tried to rest until everything opened (but the police wouldn't have it), we got some pastries and coffee, and we sat outside the closed tourist information booth watching people get verbally abused and turned away because it wasn't quite 8:00 am. The two women behind the desk were cold as ice, even if there was an emergency and you were visibly dying and it was 7:57 am, they would yell at you and ask you if you could read the sign that indicated their hours of operation. At 8:00, we got in line and asked if they could help us get to our camp site outside the city somewhere. The woman wasn't warm and friendly but she was now doing her job, at least she seemed confident enough in telling us where it was. We left the station (a place that we would later deem hellish) and tried to follow her chicken scratch directions. She had given us a bus number, and street name, "8 stops," and a map that was zoomed in so close that it didn't help at all. We counted stops on the bus and asked tried to get help from italians but most of them couldn't figure it out either. When we had reached the last stop for the bus the lady had told us to ride, we got off and asked the other bus drivers around if they knew where our camping site was and we finally got some help. We got on another bus that took us further out from the city and eventually to our home for the next couple of days. We couldn't get into our "room" yet because it was too early, but at least we had found it. Plus, they explained to us the best way to get in and out of the city, a route that used both bus and metro and saved some time. We stored our packs with them and headed back into Rome. When we got back to the camp site that night we were given the keys to this beauty:

Our own super sweet bungalow/trailer

Traveler's note: Camping sites are pretty sweet (at least the ones we used) and they are much cheaper (this one was 10 euro a night) and if the public transportation is alright it's not too shabby. Good weather can be important as with most camping.

3 of 5

Cinque Terre, direct translation: Five Lands

The 5 Lands (towns): Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso

This place, or rather, these places are so beautiful. So unique. Five coastal towns within a couple miles of each other with hiking trails linking them. The towns themselves are colorful, old, and full of their individual character and the trails between them provide breathe-taking views of the towns and the sea.

Joe and I got to Corniglia, the only town of the five that is situated up on a cliff, and hiked up the 368 stairs to our hostel. There we met up with Matt Woods, the sweet doug we met while staying at Downhill hostel in Northern Ireland. It was great to see him again. We got settled in and then took off for the Mediterranean. We didn't know how to get down to the water, but we found a trail that looked like it went down the hill so we went for it. We were walking on overgrown paths through gardens and over streams and through bushes all while being eaten by mosquitos. Then the trail ended. Sweet. We actually got pretty close but it wasn't going to be worth it to force our way. We back tracked a bit and found another way out of the gardens and ultimately the stairs to the sea. The water was refreshing and the surroundings incredible. I keep thinking to myself, "I'm really swimming here? Look at this place." After a quick swim, we sat on a huge rock to watch the sunset, it doesn't get much better than that.

368 stairs (with the packs)

Corniglia

Sunset after a swim

The next day we bought the trail pass and hiked north to Vernazza. It was a good hike -- sweating in the sun, getting a bit of a workout, and looking out at God's incredible creation. In Vernazza, we got lunch and found a more sucluded place to swim and rock to jump off. It wasn't that high, but there was another rock that you had to clear in order to hit the water safely... but what is life without risk. It was a rush for sure.

Vernazza

We dried off and set out for the northern most town of Monterosso. Another great hike and more spectacular views. At this point in the day we wanted something cold to eat or drink to help with the heat. So while looking for a place to swim, we got some gelato and started our search for cheap beer. It took some time but we found our good friend Moretti and then we found our swimming hole. Before we got in the water, we sat on the rocks enjoying our adult beverages in the sun. The place we had found was surounded by rocks, but there was an area that was large enough and deep enough to have some fun. We started smaller and worked our way up as high as we could go, as Joe and I usually do when we are with each other. Matt didn't push us further, but he didn't hinder us either, and, in fact, he joined in and jumped from the top. It was amazing... the setting, the rocks, the height, the water, the feeling that you should have hit the water already but you keep falling. the splash. I wish Brock was there. Here are some pictures to help you visualize:



See the sand inside the cave... that's were we landed... yeah, just before those rocks at the surface. And we jumped from about the top of the picture, like this....

American Girls & the Secret Bakery

On his way from Venice to Florence, an American girl approached Joe on the train because he was wearing his Jermaine O'Neal Blazers jersey, which he wore specifically for the comments and possible connections that could ensue. On this occasion, the jersey did exactly what it was supposed to do. Maegan then introduced Joe to the fellow Americans, who all live together and study at the Florence University of the Arts. Upon arriving in Florence they made plans for the night and as they were walking back from the tent where Joe and I would be staying, I ran into them. I was dark and rainy and I was hiking up the hill to our campsite when I saw a studly man with an knarly beard...oh, that's Joe! They talked me into turning around with all my stuff and we made our way to a coffee shop. They didn't have to try very hard, because there was talk of a secret bakery with grubbin' doughnuts and croissants and pastries... needless to say, I was interested.

Later that night we all walked from their place to the secret bakery in delicious anticipation. Just before we turned down the secret alley, we smelled goodness. So here's how it works... It's only open from midnight to 5 am and its some back door in some alley, but anyways, someone knocks on the door and then one of the bakers will open the door just enough to talk. Then the customer orders the goods (in Italian, of course, and you better be ready to go). The baker shuts the door and returns a few minutes later with the plain white bags full of warm goodness, at which point the customer pays 1 Euro per pastry, and the exchange is made. I got the custard filled croissant, which was a superb choice, and Maegan let me try her chocolate one too, also a wonderful choice. It was an experience that would have to be repeated... and it was, 3 more times.

The Deal



The Goods



The next couple days Joe and I hung out with the girls (Maegan and Kaitlyn mostly), they showed us the best places for lunch, we made dinner at their place, we got gelato, and, of course, we went to the secret bakery every night we were there. It was a great change of pace and experience to live in a new city with the help of locals and not feel like complete tourists. That is also the reason that we stayed an extra night in Florence, we realized that we were supposed to leave the next day, but we really hadn't seen the things (sights) that we had wanted to yet. In the end, we saw everything we wanted to and we we're still able to enjoy being in the city. Thank you Maegan and Kaitlyn (and all the housemates) for welcoming us into your home and your lives.

Firenze

Florence was amazing... top 5 for me. We had alotted 2 nights for our stay but soon realized that we would need at least one more, and if my time in Europe hadn't been running out then maybe we would have stayed longer. The main reason for that involved a girl (more on that next post). Anyway, we saw some pretty cool stuff in Florence.

The Duomo (dome) was super sweet to look at on the outside, on the inside, and to look out from the top...

 

We went to the palace gardens and walked all over looking for this...

We watched  the beautiful sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo...



I just really liked this bridge...

And the incredible David...



Dead Ends

Venice is an amazing city, a unique city, a beautiful city. With that said, it is also a very touristy and expensive city and I was content with only spending the day there. The city layout and canals and old architecture are so different from anything in the States and even Europe. We arrived in Venice around 6:00 in the morning and had to kill some time before anything was open, and the station's luggage lockers were out of order so we were forced to carry our packs with us all around the city. In addition, it was an overcast day with some showers (1 of 2 rainy days on the trip). We walked and walked all day... back tracking and seeing the same things over and over. The craziest part of it, are the dead ends... some with walls or buildings at the end but even more with water. I guess the water access points aren't always considered dead ends, as there are many boats cruising the canals, but for us they were always dead ends. It started to become comical as we were trying to get from point A to point B but were constantly trumped by the unpredictable maze that is Venice. You might say a map would help and it did but it show everything that is really there (at least the one we had didn't).  We checked out St. Marks and saw the city from the top of the bell tower, an incredible view to say the least. We got pizzas and wine a hole-in-the-whole place and got ripped off for internet usage. It was another great day in Europe!

Fairytale Castles

When we decided to go to Füssen to see the castles we had about 30 min until the train would leave so we grabbed some food for the ride and Corey went to his locker to grab something... we went from walking to the platform to a slight jog to a sprint, only to watch the train pull away and roll down the tracks. If you haven't watched train leave just as you arrive and miss it, that is a good thing, as it is very discouraging and frustrating. Fortunately, the trains out to Füssen leave every hour, so the plan was not abandoned, only delayed. At this point, I think we had 6 or 7 hours until our train to Venice, 4 of which would be spent on the train to and from Füssen. Still, we felt it would be worth it... and it was. Just look at the pictures:

Hohenschwangau (yellow) & Neuschwanstein (white)

München

Joe headed straight to Venice from Budapest with his unlimited pass, but it was going to take me two days to get there so I thought I might as well see another place on the way. That place was Munich (München). As I was leaving the hostel in Budapest, I shared my idea with a fellow American who was planning on seeing Venice too. Corey jumped on board and we set out for Munich. Another night on the train and another mediocre night's rest. We spent the first part of the ride getting to know each other and some time talking to the other passengers before we tried to get some rest. We were successful in finding a place to stretch out and actually sleep.

We started our day in Munich around 7:00 am (too early) and walked all over the city before lunch time, at which point the city center was becoming more and more crowded with locals and tourists alike, all ready for Oktoberfest to begin the next day. Corey and I got a beer and talked about what we would do until our train left for Venice that night. Joe had gone to see the "fairytale castles" outside of Munich earlier in the week and showed me some very beautiful pictures... so Corey and I decided to follow suit and get outside the city.