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13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi)
The forecast was for rain to start late morning. After yesterday's experience we decided to take the cable car from Ortisei to the nearby Alpe di Siusi at 08.30 and walk around the plateau for 2 to 3 hours whilst it was dry.
It was a goods walk and it didn't rain. At midday we took the cable car back down to Ortisei and walked around the shops before returning to our apartment. The weather forecast was wrong and it didn't rain at all! I was frustrated as we could have done a longer walk.
See my blog "Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites" for full details of our hikes.
14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo)
I had intended to do today's hike in 2 sections over 2 days, but the weather prevented this. It looked like it might be feasible to do my intended route in 1 long hike.
The usual routes taken are either a hard 6.5 hour hike around the entire Sassolungo massif or a shorter 3 to 4 hour circular hike around half of the mountain. The latter route involves taking a chairlift up to the Furcela de Sassolungo in the centre of the massif and then hiking down.
We decided to try a variation of this latter option. Instead of doing a circular hike we would take the bus to St. Christina, take the chairlifts up to the base of Sassolungo, walk around Sassolungo to the chairlift up to the Furcella de Sassolungo, descend down to the other side of Sassolungo and then walk back to Ortisei using chairlifts where possible.
We started early and at 08.30 were the first on the chairlifts going from St Christina to the base of Sassolungo. It was a beautiful walk around to the chairlift to Furcella de Sassolungo, which is known as the "Coffin".
Lani was apprehensive about the "coffin" as it was reported that it is difficult getting into the small 2 person gondolas. In reality it was a lot of fun as the attendants were very helpful and friendly.
After admiring the great views from the top we started the long and steep descent down to the other side of the massif. Lani is a bit nervous descending steep slopes with loose stones so it was a bit slow going.
Once down we walked along the base of Sassolongu and then took the "Florion" chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi plateau that we were on yesterday. It was now 16.00 and it would take another 1.25 hours to hike up to the gondola that descends down to Ortisei.
We were tired and weren't looking forward to that final hike up the hill. I then saw a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop and was told that it was going to the gondola station. That was wonderful news so we got on the bus.
Unfortunately the bus went to a different gondola station on the other side of the plateau! A Norwegian couple had made the same mistake and together we found a bus that was just leaving that would take us down to the valley. We were shocked to find out that the fare was Eur 16 each but there was no better alternative.
Once down in the valley we took one of the free buses back to Ortisei. We reached there after 18.00. It was a long and tiring day but an excellent hike with stunning views.
15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France
It was meant to be an 8 hour drive from Ortisei to Metz. This became a 10 hour drive as a section of highway had been closed. It was a hot day and in southern Germany the temperature reached 39 centigrade! I was shattered by the time we arrived in Metz.
Our hotel was similar to an Ibis hotel and it was right in the centre. Metz is a very nice town and we walked around and had dinner. We had Chinese food for the first time on the trip. It made a nice change from the western food we had been eating for the last 3 months.
16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England
It was going to be a long drive back to England so we got up early and left the hotel at 07.00. We were booked on the 14.00 ferry from Dunkirk. As we were getting close to Dunkirk we realised that we might make the earlier ferry at 12.00.
We were fortunate as the 12.00 ferry was running half an hour late and we were allowed to board. Despite being on an earlier ferry we didn't get back home until 20.00. It was another very long day, but not as tiring as yesterday as we could relax on the ferry and Lani did some of the driving in the U.K.
This was the end of a very enjoyable road trip. It went very well, but it took a lot of planning. We were concerned about driving through countries like Albania, but our fears were unfounded.
We were also concerned about our 10 year old car, but there were only relatively minor problems like the broken spring and worn brake pads. The engine management warning light had been on for about 4,000 miles of the 8,000 mile trip. It turned out that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced.
I am now planning our next road trips. In 2024 we would like to take the ferry to Spain and drive down to southern Morocco. If the car is still in good shape in 2025 we might drive through Turkey to Armenia and Georgia. That would be a long trip and we would need at least 4 months to do it.
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