Today was a test of endurance. As I write this post in retrospect I can not emphasise enough how exhausted I was at the end of the day...although none of the trails or via ferratas that we did today was classified as difficult, the day was long as we were on the move for about 5 hours. Walking on loose rocks and exposed, steep mountain cliffsides was an experience in itself. It took a lot of concentration on foot placement as to not fall over or fall off!
We started from our rifugio to begin the Astaldi Trail, one of the oldest via ferrate routes in Cortina. It is unique in the colourful geological layers of rock that you can see and climb against. Luca informed us that fossils were recently found in the area and thus many geologists now come to visit. He took us to the very fun Tofana Cave, unique in that it is in a figure of 8 shape. We were completely disoriented in direction when we emerged! From there, the details become a bit hazy as the legs got progressively more and more fatigued hugging the side of the mountain. We didn't descend to Rifugio Dibona but continued on another trail. I'm sure I heard at some point that we had the Castelleto on our right...We did pass the ruins of the old Italian world war 1 hospital, and I knew we were walking in the direction of Passo Falzarego...and we saw a chamois deer skipping through the rocks like a champ.
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| Sunrise from the Rifugio |
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| Our "path" today is to skirt the left side of that hunk of rock |
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| The Astaldi Trail |
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| Somewhere on the trail... |
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| Uh yeah...those loose rocks and gravel are no joke stressful! |
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| The cables were a safety relief! |
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| You could make out the trail that we would walk, and how far we had to descend |
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| The entrance to Cave Tofana |
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| Pretty creature |
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| Brief drinks break. Cinque Torri across the Valley where we stayed at Rifugio Averau last time seemed so small.... |
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| Another break |
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| Almost Lord of the Rings-ish. Our faces are an indication of our dwindling energy levels |
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| Scenery changed as we descended |
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| Old WW1 military hospital |
The descent felt never-ending. The feet, calves, quads and gluts were beginning to protest! Luca had to constantly remind us to focus so as not to fall! We were all super relieved to finally be able to relax at our end point of Strobel restaurant. Lunch tasted extra delicious. We celebrated with grappa to end our mini adventure. It was time to farewell Luca. He was fun, funny and most importantly he kept us safe! We were all grateful to have had him as our guide. Manuela picked us up and drove us to our hotel in Selva Val Gardena for our last little leg of our Dolomites trip. What a little gem of a hotel it is. We rejoiced at the free "wellness" spa facilities! By now, the whole of our lower limbs had ceased to function properly as we trudged to the spa. There was a momentary panic when we were confronted with a couple of nude old German men before they covered their privates in a hurry...Fortunately they left soon after, and we were able to enjoy the sauna and turkish bath in peace! Our hotel stay was on a half board basis, and everyone was happy not to have to walk anywhere to search for food. Dinner was quickly followed by drugs (ant-inflammatory and paracetamol!) before our heads hit the pillow.
As an additional note, there's program at present where hotels are to provided guests with free bus passes. If you do stay in the region, be sure to ask for it!
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| Yummy bread and whipped butter at lunch |
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| Our hotel |
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| Our room |
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| Very generous balcony |
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| The lounging area of the spa |
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| Free bus pass |
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| Jacuzzi |
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| Time to relax and soak that weary body |
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| Melon and prosciutto! |
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| Barley and pumpkin wrapped in speck |
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| German sausage and ham |
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