Au Revoir, Mont Blanc

After six tough days of hiking, I’ve folded up my hiking poles, packed away a pile of stinking Under Armour clothing and headed to Geneva to celebrate the completion of our Mont Blanc adventure.

Hiking here in Europe was an entirely different experience than hiking to Machu Picchu in Peru.  There, we worried with high altitude and drinking the water but were rewarded with a lost Incan city. Here, we encountered lots of daily mileage and rocky terrain but were rewarded with alpine villages and fine wine as we winded up each day.

The Europeans have an interesting take on hiking. They think nothing of cranking out a dozen miles on the trails on a random sunny Saturday. They will stay in spartan accommodations with shared bathrooms and lumpy mattresses but insist on chocolate croissants and cappuccino at the trailside refuges encountered high on hiking trails. 

During our adventure, we traveled counter-clockwise around majestic Mont Blanc, beginning and ending the journey is picturesque Chamonix, France. Each day was packed with miles of rocky terrain and challenging inclines and descents, but we were greeted to spectacular vistas laden with glaciers, alpine lakes and grassy knolls for mid-day picnics. We visited tiny hamlets bursting with flower boxes and alpine inns. We traveled through France, into the Italian countryside and through Switzerland.  We visited local cheese makers and enjoyed their wares for lunch each day.  We learned of local history, celebrations and customs from our knowledgeable guides.  Local cuisines and wines surely packed on a few kilos. It was challenging each day, but we were more than rewarded for our efforts.  Au revoir, Mont Blanc!

Queen of Queens: Mad Cow at its Best!

I wouldn’t have believed it without a Google search, but welcome to the land of Swiss Fighting Cows!

As we trek across the European countryside, we’ve encountered all shapes and sizes of goats, sheep, marmot (I thought it was just a clothing company!) and cow.  Friends had prepared me for the enchanting symphony of cowbells I’d encounter on our trip.  Imagine hearing a cacophony of ringing bells lilting across the countryside as we go about our journey.

For generations, farmers have placed large (and often heavy and ornate) cowbells around the neck of their milk cows to allow them to quickly find their grazing livestock and bring them in for twice-a-day milking.  The bells sound loudly across the countryside for miles as the animals enjoy grazing in the hilltops.  All that’s missing is Julie Andrews singing “The Hills Are Alive…”

Apparently, the cows like getting milked and line up quickly at the portable milking station and storage tank taken out to the grazing area for the daily ministrations. The cows enjoy the tasty grass until winter approaches and the annual parades and ceremonies are held to welcome them home to lower climes and hay for the winter. I guess this is where the saying about the cows coming home started.

Our guide alerted us that we may see some of the famous Swiss Fighting Cows.  Our group of skeptical and jaded Americans accused her of trying to pull one over on the gullible tourists so we shared our own tales of cow tipping and snipe hunting.  That was, until we got back to civilization and the internet to confirm this exciting competion!

Cow fighting is a traditional Swiss event drawing up to 50,000 spectators a year.  Each year, the canton of Valais and the town of Marigny host a series of cow fights known as combats de reines (“queen fights”). Local district winners vie for the coveted title of La Reine des Reines (“the queen of queens”)  There is no swimsuit competition or scholarship awarded but the value of the winners greatly increases.

These female Herens breed of cows typically get into scuffles in the fields as they assert their dominance of the herd.  Each of these head-to-head butting clashes can go on as long as 40 minutes and end when one contestant either refuses to engage or is pushed from the ring. No worries- horns are buffed down to minimize possible bovine injury.

Spaniards, keep your bullfighting.  Bring on the Swiss fighting cows!

Hard Core vs. Soft Core

I’ve always thought the most difficult people were those who think they are low maintenance but are really high maintenance (of course, I consider myself low maintenance so who am I to judge?) Similarly, as I begin my Mont Blanc hiking excursion, I’m feeling like a bit of a hard core adventurer as I start this 60+ mile trek across the French, Italian and Swiss Alps, rounding Europe’s most famous and celebrated peak. That was, until I reached Chamonix, the quaint French mountain village hosting the Ultra-Train de Mont Blanc.

Frankly, I’d never heard of the UTMB.  These men and women are nuts and are definitely hard core! This annual mountain ultramarathon covering approximately 166km of wicked mountain terrainand elevation gain, takes place annually, beginning and ending in Chamonix.  Some believe it is the most difficult footrace in Europe. These 5000+ athletes don’t have a guide, a bed or a support driver. They run armed with hiking poles, compression socks and headlamps to assist as they trek throughout the night.  Rain, cold and rugged terrain are to be expected.  While the speediest will cross the finish line in slightly more than 20 hours, most take up to 45 hours to complete the course and this year 1100 were forced to drop out along the way.  My most memorable moment was watching four runners hoisting a makeshift sled carrying a disabled little red-headed girl over the finish line.  While no prize money is awarded to the winners, this team and their accomplishment was priceless.

Our group of six took the decidedly more soft core approach.  We head out on Monday with our lead guide, Flo, a 40-something lithe bundle of muscle, and our driver/ assistant guide, Laurent, a lean Frenchman with unbridled energy and enthusiasm.  Our group, all experienced hikers, are ready with our Camelback bladders in backpacks, rain gear on ready alert, Voltaren on our achy knees and stories to keep each other entertained as we conquer the trails of Mont Blanc.

Wish us soft core luck!

Hail? REALLY?

We packed up early for our adventure to Lake Hope.  Two-way radios- check. High energy snack foods- check.  Rain gear and hiking poles- check.  Now, if we could just find Lake Hope.  Armed with three (yes, three) hiking trail references, we went off in search of what was billed as a hike to lovely Lake Hope, a high-altitude alpine lake nestled in the mountains south of Telluride.  Unfortunately, every guide provided different directions to finding the elusive trailhead.  We circled lakes, ended at posted “Private Property” signs, and finally mounted a drive up a rocky dirt trail up a mountainside (reminiscent of Costa Rica) to start our hike.  Surely, we’d need all our gear as we’d never encounter homo sapiens during the day- only wildlife and wildflowers were on our agenda.

 
After miles up the trail- Eureka- we arrived, only to find a dozen other cars already parked- their drivers already enjoying our private hike. We’ve determined Telluride is not the place to attempt an illicit affair. We keep running into the same local hikers (and their big dogs, of course!) on different trails each day. So much for quiet moments!

 

But the trip was well worth it.  Long stretches of switchbacks through the forest trail dotted with magenta and yellow wildflowers helped ease the pain of the 2000 foot ascent.  When we finally arrived at the lake, it was well worth the effort.  At close to 12,000 feet, ice flows still floated on the lake surface and snow crept across the mountainsides ringing the lake.  We began to enjoy our snacks when a hailstorm began.  Actually, hail is better than rain since it quickly bounces off your head!  Unfortunately, hail brought its cousins thunder and rain to the party so we hurried down- drenched but happy from the adventure.  Why is the drive down the mountain always so much easier? 

But It's a Dry Heat!

Who decides to leave a 72 degree mountain retreat and head off to hike in the Moab desert in 100 plus degree temperatures?  Apparently, we do! When we found out that the famous Arches and Canyonlands National Parks were only two hours away (western geography was never a strength of mine!) we figured we had best go visit- we may never pass this way again.

After a two hour journey across breathtaking mountain ranges on winding switchback roads, we arrived in Moab, a small Utah town nestled smack-dab in the middle of a handful of national and state parks.

We were not fully prepared for the beauty of the landscape in the area.  Within a few miles of each other, Arches and Canyonlands Parks offer visitors quite different topography.  Arches NP, attracts over a million visitors each year- all eager to view its iconic images like Balanced Rock or Delicate Arch.  Rangers constantly warn visitors to avoid hiking during the hot part of the day and drink copious amounts of water.  On the day we toured, the car touted a temperature of 122 when we returned from our hike.  After running the AC, it quickly dropped down to a balmy 99!

Just down the road at Canyonlands NP, we attended a ranger talk on the geology of the park (fascinating!)  It makes you realize we are miniscule in the scheme of things when you see what thousands of years of wind, rain & gravity can do to form these stunning canyons, waterways and rock formations.

My big question is, if aptly-named Arches NP has amazing arches & rock formations, and Canyonlands NP has canyons deeply cut by the Colorado River, what is going on at nearby Dead Horse Trail State Park?   

Stop the Car- NOW!

It takes a lot to create a traffic jam in Telluride.  With only a few thousand residents and only one main road into “downtown”, granted, things could get busy from time to time.  But yesterday, as we headed home after a long day of hiking (did I mention Telluride sits in a canyon at 8700 feet ABOVE sea level so hikes are around 10,000 feet?) cars were at a standstill and pulled over at every available roadside spot.  An overturned tractor-trailer?  An early visitor to this weekend’s Nothing Festival (where revelers wear “nothing”?  No, it was a herd of elk, calmly grazing roadside.  Over 100 of these muscular creatures were lounging in a field, enjoying the endless salad bar of field flowers.  What struck me was that there was only one male in the mass of females and babies.  What must his job be like?  Protector, gatherer, husband, father, provider, chief bottle washer.  Does he EVER sleep?  It’s like REALLY Big Love. 
Today they were back but moving west to new land.  I guess he is travel guide as well .

My Million Dollar Telluride Idea

Telluride is a magical place- the kind of place that offers you its beauty and charm both in winter and summer seasons. While we’ve skied here several times, this was our first foray into summer at Telluride and hopefully, won’t be our last.

Because it is a more newly-developed, everything is aesthetically pleasing and well planned.  That’s not to say that the town isn’t rich in history. Snuggled into a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains, Telluride, once known as the City of Gold, is now a National historic District.  Spanish explorers came in the late 1700s, followed by fur traders and the Ute Indians, and later persevering miners in search of riches. 

Today the town is still sprinkled with historic buildings and charming renovated miner homes. Nestled alongside these quaint structures and dotting the hillside are opulent stone and wood homes for the town’s wealthy residents (Tom Cruise lives in our “hood”.  No Suri sightings yet!)  Top-notch hiking trails and bike paths snake along the downtown creek and up the side of adjacent Bear Creek Mountain.  The hot yoga studio doesn’t publish fees, but asks you to pay what you can (although they suggest you “can” afford to pay between $12 and $20 a session) and the local medical marijuana stores appear to be doing a healthy business. Somehow, it all just “works” to make Telluride a highly “livable” location with a young, laid-back, healthy vibe.

But who rules this quaint town with its main street dotted with flower boxes and local hardware store coexisting side-by-side with  trendy shops and organic restaurants? 

It’s the DOGS! 

I’ve come to realize that there are probably more dogs than humans in this town.  And they appear to be revered by its residents! Telluride would put Paris and New York to shame.  On our first day of hiking, on the trail we noticed that almost everyone we encountered had their dog with them.  Since then, we see them everywhere- on the gondola, reigning over stores, and my favorite, quietly sitting on a bar stool with his human at a trendy mountainside bar last night- watching the sports channel.

Now for my plan- Telluride Rent-a-Dog!  For those visitors or those new-to-the-area who want to immediately fit in and have an instant friend an status symbol (without the worry of crating and airplane travel.)  And these can’t be normal sized dogs.  The bigger, the furrier, the slobberier the better.  Lolling tongues and panting are a plus.  Labs and Goldens will be our specialty . And they will have “immediately friendly” names to match- Rusty, Bo, Buddy, Mac and as a nod to my Southern heritage, Dixie.  These new friends will serve as hiking partners, provide entry into any and all local establishments and be great for picking up members of the opposite sex.  And they will even come with a tennis ball for play! 

Investors, anyone?

 

Gotta Up Our Cool Factor!

Do you ever go someplace and finally realize, “I’m no longer cool!” 

Jeff & I have arrived at our final destination, Oxygen Jungle Villas, up in the hills outside the Pacific coast town of Uvita.  After following a series of secret instructions (you only get them after making reservations) we arrived at our villa and were greeted by staff in black tees. They led us to a table with a small pellet in a bowl for each of us.  Our greeter, Dallas (go figure?) informed us this was for freshening up and poured spring water over the pellet which quickly grew to unwrap and become a damp washcloth.  Jeff noted that it was interesting to be greeted with a science project after a dusty drive.  We were then led to our Balinese hut. 

Each unit is guarded by a Buddha (Namaste, Mr. Buddha!)  The hut consists of three walls of glass with all white furnishings inside and on our outside porch daybed.  At least the bathroom and rain shower have opaque glass and we draw curtains for a bit of night time privacy.  The infinity pool is pretty amazing, with lanterns, buddhas, and piped in zen music- all overlooking the cliffs and the Pacific.  I dare you to have high blood pressure here. And you feel like you should talk in low tones. Of course, on the river trail, you pass the yoga hut in the woods before you arrive at the resting platform by the waterfalls.  I feel like a little kid thinking, “Cool!”  Dinner was also interesting.  With only 12 rooms, they can’t offer a full menu so it is “Chef’s Choice” of several tasty courses, all at the discretion of the kitchen.  It was actually really nice to not have to decide what you wanted but to let it unfold and just enjoy. 

One night we ventured off property.  Not an activity for the faint hearted.  This involves a 4-wheel drive, a GPS and mental fortitude.  We left well before dark for dinner at the highly-recommended restaurant, Exotica (I was concerned we were being sent to a Gentlemen's Club instead of a restaurant!) but after going 15k to a bumpy dirt road, we arrived at a tiny (think nine tables) thatched roof building.  We were greeted by the owner, Lucy, a gregarious French-Canadian, who proceeded to serve us the most delightful and sophisticated caribbean-asian fare.  I even broke down to have her homemade chocolate tart with a chili finish.  It amazed us how such a wonderful place can exist and thrive on a hidden road in the middle of nowhere.  Luckily, we made it back up the mountain in the dark and tucked away in our hut for the night.

I think for today, we will imitate my friend the sloth and enjoy our view from the day bed.  Namaste!

Costa Rica: Pura Vida

While Costa Rica may lack in size, it doesn’t lack in natural abundance. This tiny Central American country, about the size of West Virginia, accounts for 0.03% of the earth’s surface but is home to nearly 5% of the planet’s plant and animal species. With over 9,000 plant species, 2000 butterfly species and 876 bird species, it’s hard to avoid natural wonders. The country boasts of 12 microclimates resulting from the combination of mountains, valleys, and coastline. We’ve only filled up our gas tank twice yet have been to two steaming volcanoes, a misty cloud forest, numerous national parks teaming with wildlife, and beaches ringed by rainforests.

The Ticos, as the Costa Ricans call themselves, have an interesting heritage. When the Spanish landed here, unlike other Latin American areas, they didn’t find a large indigenous population with an established empire like the Aztecs or Mayans. The “Rich Coast” set off early in a peaceful direction and has headed that way ever since. While political upheaval and civil war have affected its nearby neighbors, Costa Rica is a stable democratic republic (with a female president) that is famous for lacking an army. Its agricultural exports- coffee, bananas and pineapple are spectacular, as is its major cash crop, eco-tourism. It now walks a fine line- encouraging tourism but controlling its impact on its valuable natural resources. We’ve also found it interesting to have internet everywhere we’ve stayed… you can’t get that in Europe!

What’s been amazing to us has been that our most fascinating animal encounters have not been in parks or reserves but as we casually went about our days. While enjoying coffee on our terrace at Manuel Antonio, a capuchin monkey jumped down off the roof to join us. I’m not sure who had a more terrified look- the monkey or Jeff! Our hotel restaurant had two sloths in the trees that we watched for hours before grabbing drinks. Iguanas would come beg snacks as you sat at the pool. Little need for park tours- most properties have their own trails with amazing viewing opportunities. Nature can be deafening as you awake to the calls of howler monkeys and tropical birds as they start their days. At night, you’re sure every sound from the jungle is a huge tourist-preying mantis.

One of our favorite experiences was a lovely morning horseback ride to Nauyaca Falls near the coast. After a typical Tico breakfast, our feisty horses led us up a rocky trail to a pristine waterfall where the guide strung ropes so that brave participants could climb the falls and jump into the pool below. Eager to get home for food, the horses galloped and trotted most of the way home- riders holding on for dear life. So many times we thought, “The lawyers in the US would have a field day with this!” Needless to say, all arrived safe & sound.

With only two days left, we head off to Uvita, a small coastal town down south. Hasta la vista.

Meet My New Boyfriend, Laylo

This past year when I visited the Peruvian Amazon, I shared a long-hidden passion of mine… I love sloths! For some reason, these slow-moving, clumsy-looking, furry creatures have always captured my imagination. It started when I saw an Animal Planet special on sloths & watched their mating process. When the female is ready, she begins howling loudly. Males jump into action- or as jumpy as a sloth can get. Watching the males ever-so-slowly move through the forest to the waiting female cracked me up. It looked as if they would arrive a week too late to do the job at hand!

I came back from my adventure and was sadly forced to report- no sloth sightings. This was remedied today when I visited the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica. Take a look at my new boyfriend, Laylo. He was initially a “Layla” until they confirmed “she” was a “he.”

These creatures are absolutely adorable. Living up to 30 years, they come in 2-toed and 3-toed varieties. The 2-toed are omnivores while their 3-toed cousins dine on leaves and vegetables. They hang upside down most of the day and sleep for up to 18 hours at a time. They aren’t lazy- just blessed with an extremely slow metabolism. Their faces charm you with a constant smile.

The sanctuary began when the owners took in an injured sloth years ago. Buttercup was injured, was nursed back to health and now is grand dame of the sanctuary. Word spread and local began bringing other injured or neglected sloths in to join the family. The sanctuary is now home to over 120 adults and 20 baby sloths requiring constant feeding and rehabilitation- with the goal or reintroducing these gentle creatures back to their habitat. It costs them close to $11,000 a month for feed and upkeep of their sloths.

Unfortunately, deforestation, roads and pesticides have made the rainforest a dangerous place for these slow-moving cuties. Imagine trying to cross roads when a turtle can leave you in the dust. Chemicals have left many of their favorite leaves toxic to the sloths. Humans, who take babies from their mothers, to use as pets or tourist attractions, account for a number of their residents. Falls from their treetop hideaways can leave them badly injured or vulnerable to predators such as jaguars. A careful diet of goat’s milk and almond tree leaves revives weak babies. It takes 30 days for food to pass through a sloth’s intestinal tract so medicines and proper diet take a long time to do their magic. Big plastic bins (like you’d use to store holiday decorations) serve as homes to the babies.

Their habits are interesting… they leave their trees only once a week for the tiresome journey to the ground to go to the bathroom. Once done… they even dig and cover their waste. This may be an effort to cover their scent and keep predators off their trail. I’d like to think they are just thoughtful and clean. I bet Laylo would even put the seat down!

To find out more, visit www.slothrescue.org.

The Big Ditch

After seeing the Panama Canal in action, you can honestly see why it is dubbed one of the man-made wonders of the world. What’s really wondrous is the fact that the canal exists today given the political, public health, budget and engineering challenges faced since work began on the canal back in 1840.

First take a moment to step back in time. Sailors, for centuries, had searched for the fastest and most efficient way to circumnavigate the globe. When the Spanish first landed on this isthmus, they traveled overland to the Pacific Ocean some 50 miles west. But how could sailors and merchants build a canal of sorts to shave off the 8000 mile journey around the south end of South America at Cape Horn?

In stepped French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who built the Suez Canal. Lesseps (shallow trivia fact: Lesseps is related to one of the Housewives of NY… the one who says she is a countess) envisioned using the same process used on the Suez- building a sea-level canal blasted through the mountains and utilizing existing rivers. Unfortunately, this approach failed to take into account the topography of Panama, the jungles, and possibly most importantly, mosquito-borne disease. After eight years of digging, Lesseps finally relented and hired Gustave Eiffel (yes, the tower guy) to design a lock-based system (actually, DaVinci first developed the concept!) By then, money had dried up and countless thousands had died due to rampant malaria and yellow fever, forcing the French to abandon the ambitious project.

Years later, in stepped Teddy Roosevelt and the US. At this point in time, enough had changed to support the success of the canal project- engineering had advanced to allow for the movement of water required for the lock system, railroads could be built to carry away the tons of rock removed from the canal bed and medicine had advanced so that doctor’s now understood how malaria was spread and importantly, how to prevent the disease from spreading. The US was able to use much of the digging completed by the French and opened the canal in 1914. The Panamanians took control of the canal in 1999 and currently employ 9,500 to run the canal.

Our ship, the Coral Princess, a Panamax ship, is specifically built to the specifications of the canal and is currently the largest vessel traversing the canal. We had a scant foot or two of space on each side as we entered the canal. To cross, each ship must be raised and subsequently lowered 85 feet using a series of locks, each of which requires 52 million gallons of fresh water to fill each lock. Rainfall in the mountains and gravity provide the necessary water (in fact, recent rains left the system with too much water requiring release through dams at Gatun Lake.) Six locomotives called mules (after the original furry animals that did their job) are attached to the ship to help guide it and avoid damage to the canal. A trained canal pilot boards each boat and takes control of each vessel throughout the 12-hour journey.

What was amazing to me were the fees charged for each crossing. Cruise ships pay a premium for an appointed crossing time (don’t want to keep us busy tourists waiting!) and pay a per-cabin fee. We paid about $330,000 for this trip. Container ships pay less- in the range of $20,000 - $40,000 per crossing, but may queue up for two days before being assigned a spot. We didn’t actually cross the entire canal for this fee- we turned around at Gatun Lake and returned back to the Caribbean Sea. A million ships have made this traverse- growing demand of 40,000 ships annually is supporting the building of an additional lane of locks at Gatun to be completed in 2014.

Seeing this marvel up close is something to behold and should probably be on your bucket list. Just considering the scope of the project (it cost over $350 million a century ago); the engineering feat; the cost to human life (over 22,000 died building the canal) really hits home as you watch the workers going about their daily jobs, moving huge ships along as they travel the world.