Good morning! The blue sky is back again, vulcán Villaricca is visible again.. Now and then she burps out a cloud of sulphur. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Chile, South America
GPT16 Volcán Quetrupillán / Villaricca Traverse (part 2)
15 December 2017
Somewhere, underneath the snow the trail is hiding. The trees are still buried under the snow pack and they form a kind of Mikado maze. Holding the GPS I try to find my way. Roughly. Up through a white forest.
Within an hour I’ve left the maze and now I’m in an open landscape. Here, hiking and navigating is a lot easier. Even though the sun is shining it’s still cold and even without snowshoes iI’m able to hike over the thick, white layer. Every few kilometers the landscape changes, but always with one of the many volcanoes in sight. Continue Reading…
Argentina, Chile, South America
Villaricca Traverse (part 1): volcano, snow and sun
13 December 2017
While I’m waiting for my backpack to get through the Chilean customs, I show the bus driver my maps on Locus. ‘Look, I’d like to get of the bus here. It’s about 10 kilometers from this border. I believe it’s near a mirador‘. I try to explain in my best Spanish. ‘Bien’, is all I get for an answer. Continue Reading…
Day 10: 22.5 km (+ 825m. uphill and 2350m. downhill)
For starters: a few hundred meters downhill. Continue Reading…
Day 9: 31,9 km. (+ 1540m. uphill and 650m. downhill)
It’s about 8.30 when I reach Kafana Grakavac. I’ve just hiked today’s first 10k. The kafana is a little off trail and situated next to a highway and it’s open. Yeah! They’re serving Turkish coffee. Yeah! They’re serving a hot sandwich. Oh… yeah! Continue Reading…
Day 8: 17km (+ 1130m. uphill and 1200m. dowhill)
According to the way markers today’s goal is about 17km and 8.5 hours hiking. 17km? 8.5 hours? This sounds like a challenging hike and I am about to find why. Continue Reading…
Day 7: 19km (+750m. uphill and 1100m. downhill)
As the clouds move over for a few seconds I see the chapel at the settlement of Velji Zalazi. Velji Zalazi sounds promising. Once, it used to be a village in the middle of the mountains high above the bay of the Kotor. Now it’s no more than ruins. And the chapel. Continue Reading…
Day 5 and 6: 0 + 19,2 km (+1200m uphill and 740m. downhill)
At the town of Budva I take a zero. It’s pretty touristic out here. However, tourist season hasn’t started yet so it is still quiet out here. What’s to say about a zero? Shower, laundry, eating seafood and buying resupplies. At the local market I buy dried mushrooms and raspberries, fresh cheese and dried sausage. I also buy a lighter. No more soaked food! Those kinds of things. Continue Reading…
Day 4: 16km (+ 450m. uphill and 500m. downhill)
OK, last night was really, really, really, really windy. The day starts around 6.30 and I am flying over the PPT. Not because of the winds, but because here there’s a proper trail, with markers everywhere. Continue Reading…
Day 3: 18km (+ 650m. uphill and 600m. downhill)
Showers all night. Heavy winds too, all night. Tarptent is soaking wet. Let’s call it a fresh start of the day. Continue Reading…
