Thursday, 18.05.2023 / Hike to Monte Croce

The five of us, Martin, Ruth, Gaby, Fidelis and our tour leader Dominic, set off from a parking lot in Borghetto Santo Spirito. The ascent was first on a wider path, then a ridge walk, but always with an insanely great view of the sea, the charming coastal towns and the rock that our friends were climbing :roll:

We also noticed that nothing was running on the highway. The poor had our pity. Where we can spend wonderful hours in nature without the noise of the highway!

After 2.5 hours we found a windless spot for our lunch and our hunt for a swallowtail. Who will take the best photo? Of course Ruth, d’Usserschwiizerin. Even Fidelis became jealous of this razor-sharp photo.

The ridge path continues to wind gently and steadily uphill, but never too steeply, to the summit: Monte Croce, 541 m above sea level.

Downhill, the change from the steppe-like, barren stony path to small bushes to green, fat meadows was very varied. A splendor of flowers to admire: Gorse, cistus and, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all, the spring aster. Everyone already knows Dominic by name. Super and thank you!

Spring asterisk

Swallowtail

Rockrose

The end of the hike was really tough: 3km on the tar along the road, so the beer was all the more deserved!!! At the end of the tour, we went to the seaside and celebrated this beautiful hike with a platter in a beach bar.

The next meeting point was Eurocamping Calvisio – our traditional barbecue was on the agenda. After everyone had freshened up for the party, the food was served. Everyone has contributed something. From snacks, salads and starters to barbecues, drinks and not forgetting Alex’s chamois sausages. Samuel, in his capacity as President of the SAC-Saas, brought along the wine that he had received as a gift from the CAI Villadossola as part of last year’s friendship tour at the Garde Museum in Naters. By the end of the evening, everyone was full and the bottles were empty. Slowly, everyone said their goodbyes except for a few “resilient” ones, who were then sent to bed by Simone after midnight.

Friday, 19.05.2023 – Coastal hike Varigotti-Noli

We would have loved to squeeze into our climbing finches on day 2 too, at least the climbing enthusiasts among us. Unfortunately, it rained all day and the rocks were wet. So a few brave hikers with rain gear braved the weather to walk the Sentiero del Pellegrino from Varigotti to Noli.

From Varigotti, we climbed steeply uphill on a small path and slippery stones. We were soon rewarded with fantastic views of the sea and the coast. Armed with umbrellas, we struggled on to various viewpoints and through the wet Mediterranean scrub.

At the cape of Noli we turned off to the Grotta dei Briganti (Antro dei Falsari). We descended steeply on fixed ropes, very slippery and muddy. Those with good shoes arrived at the bottom in one piece. A person with sandals, on the other hand, had to walk on with a dirty trouser bottom and a few scratches on his arm.

Through an opening in the rock we reached a cave that was wide open to the sea. The airy view at a height of over 100 meters was breathtaking and many photos were taken. After a kilo of M&M’s, we headed back up, this time without incident.

The rest of the hike was no longer difficult and even mostly dry. We enjoyed a delicious aperitif in Noli. Thanks to the cab service from SAC Saas, we were soon back in Finale.

The rest of the program: Pilates with Simone, shopping in Finalborgo, dinner in a fine Ligurian restaurant… An almost perfect day. :lol:

Saturday, 20.05.2023 – Hike to the grottoes of Edera

Third day and second day of rain: hope dies last. It was dry at 7.30 in the morning. Jan’s tip of dry roads equals dry climbing rock was also a given. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a short time. It rained from around 8 o’clock until the middle of the afternoon.

So we met at the campsite at 9 a.m. to go on an umbrella hike from Finalborgo to the Edera caves as a whole group. We were a funny looking snake of hats, moving upwards between houses, bushes, fake flowering cacti, castles and churches. It got greener and greener and we could almost have been in Nepal during the monsoon season.

We were all looking forward to the caves recommended to us, which were also home to dry climbing opportunities, although these started at a 6b and the rest were even more challenging. Accordingly, everyone left their climbing equipment at home.

When we found the right entrance after about an hour and a half and scrambled through the cave and the marmot hole in the dark, we came across an open rock cathedral with young German climbers tackling 6b. It was great to watch them, but at the same time we were all itching to try it out ourselves. The hooks had apparently been renewed and made safer. Hmm, it remained a tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers and toes.

Finally, we took our experimental group photos and left. After a small lunch, the tour continued. We had to face short, muddy slides further down, but we made it without any major losses. The hips also held up (in her last days). I won the umbrella competition for good taste in a rainbow-like splash of color design. For those with a bad taste, Samuel’s newly acquired gem was unbeatable – around 6 Italian landmarks were depicted in blue, brown and yellow.

Back in Finalborgo, we went over to the Eurocamping Calvisio restaurant for an aperitif or ice cream and later dinner. The long table was richly laid and with the best entertainment. Alex received two hunting apprentices, Eva and myself. The order in which the food was brought was illogical – Alex’s cold platter came almost at the end and Armida’s pizza with eggplants, which must have been massaged like Japanese Kober beef, came very last… but it certainly tasted delicious.

We ended the evening with my spontaneous laughter yoga improv in Gibberish (Chuderwelsch – Chuderfranzösisch?), which was a bit confusing for everyone including me because we couldn’t seem to find the common thread.