Category: history

Posted on

Cinque Terre, Italy – Porto Venere to Manarola

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

In 2010, I hiked the famed Sentiero Azzurro aka Verde Azzurro path, or “Blue trail”.

It connected the 5 main villages of the the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Riomaggiore to Monterosso al Mare.

Sadly, since 2011 sections of the classic have been closed.

Returning in 2023, I decided to do part of the most popular alternative, the Sentiero Rosso aka Cinque Terre High Path.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

A LOT of ascent and descent. But gorgeous vistas from high up.

Took the train to La Spezia. Then the local bus to Porto Venere.

A pretty town.

Starting the hike north, immediately you find the impressive Doria Castle.

EPSON DSC picture

The trail takes you high above the ocean with terrific views in each direction. There are some very narrow pathways, but no real exposure.

I found a quiet spot, just before dark, to put up my tent.

Early next morning I arrived at the impressive Santuario di Montenero. The priest came out, interested in my drone. I showed him how it worked and later sent him this video.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Flowers bloom in profusion in June. You can see why everyone loves these trails.

I climbed WAY DOWN to Riomaggiore. A charming seaside town.

At tourist information, I confirmed that the original Blue trail was still closed. Got a map and directions for the best high route.

The tunnel by the railway station was a highlight for me.

Up, up, up.

More amazing vistas from up high.

Finally, I caught the train in Corniglia, a little further on from Manarola. It was nice to have the freedom to finish the day whenever I wanted.

YES, the Cinque Terre is touristy. But taking the high trails mostly gets you away from the mobs.

I highly recommend this hiking destination.

Posted on

Cinque Terre, Italy – Riomaggiore & Santuario di Montenero

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Riomaggiore is 1st of the famous 5 villages of Cinque Terre.

Hiking in from Porto Venere, the highlight for me was the Santuario di Montenero, a Catholic church & monastery perched overlooking Riomaggiore.

I met the priest who was keen to see how my drone worked. I put this short video together for him.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mathew conducts service in all 5 villages. I told him he had the best congregations in Italy.

He didn’t disagree.

Posted on

Hiking the Walls of Lucca, Italy

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

The Walls of Lucca (4.3km loop) is the most popular hike in one of the terrific Tuscan tourist towns.

This is an asphalted path. Easy for everyone.

There are plenty of opportunities to sit on benches or picnic under large trees for breaks.

There are also many exits to go sightseeing if you want to leave the walls for a while and explore the historic centre.

Click PLAY or watch my hike on YouTube. Spaghetti Western theme. 😀

Lucca, near Pisa, has a population of about 90,000. No matter how many tourists arrive, it doesn’t feel crowded.

There’s much to see. But the highlight for most are the walls encircling the old town.

Initially built as a defensive rampart, it’s become a pedestrian promenade.

Click PLAY or watch Rick Steve’s highlights on YouTube.

Alice Pizza is a super popular chain. Light, airy dough made with little yeast. 

Of 60 varieties, my server in Lucca recommended something unique. Like a pizza ham sandwich. Served cold, not hot. Delicious. 

Posted on

Hiking out of Bodø, Norway

The gateway to the wonderful Lofoten archipelago is the town of Bodø, the end of the train line north.

It’s usually cheaper and easier to fly as the train is a 17 hour overnight journey from Oslo. The town is so compact that you can easily walk from the airport to the train station.

On my two trips to the awesome Lofoten hikes, I’ve spent quite a few days in Bodø — supposedly in transit.

It’s worth wandering the streets of Bodø.

ALSO — there is some hiking available walking from the centre of town.

I went first to Bestefarvarden. An interesting scramble among rocky cliffs overlooking the sea.

DCIM101MEDIADJI_0150.JPG

The “hike” starts close to this beach, well above the Arctic Circle.

I left a Summit Stone there.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

From there, I walked through an industrial zone to reach the city fortress (redoubt). Small, but interesting. With good views over to Bodø centre.

In addition, many tourists visit Saltstraumen, a small strait with one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. 

There’s more to Bodø than only a transit point.

Posted on

FINALLY – the Camino de Santiago

I’ve many times been asked IF I’d done the Camino. Surprisingly, the answer was NO. Until now. 😀

The Camino de Santiago … known in English as the Way of St James … is a network of pilgrims’ ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.

As with most hikes that can be cycled, I prefer to cycle. At least 10% of pilgrims cycle rather than walk or arrive on horseback. They are known as ‘bicigrinos’ or ‘bicigrinas’, bike pilgrims.

My PLAN is to ride León to the famous cathedral. About 325km. Perhaps a week. No rush.

The total length starting in France is 825km.

You need to cycle at least 200km in order to receive a Compostela certificate in Santiago (as opposed to minimum 100km walking).

Nearly 350,000 Compostela pilgrim certificates were issued in 2019. I won’t be lonely. 😀

The Camino Francés, or French Way, is by far the most popular of many routes. Roughly 60% of pilgrims choose this camino over other options.

Though no guidebook is needed, I picked up a paper copy of Mike Wells’ Cycling the Camino de Santiago (2019). I’d listened to a good interview with the author.

Wish me luck.

Many folks only know the famous pilgrimage from the 2010 Martin Sheen movie. It’s very good, by the way.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

Posted on

Hiking Magical Sintra, Portugal

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

Sintra is a major tourist destination famed for historic palaces, castles, parks and gardens.

The area includes the Sintra-Cascais Nature Park through which the Sintra Mountains run.

The historic center of the Vila de Sintra is famous for its 19th-century Romanticist architecture which resulted in the classification of the town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Most popular day hikes start near the National Palace.

A network of steep, rough and/or rocky trails climb up to the medieval Castle of the Moors. Good fun.

From there, you can continue up to the Pena Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Pena) high on a hill. On a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon. 

It’s a national monument, one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world.

The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. 

I stood in line for almost an hour to wander the Palace like every other tourist. But wished I’d spent that time — instead — hiking the lovely trails over 200 hectares of surround Pena Park. It’s a labyrinth and I was lost most of the time despite trying to follow a route on AllTrails.

After escaping the Palace, I continued up towards a high crucifix.

There are many weird and unusual places to stop. I particularly liked the Valley of the Lakes.

Another great hike is a short bus ride away on the coast … the Cabo da Roca Lighthouse, the westernmost point of Europe.

Posted on

Mainland Egypt’s 1st Long-distance Hike

The 170-km Red Sea Mountain Trail (RSMT) is touted to be the “first long-distance hiking trail in mainland Egypt and the sister project of the award-winning Sinai Trail“.

Of course walking pilgrimage in Egypt has been a tradition for thousands of year.

Connecting a series of ancient trade, travel, smuggling and shepherd routes into a single trail for modern times it is a 170km path taking most hikers 10 days to complete.

Created by Bedouin of the Maaza tribe – who manage the trail today on behalf of the wider Bedouin community – the Red Sea Mountain Trail gives a way into one of the most untrodden, little-known and beautiful wildernesses in the Middle East and perhaps the world.

From vast desert plains to deep gorges and high summits and from crumbling Roman towns to prehistoric rock art and chapels of Egypt’s Desert Fathers, the trail shows the best of the region’s inimitable beauty and seeks to open new kind of tourism that truly benefits its communities.

official website

You can explore the RSMT by clicking through the 10 days of a Virtual Thru Hike.

Or watch a short video on CNN.

It looks great.

We’ve added both the RSMT and the Sinai Trail to our list of the best hikes in Africa.

Posted on

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery

Emma Rowena (Caldwell) Gatewood, known as Grandma Gatewood was an American ultra-light hiking pioneer.

After a difficult life as a farm wife, mother of eleven children, and victim of domestic violence, she became famous as the first solo female thru-hiker of the 2,168-mile (3,489 km) Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in 1955 at the age of 67.

She subsequently became the first person (male or female) to hike the A.T. three times …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Amazon

Posted on

Willingdon Creek Trail, Powell River B.C.

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.

If you ever get to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, there are two unique attractions in Powell River you might easily miss:

  1. Powell River Giant Hulks breakwater
  2. Willingdon Beach Trail

First, Willingdon.

Though it’s an easy, flat 1.2km stroll one way, I still rank Willingdon one of the best hikes in North America because it’s so unique. Historical.

Started 1910 as a logging railway along the coast, today it’s an outdoor museum of forestry technology, gradually being consumed by temperate rainforest.

Start at the main coastal park in downtown Powell River and walk towards Willingdon Beach Campsite (excellent, by the way).

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

After you finish the trail, if you continue walking towards the Pulp Mill — staying as close to the water as you can — you’ll get some distant views of the largest floating Hulk breakwater in the world. Very cool.

It’s used to protect the Pulp Mill’s log storage pond.

While nine of these ten ships were built during the Second World War, the tenth ship, the S. S. Peralta, is the last remaining WWI concrete ship afloat.

Click PLAY or see them on YouTube.

related – trip report – Adventure Awaits – Willingdon Beach Trail

Posted on

K2 Base Camp and the Gondogoro Pass

I was planning on making this trek August 2020 …

… not much chance it’s going to happen this year. #COVID-19

Atlas & Boots was there in 2019:

My 14-day K2 base camp trek in Karakoram mountains of #Pakistan, followed by a crossing of the technical Gondogoro La Pass.

At 8,611m (28,251ft), #K2 is the second highest mountain in the world.

The K2 base camp trek route is via Concordia, the confluence of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers at around 4,700m (15,419ft).

It is one of the few places in the world where you can see four 8,000m peaks: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II.

Read the trip report.

K2 as seen from Concordia

Click PLAY or watch their trip on YouTube.