Now that we are stranded at
home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it is time to write (I just finished my 8th
book, ‘Circus Improbus’, soon
available to order) and read a lot, making plans and bringing up some of the
travels that passed unnoticed…
I have recovered this 3’48’’
video (https://youtu.be/F7fX-W6ifRU) about some of the Balkans summits,
which in fact includes images from Montenegro and mountain tops of Kosovo,
Romania and Ukraine (these 2, together with Nuno Marques).
The years between 2013 and
2016 were quite productive to my project “Summits of every country in Europe”… In
2013 I’ve climbed the highest of Slovenia (Triglav, 2.864 m) and the highest of
Greece and Bulgaria. ‘Several in one’ was a way of climbing more than one summit
on the same trip: climbed the Bulgarian Musala (2.925 m) in September that
year, 2 days after the Greek Mytikas (2.917m); in September 2014 I’ve reached
the top of Slovakia (Gerlchovsky Stit, 2.655 m), Poland (Rysy, 2.499 m) and
Hungary (Kékestetö, 1.014 m) in 3 days (8-10th Sept.) and on the 24-25th,
same month, reached the summits of Macedonia, Albania (Golem Korab) and Kosovo
(Great Rudoka, 2.658 m).
2015 was a productive year
with 21 summits reached in Spain, the Balkans, Turkey (Mt. Ararat) and the
Andes. In July (3-7th), from Montenegro, I’ve reached 5 summits in 5
days, including the one of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serbian Deravica (2.656 m,
claimed by Kosovo).
The video images refer to
Deravica (and Montenegro lakes) and to the Romania-Ukraine trip, in June 2016.
In 2 days, Nuno and me reached the Romanian Moldoveanu (2.544 m) in the Transylvanian
mountains and, after letting the rented car at the border and taking a bus, the
Ukrainian Hoverla (2.061 m). The bad weather did not stop us! Later that year
(September), I’ve also got to the top of the Damavand (5.671 m),
in Iran, and the Aragats (4.090 m), in Armenia.
Good experiences to remember…
But now, there is a new trail that crosses the whole Balkans – via Dinarica
White Trail, of over 1260 km – that is running around my head!!!
The video: https://youtu.be/F7fX-W6ifRU
Some photos:
