Neolithic Sites in Turkey – May 2026

Neolithic Sites in Turkey – May 2026 May 19 Leave PDX on Icelandair. Good flights, but the seats in Iceland First Class are scarcely better than other airlines’ Premium Coach – cluttered leg space, too-hard seats recline only a few degrees. On the second flight I was in the front row, too close to the wall for legroom but luckily there were two empty seats farther back so I moved there. The second airplane was much more comfortable than the first. One regret - in the drinks menu I noticed several very distinct Icelandic gins, and failed to try one. Unique botanicals, one brand turns pink when you add water (including tonic). I've been avoiding liquor on flights but still... how many chances will I get to try pink gin? May 20 Arrival, The Berlin to Istanbul flight on Turkish Air was a huge step up. Seats more comfortable with decent recline. They served the best meal I’ve had on an airplane in ages – delicious appetizers, excellent fish, a very nice rice pudding dessert. Arrival was a mess. There were only a few signs in English, and my brain was in worse shape than I realized. (I'd just as well have had the gin - it couldn't have been any worse.) In retrospect it’s comic – “giris.” in Turkish means “entrance” but I read it as “girls” - nonsensical and rather funny in retrospect but it slowed me up getting through passport. I think not having my distance glasses with me contributed to the frustration – in the future I will carry them. Then I couldn’t find the right luggage conveyor, and I couldn’t get the ATM to give me any money. 36 hours with no sleep only an hour or two half-dozing is not enough for brain function. So I gave up on Metro and took a rather expensive cab to the hotel. May 21 Free day. I got a decent 4 or 5 hours sleep, not enough but a start. I had booked an island tour from a marina across the golden horn but couldn’t figure out how to get there – the desk clerk said take the tram but I couldn’t get the ATM to give me cash – didn’t realize the tram gate would just read my WISE card. Ended up walking around the neighborhood, took a different boat tour that was disappointing. But as the day progressed I gradually felt more energetic, with the fog clearing from my brain. May 21 evening - meet the tour group Big shock: There are 19 persons, ordinarily way too many. The tour leader, Juneyt, seemed well-organized and competent but I couldn’t see how one person can possibly handle that big a group. I was told it would probably be 12 or less. Half of them reached the hotel a half hour after the planned intro meeting, so the initial meeting with the science expert, Sinan, was postponed until the next evening. We walked down to the tram then walked a few more. blocks to a nice restaurant with a view over part of the city. Juneyt was good about telling the restaurant about my dietary restrictions; they served my salad first but served my main course and dessert after everyone else. Half the party were nearly finished by the time I got my meal, and the beef was chewy, so by the time I had eaten even half my meal it was obvious I was holding everyone else up, so I gave up on it. The beef was served on a watery bed of greens, not terribly appetizing, so I just gave up on the last half of it. They served me a plate of fruit and I ate the ripest part in something of a hurry. (Fruit so hard and green it was inedible was a pattern during the entire trip.) This is why I dislike groups this large – meals, site and museum visits, it’s all the same. In my experiences people in front at least get to see what we’re there for, but they are pressured by the people behind and the people behind just struggle to keep up, hear none of the tour guide’s explanations and scarcely see anything at all because the group has already moved on. [These guides proved to be excellent at making sure everyone was included.] May 22 Istanbul sites. The group took the tram to Hagia Sophia – glad I saw it 20 years ago. They have installed a huge metal scaffold to support the dome, and the ground floor is designated as a mosque and restricted to Muslims. The second floor is still a museum, open to the public. I was quite impressed by both the few intact mosaics and (as I was throughout the trip) the calligraphy of Arabic. The Blue Mosque is beautiful but now it is totally jammed, very long line (but it moves fast). Again, glad I visited before it became so crowded. As the day wore along I felt my Istanbul schemas becoming active and getting around much more comfortable. With an early flight – to our first excavation site -- we had a 2:30 am wakeup. Nonetheless, we walked down to the waterfront, sacrificing over an hour of precious sleep time – but it was worth it. The restaurant is excellent – I shared a grilled octopus, whole grilled sea bass and plate of oiled broccoli with another guest; we all enjoyed great conversation & meal. As he always did, our guide Juneyt did a great job of taking care of me and the other guests with dietary restrictions, explaining to the servers and helping us with selections that were both safe and delicious. This, the second group meal, was much more satisfying than the first night meal and left me feeling much better about the situation. May 23. Konya and ÇatalhÖyÜk. Early wakeup, mostly easy trip to the airport except for one person who slept in and had to be called again. Fortunately the traffic was light, both to and in the airport. The flight was awful – over an hour in a narrow seat with my knees grinding into the seat in front of me. Konya is located on a large very flat plateau between two mountain ranges, both sites of former volcanic eruptions. The plain is dotted with mounds of various sizes, all known from aerial surveys to cover neolithic settlements. A few decades ago an archaeologist excavated one of these and found evidence of sustained human habitation. ÇatalhÖyÜk was very interesting. Beginning about 9000 BCE people built and inhabited a 23 hectare site, which remained occupied for a thousand years. They built with mud bricks, and plastered over, with paintings of animals and humans on many of the walls. The structures were adjacent, with no space between and with flat roofs covered with dirt and accessed from above. Some units were divided into two or three rooms, with a hole to crawl through but no door connecting them. Single rooms often have partial walls to separate areas dedicated to particular uses – including one for sleeping (with raised platforms) and one that is kept clean. Walls are often whitewashed and decorated with images of animals. Dead are buried under the floor of the home – and it appears that they are often not related. Children appear to have lived separately from parents. Cooking was done in outside areas. When a new home was desired for whatever reason the old was broken down and the new one built atop the rubble. That’s how the sites grew into mounds. The society appeared to have been egalitarian, based on some agriculture, hunting and gathering, and trade in obsidian and obsidian tools from volcanoes to north and south. The settlement at Çatalhöyük consists of rectangular, flat-roofed houses with adjoining walls. The houses were built side by side without any space between them. Entrance and exit to the houses were provided by a ladder, accessed through a square opening in the roof. This opening also serves as a chimney through which the smoke from the hearths and ovens is discharged; since there are no windows in the adjoining walls, the only light source is this opening in the ceiling. Given the limited illumination inside, it is believed that people carried out daily activities like food preparation, weaving baskets, and other tasks on the rooftops. Communal living and joint production were predominant; roofs were used to pass from one place to another and probably functioned as a street or plaza for casual socializing as well as access. When Çatalhöyük was first established, hunting remained an important source of meat, but by the middle levels 80 percent of the animals found were sheep and goats. The now-extinct aurochs, which occupies an essential place in the community's world of symbols and rituals, was domesticated in Çatalhöyük only in late periods. The inhabitants probably resisted turning this wild creature of symbolic value into a domesticated animal, even though it had been domesticated in other parts of Anatolia. The people of Çatalhöyük had a sophisticated aesthetic sensibility and decorated the mud-brick walls by whitewashing them then painting them with abstract, human and animal images. These settlements are important for several reasons. They give a good sense of the early development of culture, predating true agriculture by hundreds of years, and the gradual use of domesticated animals and plants. After visiting these sites we went for a late lunch. As I tried to do everywhere I had authentic regional food for lunch, a salad of white beans, boiled eggs and tomatoes and a bowl of yogurt with some herb or spice I didn’t recognize. For dinner I had a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers both chopped rather fine, with garnish of green onions and parsley and a chunk of slow-roasted lamb – all delicious. Yogurt is often served with both lunch and dinner, usually sprinkled with herbs (dried or fresh) or containing small berries. It is sweeter than our yogurt and complements the spicier dishes nicely. Whirling Dervishes (Sufi) After dinner four of us went to a demonstration of Whirling Dervishes – which originated in Konya. The whirling is a kind of moving meditation, a ritual to connect with Allah. I found it quite interesting. I took several short videos as well as still photos. The feet move in a systematic pattern, and the arms are raised in a gradual ritual, hands beginning together at the waist. The dancer slowly raises them, beginning to separate them as they pass the face, and spreading arms wide beginning when the arms are nearly straight in the air. (As the introduction emphasized, the ceremony is a ritual, not a dance in the sense of artistic entertainment. That distinction is evident throughout.) Two figures did not join the whirling. One is a sheik, leader of the ceremony, who began it with a chant, then periodically blessed the others as they walked in front and bowed to him. The other figure simply wandered around the floor, between and among the dancers. Even watching it seemed contemplative. Having had less than four hours sleep the previous night I was glad to get to bed. I was wakened by an overamplified call to prayer at 4:30 after a good night’s sleep, feeling much refreshed. I am presenting the other sites mostly in the order visited, not in any historical sequence. By now I was beginning to appreciate our guide, who managed to keep the entire huge group organized, and always made sure everyone had plenty of time at each site, even if it threw us off schedule. May 24 Cappadocia ["C" is pronounced hard, like our "k") Immediately after breakfast we boarded the bus and departed for Cappadocia. Along the way we stopped at the largest and most beautiful of the Seljuk Caravanserais, built in 1229. It is a sort of inn, developed by a local Sultan to encourage traders to continue bringing goods from the east by providing shelter and protection from gangs of robbers. Surrounding an open courtyard are a kitchen, infirmary, saddlery, rooms for guests, and a large overhang to provide shelter for animals. The walls of the shelter area are lined with some interesting paintings in a unique style, and the support columns have bas relief carvings in a completely different style. AŞIKLI HÖYÜK This was another excavation of a 9000 year old settlement, not covered with a shelter, but just with plastic tarps. This was one of the earliest excavations, done and documented in the 1990s, before they realized that rain and melting snow would erode the site fairly quickly. The approximate location and shape of the buildings are marked with We found lots of worked and partially worked flint shards just lying on the ground indicative of the village’s role in the flint trade. Some were so thin they were translucent, and edges as sharp as a knife. The site provided few interesting photos, and was most interesting for how it demonstrated the development of archaeological tools and techniques. We drove on to Cappadocia and checked in to a hotel set among the fantastic jagged hills or eroded tuff that spread for miles in every direction, then walked down the hill to a small restaurant where I had a dish of stuffed mushrooms that was very nice. The best views of the fantasy rock formations are from the air (tomorrow’s report). After lunch we visited an underground city (one of many in Anatolia); five levels of dwelling chambers connected by small tunnels (I had to duck walk through most, crawl through some). During the early Christian era, several underground cities were carved out – the exact dates are uncertain. No-one is quite certain why they were built (probably to hide from anti-Christian violence) or how long they were used at one time. They were discovered mostly by accident (like a shepherd stumbling into one) in the 1960s and later. May 25 The day began early. I got up at 4, got ready and was picked up for a balloon ride. We reached the launch site in early twilight; a few balloons were already in the air and many were in various stages of inflation. I was dismayed to see that the passenger baskets were the size of a small bus, divided into at least 20 square compartments. Fortunately there were only three of us so they put us in a corner compartment – even more fortunately they loaded me last – into the very corner. We were strapped into our places, then waited in growing anticipation while they finished inflating the balloon. We felt the basket slightly swaying – and we were airborne! It was very beautiful – the twilight sky filled with balloons, each sporadically lighted by the propane jets inside. (They make quite a loud roar.) The ride was amazingly peaceful, slowly drifting past rock formations, sometimes brushing over a treetop. The pilot took us down into a canyon, past several moguls, then up over the rim, over a nearby ridge, up and up to about 6000 feet. The city lay below us like a planner’s model. I was quite tickled when I saw a hotel swimming pool shaped like Casper the Friendly Ghost. After a little under an hour, the pilot brought us back down near the ground. I was amused again when we came over a ridge and saw a photographer working with a model, a beautiful woman in a red gown with a long train, who waved and smiled broadly as we passed. Of course I couldn’t resist such a shot. The famous silence of a balloon ride was impossible with 28 tourists chattering away and a blast of the gas burners every few seconds, but in the beginning and end we could hear lots of birdsong, and throughout there was just a marvelous sense of calm. Then we drifted by a rock formation hollowed out into what looks like a single dwelling with at least three levels. I took a couple of stills, then video recorded it as we drifted past After I got back, had a late breakfast and joined the group, we drove to an “outdoor museum” – a section of the valley where early Christian monks had lived in caves, organized about 500 CE into a monastic community. There are at least ten churches – chapels would be more accurate – all in caves cut into the stone and decorated with frescos. Unfortunately most of the frescos were vandalized, both during periods of religious strife and through common vandalism. Many of the frescos high enough to be out of reach were still in good condition, and their quality is astonishing. What a loss the vandalism was! We had a very late lunch (I had mushrooms stuffed with tomatoes and garlic in a tomato sauce) then Juneyt led a few of us for a walk through a narrow canyon lined with moguls, many of them set up as dovecotes. Before development of commercial fertilizers the farmers gathered the droppings to use for fertilizer. It had been raining every day, and portions of the trail were muddy, some with streams flowing down them. Otherwise, walking was quite easy. For dinner we walked a few minutes up the road to a restaurant where we were seated at a long table. We were served hors d’oeuvres – parsley, raw onions, four paste-like condiments, one of them quite peppery. I was advised to order a kabob pot,chunks of meat and vegetable in a tomato sauce cooked in a tall pot. It was very good. It was frustrating to try to hold a conversation because another large group at the next table was very noisy. It started raining again, quite heavily at first, then eased off and I started thinking about going home, but the guide told us we would have a dessert so I decided to wait. They distributed plates with knives and forks then, after another 15 minute they brought nice looking little tarts – for everyone on my side of the table except me. Nothing for the other side of the table, either. After 30 more minutes we realized they were not going to give any of the rest of us a dessert, so we all got up and headed home – I went ahead to walk faster, and the rain had eased off so I managed to get only slightly damp. May 26. Long drive to Ankara, broken up by the Hittites, Bronze Age, about 1600-1200 BCE. (Copper age about 6000-1600.) First we stopped at Yazilikaya, a Hittite shrine / temple built amid a rockpile with natural springs. There are two chambers, a smaller one leading to an inner area enclosed by high walls and a larger, slightly more open one. The larger one has bas relief and engraved images of deities in a procession toward an inner courtyard. The chief god and his son are both shown standing on the backs of mountain lions. Above the end of the chamber the chief god and another god stand on the back of lions. The much narrower passage to the smaller chamber is guarded by two demons, whose permission must be asked before proceeding further. To the right of the inner chamber, a slightly wider lane has other images of the gods, in one image holding a large sword. The entrance is guarded by demons, from whom you need to ask permission before entering. At first it was difficult to make out the images, but as the sun rose higher and moved westward, more details became visible. From Yazilikaya we walked back a quarter of a mile down the road to a small open-air restaurant for lunch. I had grilled trout, which was excellent, topped off by watermelon. Then we drove across the valley to Kaymakli, a very large Hittite city built on the side of a rather steep mountain. It was abandoned near the end of the kingdom, and all that is left are foundations, paving stones, a few partial sections of city walls and partially ruined city gates. Archaeologists have begun work to restore the wall. We stopped at the temple, three of the gates and the palace, located on a high hill overlooking the temple. I was surprised at the steep ground, quite different from my image of a bronze age city. Juneyt said that the city probably hosted 20,000 people at its peak. The top pictures show the lion gate and sphynx gate – note the obsidian eyes. The bottom picture shows the temple ruins from the rocky hill where the castle stood. We spent so much time at these sites that we didn’t get started toward Ankara until nearly 5:30. I have so much trouble with the limited leg room (8 inches between seats, like the cheap airlines) I had to sit in 2 seats to stretch out in. Fortunately our group didn’t nearly fill the bus. May 27. May 29. Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe Historical background from a lecture by Sinan. Turkish people migrated from central Asia, enslaved by Arabs. In the neolithic period people began to settle from nomadic to agriculture around 10,000 B. Climate change from ice age around 14-10,000 BC permitted warm seasons, suitable conditions for agriculture. People already had some knowledge of animal husbandry & cultivation when they began to congregate in permanent settlement. This started in the Fertile crescent; parts of Israel, Levante, Syria, SE Turkey, Iran & Iraq. The core region of neolithic settlement and development. Around 10,500 BC, people began to domesticate sheep, cattle, goats; grains, pistachio, lentils, grains, all native to Mesopotamia. This developed into agriculture over several thousand years while it spread slowly through Anatolia, and later, via sea, to Europe by migration. Central Anatolia 7,000 BCE; Greece 6,000, Germany, 5,000 BC, England 4,000 Ceramics styles and DNA analysis support migration from Anatolia to Europe Pre-Neolithic sites, recently discovered, covering 9 hectares 3 layers: (1) surface; (2) 8700-9000 BC, pre-pottery Neolithic B; (3 – bottom) 9500-8700, pre-pottery Neolithic A, situated directly on a limestone plateau. Discovered in 1960s, its importance for both social and aesthetic development was not understood until it was excavated again in 1994. The area surrounding Gobekli Tepe lacks water and they found no evidence of agriculture, so they initially thought people never lived there and focused on temples. Newer excavations reveal domestic houses present from the beginning, built in layers atop each other like in the other sites from the same era, but the total population is still unknown Relative dating involves comparing tools etc.; Absolute dating, Carbon 14. Layers – the temples are built on bedrock at the bottom of a natural swale, a depression in the rock. Above them, domestic houses were built on higher levels of the swale. Temples consist of large subterranean circular structures on level 1, 9500-8000 BCE. The entire area is 15 meters high, 300 m diameter. In each structure T-shaped pillars face each other; some are embedded in walls and some free-standing, usually in groups of four; the height ranges from 1.5 to 5 meters - the T-shaped pillars may represent stylized human figures. Many have animals in relief; all are wild animals, many of which live under earth – snakes & scorpions, leopards, wild pigs; all in motion, all male. All are depicted with detailed anatomic details, especially penises and teeth. Surveys show at least 20 more such structures yet to be excavated. To build all this required enormous labor, indicating a high level of social organization. The stone was taken from a nearby limestone quarry – but moving these massive stones would require organized effort. Of many people. Level 2 has only one building; smaller and rectangular. It still has pillars, some with lions. The building is semi-subterranean, carved into bedrock. The T-shaped pillars are also carved from the bedrock represent stylized males. Only one figure depicts a woman, carved on the wall, probably carved later. The image I saw had been removed to a museum. Like many of the images of males, animals and men, the genitals are emphasized. The four structures studied thus far are mutually contemporary. There is no evidence of slavery; the work must have been motivated by a strong ideology. In addition to bas relief, we have 3-dimensional sculptures, detailed with muscles, teeth, ribs, penises. Some project out of the walls and others seem strategically placed. Fox Pillar building – smaller, depictions of foxes; contains a basin. Benches in the center. Enclosure C – Boar Building; T-shaped pillars are also inside. U-stone, narrow entrance and narrow corridor. Enclosure D is defined as a stone age zoo – all the animals are depicted: snakes, ibis, leopards, cattle … Central pillars form male figures, possibly priestly dancing One pillar is in the shape of a totem with figures including at least one human. Human heads are deposited carefully in the enclosure, often next to pillars. The dwellings may have been placed in tiers surrounding central “temples” Temples may have been deliberately filled in or simply filled by the debris from collapse of the surrounding dwellings. Unfinished T-figures were found in a workshop area adjacent to the site. Animal remains (mostly bones) include wild fox, horses, boar, gazelle (60%), wild goats, hare, crane Each season there was a massive migration of gazelle; this may have motivated site selection. They may have used these hills for hunting long before settling there. Plant remains – wild einkorn wheat, almonds, pistachio - no domesticated species Basins with residues evidence of beer production; may have figured in competitive (or ceremonial) feasting. “Trans-egalitarian society” – not strictly equal, not yet hierarchical. Karahan Tepe is contemporary and equally important but less famous so less popular, and it is allowed to get much closer to the enclosures (and several goats were grazing among them. Here are two of the enclosures from Karahan. May 27 & 28 The Ankara and Sanliurfa museums contained reconstructions of Gobeklitepe and other settlements, along with displays of stone tools that show how they progressed from simple hand-axes to knives, scrapers, and spear-points. Both museums also include extensive displays of bronze age, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine structures and artifacts, but most of us were too tired after two or more hours in the neolithic displays. I think it would take two or three days to do justice to either of these museums. I was particularly taken with a stylistically sophisticated statue of a man, with obsidian eyes that give him an almost surreal intensity. (Obsidian was often placed as eyes in statues of animals as well as humans.) One of the most interesting things about the Ankara castle is what Sinan called “spoilers” pieces of earlier sculpture and temples incorporated into the walls of the castle and ramparts for repair. Some of these are almost comical. There are two remaining parts of the castle, about .5 to 1 km apart; the intervening space has been filled in by more recent buildings May 28 & 29. Sanliurfa – old city Before leaving Sanliurfa we spent about an hour in the old city, at the base of a large citadel with two minarets. Legend has it that Abraham was thrown from one of these minarets onto a pile of faggots intended to burn him alive, but the fire turned into a lake and the sticks into fish; the lake is full of 12-14 inch long fish which, of course, are well-fed by tourists. Farther on we came to the cave, one of the supposed birthplaces of Abraham. May 30. Roman Bridge, Before returning to Istanbul, we visited a dam over a tributary of the Euphrates River, a burial mound, then a Roman bridge over the river. A notable feature of this area is a place just upstream of the bridge where the stream has deeply undercut limestone cliffs, first on one side then on the other side of the river. I could not help thinking what a hazard it would be for canoes and river runners. Mt. Nemrut Burial Mound. We walked around there for a while, then went on to a visitor center high on Mt. Nemrut, which is capped by a huge conical pile of rocks, matching the one that we had visited earlier, with the plan of watching the sunset. Juneyt was evasive about the distance to the viewing area, so I was set for a nice long hike but it took only 15 minutes, up a rather steep, wide path, part paved and part composed of stones well-polished by millions of tourist feet. There were wide paths up to the top of the mound, but when I started up one, a guard blew a sharp whistle – as I returned to the paved path I realized that it was a potentially dangerous path – not at all clear what it was for but it would be easy to cause a rock-slide. Obviously the rocks were piled up by human labor (slaves, probably) to serve as a grave marker for royal bodies. There are two viewing platforms at the base, one for sunrise, one for sunset. The one on the east has several busts of gods and heroes, with a more abstract stylized structure behind. (This is where I elicited a whistle warning for starting up a very clear trail). The western platform is larger, with a larger collection of statues, including Apollo and Hercules, along with several blocks that appear to have been shaped for use in a wall that did not get built (or was built and fell apart). We settled down on one of these blocks, but there was a gusty wind that was quite chilling. About the time the sun was setting it got much colder, and everyone wanted to go down to the warmth of the bus. There were still people coming up the trail and others pausing alongside the trail, but none of my companions wanted to stop or even slow down. Near the bottom the trail crossed a steep snowfield that was beginning to freeze again – I had little trouble crossing it (the trekking poles proved their usefulness) but some of the slower members of the party had difficulty on the freezing, shoe-polished icy snow. They reported that several guides had stopped along either side of the trail to help people cross. Everyone was glad that we went there for sunset, not for sunrise as the itinerary called for. June 1 Istanbul, Aybuke and Mehmet. The flight back to Istanbul on Turkish Airways was fine. I managed to request an aisle seat and the agent gave me exit row, so the trip back was much more comfortable than the outbound trip. To cap it off, after I refused the sandwich the crew was handing out, explaining that I am celiac, one of them brought me an extra (and very excellent) meal that was apparently extra from business class. Cudos for Turkish Airways! It was a busy week for Aybuke and her family – final exams at her university and several activities for their son, Meta. I did some more sight-seeing, including a visit to the Archaeological museum, then got on the metro (sub/surface way) that the hotel desk clerk directed me toward. I had already encountered (and recalled from my visit 16 years ago) the confusion of Istanbul’s streets – very few of them have street signs, so following a map (especially an on-line map; paper maps are virtually non-existent) is a challenge everywhere. Few people speak English and almost everyone gives vague, ambiguous directions (“that way,” with a pointing gesture. It turned out I had got on the wrong line – goes in the direction of Kotkoy but farther south. I had to double back and take a connecting line that was impossible to find – ended up taking a cab. Later, when taking me to the bus (at the local airport) to go to Bursa, Aybuke also had difficulty with the lack of signs, ambiguous directions, and unexpected relocation of the bus pick-up point to a location very difficult to reach. Negotiating Istanbul requires skills quite different from most European and American cities, skills I developed when I was there 16 years ago, and was beginning to recover when my visit was over. June 3&4 Bursa Bursa, two hours from Istanbul by car, was an early capital (before Edirne) of the Ottoman empire. Because Aybuke and her family were going to be quite busy on Wednesday and Thursday, I took a bus to Bursa and checked into a hotel a mile from the main area. Unfortunately I have few pictures because my cell-phone battery stopped charging early in the visit. Wednesday afternoon I visited the Grand Mosque, Green Mosque, and Green Tomb. The Grand Mosque is a sprawling stone building with many domes; inside, two of the domes are quite beautiful. A worship service was starting as I entered. I was struck by the musicality of the chanting – the Imam had a lovely tenor, and I found it uplifting even though I could only guess at the words. I lingered for ten or fifteen minutes to listen, before moving on to the other sites. My path took me through the narrow lanes of the famed bazaar area, fortunately only moderately crowded. The Green Mosque and Tomb are perhaps even more beautiful than the Grand Mosque, with ornate tiles and domes. The weather has changed radically and I found the afternoon heat somewhat enervating, so after lunch I headed back to the Culture Park, across from my hotel, beginning at the Archaeology Museum, which was quite disappointing – three rooms with a few interesting exhibits, but nothing to compare to the other recently-visited museums. I ended up sitting for over an hour in the shade of some beautiful, tall trees before going back to the hotel, settling in, and walking back to the main area for dinner. My plan for Thursday was to visit the old Ottoman village, Cumalikizic, then go on the cable car that would take me to the top of a local mountain top, then return to visit the central citadel. I could not find public transportation so took a cab – with no clear idea how I would get back. The village is built of stone, with streets made of (almost) flat stones – very difficult walking and quite steep, but quite charming. Many souvenir shops but none of them sold postcards (obviously a dying medium). When I was ready to go the tourist map looked like I could walk to the tram but one of the staff at the village told me it is 11 kilometers. Fortunately there is a city bus line that goes only there and back. On the way back several of the other passengers tried to help me with advice when to get off, all in Turkish + gestures. When I saw the Grand Mosque I started to get off but an old man said “no, no, I help you!” I got off anyway and found a place for lunch. By that time it was so late I gave up on the cable car idea and went to visit the Citadel instead. It consists of remnants of old rock ramparts, built into the cliffs surrounding an elevated hilltop neighborhood, beautiful buildings, mostly 3-4 story apartments and shops. Ride back – the bus company pulled another switch on us – but Mehmet figured it out and met me at the arrivals, as per the new instructions. The entire routine with the bus is typical of Turkey – few signs, changes without any advance notice, vague directions. The whole society has become tech-dependent, coupled with complexity and indifference. Almost every Turk I know personally is the embodiment of friendliness and generosity, but the system is bureaucratic and confusing. Kidzania. On Saturday Meta had a five hour appointment to meet his cousin at “Kidzania,” a sprawling fantasy-land for 8 year olds that occupies half of a floor of a shopping mall in a high-rise tower. I wasn’t able to go with them (Aybuke was the designated adult and anyway I had to try to get my phone fixed) but how it was explained is that it is a venue for pretending to be an adult. At the outset they receive a small amount of play money, which they can spend for various things – including an “education.” They can “earn” more “money” by “working” at various jobs. Among the possibilities, there is a flight deck of a real (retired) Turkish Airways jet where they can be pilots, flight attendants and passengers. While they were doing that Aybuke’s brother and Mehmet helped me find a repair shop to replace the battery on my iPhone, sat down for a beer and French fries (I also had a salad), then took the metro over to Kodakoy, a posh shopping district that has largely replaced the Taxim (after the government “reformed” it in response to anti-government demonstrations several years ago.) When we returned, after 5 hours of playing “adult” the two kids were still totally wired, full of energy.

May / June 2026 Cinqueterre

Cinque Terre I’ve been thinking about this hike for several years and it finally fit in with other plans. The scenery is ravishing, especially the little ridge-top villages (not part of the five) and the five that are mostly next to the ocean. The trails are uniformly tough, reflecting the steep, rocky terrain. They were all badly damaged by the heavy rain and flooding a few years ago, and it’s easy to see why they were impossible to repair fully. It’s hard to believe they farm on such steep slopes! Below the trail are vegetable gardens, olive orchards and, almost everywhere, lush vineyards, many planted in narrow strips of dirt between rock retaining walls. The local wines, product of these vineyards, are excellent. But I wouldn’t want to tend these vines or harvest the grapes – even hiking the trails above the vineyards is an exercise in (barely) controlled vertigo. It took me a couple of days to figure out the small (about 4 inches square) red and white blazes, which can be anywhere, and not always at the intersection, and learn to use “Bike With GPS” (which I found much more difficult and awkward by far than Gaia was before it was acquired and profitized by Outside. Even under corporate downgrading Gaia is still much better than Bike With GPS.) I was blessed with weather, lows in the 60s, highs mostly mid-70s, cooling breezes, a couple of cloudy days, no rain. After the first couple of hikes I realized that I really should have done this when I was first thinking about it, before aging started cutting into my speed, stamina, and endurance. After the second day’s hike I was beginning to wonder if these steep trails were going to simply kick my butt! There are relatively level sections, mostly packed dirt, sometimes partly covered with leaves, often partly paved. Pleasant walking, but getting up to and down from the ridges is steep and often badly eroded. It has been fun now but would have been a lot more fun 5 or 6 years ago, even three years ago, when I hiked 10 days in the Dolomites. I’m glad I got to do it now! The condition of the trails varies a lot. Some parts are paved with grooved concrete, including stairs, longer parts paved with stones, only a few of which are anywhere near flat, so even when on “paved” portions it is necessary to think carefully about almost every step. Many of the stones are black and polished by many shoes (I think they may be very low grade marble.) Unsurprisingly, given the steep terrain, erosion is a big problem, often leaving stairs and stair risers orphaned – either go around them or take huge steps up and down (two feet or even more). I’ve been asked if I was hiking alone. The answer is: like the most popular Gorge trails, it is impossible on the main trails of Cinque Terre to be alone for more than a few minutes. I took one trail back from my first day hike that differed from the recommended trail and didn’t see any other hikers for about two hours, but the crowds are entirely on the primary trails. The quality of this alternative trail was similar to the main trails, except it had no concrete, no pavement until a few broken and eroded stairs at the end, entering town. There are many songbirds in the forest and it was nice to hear them without the constant tourist chatter. I expected the paved parts and even some of the packed dirt stretches to be gravelly and slippery but was pleasantly surprised – in six days’ hiking I skidded on loose gravel only twice, both times for less than a foot. I wouldn’t want to do the rocky parts in wet weather. For a celiac, Italy is rather frustrating, and the section I was hiking more so. Menus are heavily weighted toward pizza and pasta, and meat and fish are usually breaded and fried. For anyone with a healthy gut it would be a gourmet banquet – great bread, frito misto and other breaded dishes including calimari, many varieties of pasta. I was able to have some great meals, but it took a lot of time scanning menus. The best seafood I found was a “warm seafood salad” – squid, octopus, and mussels chopped up with some celery and tomatoes, and a few salted olives that seemed a little out of place. In Porto Venera a few ristorantes also served grilled squid and grilled mixed seafood, both excellent. These options replaced frito misto, the fried mixture of fish I loved so much when I first had it in Venice many years ago. The gelato is consistently good, though some of the servers have shorted me on scoops (curling the gelato into a hollow ball). I found a gelateria with licorizia (the root is grown in this region) – a pasty tan color, an earthy flavor not as sharp as anise. A rare treat – I haven’t seen licorice or anise ice cream in the U.S. in 30 years. I brought a swimsuit with me but made the mistake of not bringing sandals or water shoes and a sunshirt to wear in the water. I could have worn a cotton T-shirt to protect my back from the sun but I wasn’t that motivated to join the crowd in the water. I had a rather amusing “Death in Venice” experience while watching people trying to ride surfboards on the two foot shore break (two of them managed to get a few short rides). I felt a light touch on my butt, looked around and a fortyish guy was walking away. A few minutes later he came back and struck up a conversation, pointing to the rocks by the breakwater: “Is that the end of the beach?” “Yes, I think it’s cliffs beyond.” “I heard there is a naked beach somewhere.” "I haven’t the slightest notion” -- and I walked away. I suppose a MAGA type would have felt compelled to deck the guy – but I’ve no sympathy with the MAGA concept of manhood – and that would be somebody else’s movie. The hotel in Levanto doesn’t serve breakfast until 7:45, which meant getting on the trail after it’s already warming up, and doing most of the hiking during the heat of the day. I was tempted to skip breakfast for an earlier start, but in this bread-centric culture it would be difficult to find an adequate substitute for the eggs, yogurt, ham, cheese, and fruit salad served by the hotel. Fortunately it doesn’t get hot enough to be a problem and there’s been a breeze most afternoons. I don’t think I’d want to do this in July or August. By day four my legs were beginning to get used to the steep climbs and descents. This was the day for hiking the central trail, the string of cliff-hugging villages of Cinque Terre itself. Going was slow and I stopped frequently to admire the views and find a dish of ice cream in one of the villages. The sixth day’s hike took me up to the top of a ridge , along the ridge top, and gradually down. The next to last kilometer clings to an almost sheer cliff, with several dicey rock-climbs both down and up, above sheer drops. Some of these were on well-polished stone outcrops. I was too busy negotiating the footing to take any pictures. That section of trail is not for vertigo sufferers. I was afraid it might continue along the next cliff but to my great relief it swings around the more gradual slope to the left. The descent into town was still quite steep. In the photo to the right two of the three islands can be seen behind the headland and its vertical cliff. The trail ends with a (typically steep and eroded) descent into Porto Venera (named after Venus, the goddess with a ruined temple at the far end of town). Apparently Lord Byron swam from this spot across the gulf to visit a friend. The bottom of the trail leads past what is apparently the remains of an medieval city wall, ending in a plaza in front of the old fort I walked around the small village for a while, took pictures of the church, then the next day caught a ferry for the small island a couple hundred meters away. The hike around the island was very much like all the other trails, less pavement, more packed dirt, but steep and badly eroded ascents and descents. A marble quarry that is apparently no longer used was an interesting feature at the far end of the island, and on the way back I got some excellent photos of Porto Venere itself. It would be easy to criticize the condition of the trails, but having done a lot of trail work myself it was apparent to me that repairing the flood damage and improving the ascent and descent would take a massive effort, and in places liberal use of dynamite. The trails are passable by any reasonably fit and competent hiker, the most vertiginous stretches could probably be avoided by long detours, and it makes for a very satisfying week of strenuous hikes interspersed with rambling walks through the narrow streets of ancient villages.

June 2026 Cave Art Sites in Spain

In May and early June 2026 I took New Scientist-sponsored tours of neolithic sites in Turkey and Mesolithic cave art sites in Spain, with a 5 day hike of Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy. Spain 2026 Tour of Cave Art sites in Spain The Guide, Beatriz, is loud, enthusiastic, and, like the guide in Turkey, deeply caring. The science expert, Emily Wilson, is a science-educated novelist and science writer, who previously worked on the staff of New Scientist as editor-in-chief. There was a total of 12 guests, all quite knowledgeable. I arrived too late for the first dinner and introductory lecture, checking into the hotel at 11 p.m. (the only direct flight from Milano), still steeped in the language and concepts of the metaphor conference. I was assigned one of the worst rooms in the hotel – one small window behind a curtain in the corner, opening out onto a dingy alley, dim lighting, obviously designed for the decrepit elderly (with a bathing chair in the walk-in shower, and a door stop next to the toilet – miraculously, in two days’ stay I managed to avoid stubbing my toe on that tripping hazard even when I got up in the night.) The room was so claustrophobic, dark and depressing that, during the hour-long “rest period” at the end of the first very long day, I had to take my laptop out and sit in the lobby. The caves El Pendo Cave. Very large chamber – was flat with a large opening to the daylight; roof collapsed covering several layers of occupancy dating back 80,000 years. Unfortunately visitors are not allowed to take any photos, even without flash. The back wall is covered with 19 drawings of animals, many of them incorporating features of the rock (bulges or cracks suggestive of an animal’s back or neck, with the rest of the shape either sketched or filled in by charcoal or mineral pigments (ochres), estimated dating 20,000-25,000 years ago. Some are very evident; the guide pointed to several others, helped us see the outline. Once a viewer’s eyes are trained on what to look for, most of these stand out. A few are so faint that they remained ambiguous. Several images of horses and deer, very elegantly done. One less realistic image believed to be human, not as elegant. It was quite cold (I’m wearing my jacket and beanie from now on!) but I could happily have spent another hour drinking it in. We were on a metal walkway – not allowed down on the jumbled rocks, partly for safety reasons, but also probably partly to keep tourists from breaking the rules and touching or photographing. We had to imagine looking up at them from the cave floor (now covered in a massive jumble of fallen rock.) Different periods of habitation are marked by layers of dark grey, charcoal from the wood fires, interspersed with brownish and reddish layers of mud and rock. The early stages, 80,000 BCE to about 45,000 BCE were inhabited by Neanderthals; from 40,000 BCE to the end of the ice age by Homo Sapiens – here they seem not to have overlapped. This cave apparently provided shelter; may also have served as a gathering place. Whether the art had other purposes beyond creative expression and decoration is uncertain; it is clear that the depicted animals were culturally significant, both food sources and some predators (lions). Most are so beautiful it is difficult to avoid supposing that we are looking at the work of prehistoric Michealangelos and Picassos. One of the group, Julie, had an attack of heart palpitations, had to be taken to the ER. While we were waiting around the guide suggested we could walk down to the village for coffee if we wished, so five of us se3t out. The sidewalk was paved with some odd little tiles, many of which had been pushed up by roots. I caught my toe on one of these and sprawled face down, landed on my right knee and elbow and, to protect face and head rolled over to my hip (into the edge of the roadway, apparently). I slightly skinned the elbow and knee (no blood) and badly bruised the hip and knee. The others, including the guide when she was told about it, wanted me to see a doctor, but it was apparent to me (after prodding the various wounded areas) that none of it was serious – just one more in a life-long series of tripping over unseen or unnoticed hazards. I walked without pain or limping, and the pain from the scrapes and bruises quickly faded. Santander Archaeological Museum. Among other attractions, they have a great collection of “portable art,” images mostly engraved on bones and bone fragments and found buried in the caves. I spent most of the hour we had before the museum closed at 2:00 p.m. examining these small objects. Some of the images were too faint to see clearly (they were all inside glass enclosures; the light in the room very dim). I discovered, once again, how much better the iPhone sees, so I took pictures of most of them. [The only time I’ve found to write this is on the bus on the way to the next site – very hard not to be distracted by the gorgeous scenery, green hills with farms and woods and small villages.) A few of the photos were spoiled (blurred or over-saturated with light) but most came out quite well. In several examples the artist incorporated features of the bone. I failed to photograph the explanatory labels but I believe they are from later than the art in the caves, possibly around 20,000 BCE or even later, near the end of the ice age. In the evening we enjoyed a feast, 8 courses spread over two hours. Great conversation and regional specialties I will probably never have again but I drank too much wine, ate too much food, and didn’t get to bed until 11, with an 8 a.m. departure. The mismatch of “dinnertime” cultures was a problem throughout the trip, as it so frequently is. I also woke up with pain in my knee and hip and had to get up to take some Motrin – should have known to take it before going to bed. When I woke up for good at six, the pain had not returned – and I handled the descents and ascents into caves without difficulty – Two 6 mg doses apparently did the trick. 2. El Pindo There are two sets of images 30 or 40 meters apart. They both have some abstractions – dots, vertical lines with attached blobs facing right. One has deer and a buffalo. Another seemed to me to be an image of a wild pig with the face formed of a projection from the wall – but the guide explained it as a deer, and indeed the head of a doe was also visible, in an upright position, disproportionately small. The buffalo had what appeared to be a spear embedded in its side. Farther along was an image of a mastodon, with the back and trunk quite clear, but legs and tusks less clear (even when the guide pointed to them I was unable to make them out.) This cave was once more accessible, and it suffered from some damage from people touching the stone (skin oils contain acids that attack the pigments.) For lunch I went with some of the others to a local café recommended by Beatriz, who helped me select two safe local specialties, a goat stew and a salad of shredded lettuce, olives, tomatoes and cubes of some local cheeses including one blue cheese. It was all good, but I skipped the potatoes and still managed to eat only 2/3 of the meat, leaving a long tough strand and the (probably delicate and tasty) morsels tucked in and around the knee joint. Tito Bustillo. This cave was discovered by a group of adolescents who found the small entrance remaining from a collapse of the original large cave entry – one of them died 3 weeks later in a different cave, so the cave was named after him. There are several galleries with important paintings, but many are restricted because of difficult access and to protect the art. We were able to visit only one gallery, considered the most important. It has several pictures of horses, including one identifiable as a breed of alpine horse – its presence suggests that the climate must have been quite cold at the time. There are also two pictures of deer, a stag and a doe. It took a while to identify all of these, but as usual once the guide pointed out the crucial outlines the fuller image became clear. The stag and one of the horses had faint lines in several places that made it difficult to see all the lines, but the others were clear, some immediately, some with a little study and others only after the crucial lines had been pointed out. One of the inaccessible chambers has several oval images with a line partway up the center, generally interpreted as a depiction of the female vulva. Others have other significant animals. Reproductions of these chambers are in the visitor center, which also contains some of the portable art and stone tools that have been found in the caves, as well as a video of a demonstration of techniques for flaking off bits of stone to create stone tools. The day ended with another dinner – with the start moved forward to 8:00 to accommodate us Anglo-Saxon wimps. (I was not the only member of the party used to eating at 6 or 7.) The Caves. Typically, entries were cut and expanded during the time when they were developed as major tourist attractions, and some steel / concrete staircases and walkways were built. But as the archaeologists came to realize how badly the tourists were damaging the art (touching it leaves skin oils and acids, People will take flash photos and even the CO2 from people’s breath damages the art. Consequently, the caves are all locked, access is restricted to a few people a day in small groups, and no photos at all are allowed – not even of the beautiful rock formations. Access to the deeper chambers is rough – hiking over uneven and sometimes slippery ground in near dark – and the newest chambers are closed entirely. They have built an imitation of Altimira, one of the best recently discovered caves, with meticulous reproductions of the art; I describe it later. Much of the art work is so faint that it is difficult to see. Often, once the guide used the laser pointer to trace even one line of an image, the entire image would pop into view, but sometimes the best I could do was see part of the animal – usually the head and sometimes the back or front legs. Many of the images are remarkably sophisticated in technique, but some are more like sketches. The artists used charcoal and minerals, iron oxide and other colored oxides, mixed with animal fats, and they worked by the light of burning animal fat with moss wicks. There is no evidence of soot in the deeper areas, indicating that they did not use torches or other wood or pitch fires. They must have worked by dim and flickering light. Many of the images are in places difficult to access; some are in quite high places, and these often use quite sophisticated perspective techniques so they look natural when viewed from below. Many of the paintings use features of the rock, suggesting that the artist first “saw” a buffalo or deer on the wall, a crack in the shape of an animal’s back or antlers, a bulge in the shape of a hind quarter or belly, and fill in the other details with charcoal, oxides, and sometimes by engraving lines into the rock. Santillana del Mar. Between cave visits and riding from one place to another on the bus we didn’t have much time to explore the charming little villages and ancient downtown areas but on the third day we had half a day in this little town, which features two streets lined with quite old houses, a 12th century monastery, convent and church. The monastery / church is guarded by two lions, made of limestone and so eroded by the frequent rains typical of this region that they are barely recognizable. I was also quite taken with a lifelike statue of a cow in a little cheese and dairy shop. During the colonial period, many residents of the town migrated to South America, most of them to Mexico. A few of these did well and returned home years later with substantial fortunes, bought or built fine houses and installed coats of arms high on the wall where it could be seen by all, evidence of their success. The one on the right is one of the larger. Several of these houses have been inhabited by members of the same family since colonial days. Art reproductions from the Altamira museum / site reproduction. The cave art varies in quality – some of the drawings and paintings have a very amateurish, almost childish quality, but many of the paintings are quite sophisticated in both conception and technique. Some images are daubed in as dots, some smeared on, as if by some kind of brush, and some take the forms of line drawings; many of them incorporate features of the rock – bulges and cracks. Some of the artists found a relatively flat wall to paint but many of the images, occupy panels interrupted by cracks and other features of the rock. It’s hard to be sure what the image to the right of the deer represents. Many of the less sophisticated images are done in an almost child-like style. Two horses in the museum are done in charcoal, in a more self-assured style, one in an interesting pose, head down and facing toward the rear. A second horse is outlined in charcoal with done in color, with reddish pigment inside; a bulge in the wall gives dimensionality to the upper neck. A similar effect is used in several of the bison paintings. Other artists achieved some very sophisticated effects with charcoal, often supplemented by a thin (or faded) wash of pigment. Many engraved images are also found, some worn away and quite faint but some well-defined and easy to read. There are not many images of humans, and those that have been found are often rather distorted and even grotesque. Everyone in the group was taken by the two on the next page, where the artist saw faces in the rock and used a few strokes of charcoal to bring them to life. On the final day, back in Bilbao, we visited the recently opened Guggenheim, part of Bilbao’s turn toward a tourism economy. There were several interesting exhibits; I was particularly taken with the work of 20th century sculptor Ruth Asawa. One of these is origami-style folded paper and the other is made with a single strand of wire. The group

Catching Up

Catching up… I’ve fallen behind in postings, largely due to time pressures connected to the Eagle Creek fire (in the Columbia Gorge, September 2017), COVID, moving to Willamette View in 2020, and deciding to retire in 2024). I haven’t done many back-packing trips since 2017 but I’ve done a lot of hiking, some river rafting, and several more international trips. President’ Trump’s continuing attack on the institutions, norms, and practices that sustain our democracy have also precipitated considerable distress that requires a constant effort to fight off depression. In spring, several major events occurred. As a result of preparing to enjoy Portland Symphony’s performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, which I hadn’t heard in several years, I went online to listen to a performance of it, discovered Yuja Wang, and became a devoted fan. Our most recent trip was a visit to Denver (during a heat wave, alas) to hear her perform Barber’s Piano Concerto at Boulder’s Chautauqua Center. An earlier trip together took us to San Antonio, where a conversation with a high school music teacher, who was playing his violin on a street corner near our hotel. He assured me that I’m not too old to learn to play an instrument – so I have been studying piano with LaJean’s guidance ever since. July 17-21, 2026. We flew to Denver, rented a car, and drove to a small motel in Boulder where we checked in. After freshening up a bit we drove to Chautauqua Park, where we had to park a half mile from the auditorium. We made it to the auditorium and met our friends Kristella and Matt in time to have a quick drink in the restaurant before entering and taking our seats, just a few rows back, close enough to watch Wang play. I find her facial expressions while she plays particularly fascinating. The performance was as good as we thought it would be and, true to her custom, she rewarded the standing ovation with three encores (something I had never before experienced). For a complete account of the performance see https://seenandheard-international.com/2026/07/yuja-wang-and-the-colorado-music-festival-orchestra-deliver-a-stunning-barber-piano-concerto/. The next day we rose early and drove to Estes Park to get into Rocky Mountain National Park before 9 a.m., when entry begins to be limited to those with advance reservations. After breakfast in a local eatery we joined a half-mile line of cars, but still made it through the gate with time to spare. (Many sincere thanks to the efficient park rangers!) LaJean saw the park several years ago when she was in Denver for a conference but this was my first visit. Unfortunately, the heat (topping out in the mid-80s) combined with the 8-9,000 foot elevation to sap our energy, and we did only a couple of miles of walking, in three different stops. We drove to the 11,000 foot pass hoping to stop at the visitor center but the parking lot was full and entry closed. I enjoyed the scenery but LaJean had her eyes tightly closed most of the time. Much of the road hugs a cliff with a drop as much as a thousand feet, in some places on both sides of the road. We finished the evening with a rather late dinner at the restaurant – excellent food (we had braised buffalo rib) but I’ve never seen a restaurant so poorly organized. The second day we drove south to Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park. LaJean found the sun too intense and hot to walk on the only trail that didn’t hug a cliff face but I enjoyed a 2 mile hike, plus climbing the stairs to the amphitheater, which is truly spectacular. I hope some day I will have a chance to see & hear a performance there. After the park we drove into Denver, left the car at the B&B and took an Uber to Meow Wolf, where we spend 2 ½ hours. It is a fascinating place, with 5 stories, multiple rooms of various sizes organized around a central open area, and art of all sizes and shapes (much of it whimsical) tucked away. I’m sure I missed several of the little hidden rooms. We met Kristella and Matt for dinner at the Longhorn Exchange, which LaJean loves for its focus on game. LaJean and I shared an order of elk, buffalo prime rib, and quail (it was too much – I regretted not just sticking with the prime rib). We ordered before dinner drinks but my gin and tonic was almost pure gin, served in a highball glass, so I requested more tonic, but the main course came before I had drunk much of it – very poor service given the cost of the place! The meat was quite good but both salad and vegetables were ordinary, maybe a bit below ordinary. The server was rushed, slightly rude, and quite annoying. I don’t think I’d go back. To dodge the heat on the third day we visited the Botanical Garden, as marvelous as Meow Wolf, though in very different ways. They have placed contemporary statues and other art throughout the park in ways that the plantings and art reinforce each other. From there we went to the Capitol Mall / Art district and hid out in the art museum, where we focused our attention on (mostly contemporary) aboriginal artworks. We will probably go back to Denver – but not in the summer! The only reason we went this July was to satisfy our desire to see Yuja Wang in person, and that was worth the trip.

Main Salmon 2024

We put in at Corn Creek in east-central Idaho, at the last boat ramp before the wilderness, and took out at Carey Landing, a few miles past the downstream boundary and near the west-central border. I was invited by my nephew David, who owns two boat trailers and several rafts and rubber kayaks. The others included his three children and another couple, a colleague of David’s, Steve (with even more experience than David), Brandon and Heather and their two young boys, two of my nephew’s sisters, Anne and Karen and Karen’s friend Clare, and finally my sister Alice, David’s mother, who bravely rode my raft most of the way except for the last Class IV rapid. (Above: Anne in the kayak, then Karen and Clare, me facing downriver away from the camera.) It rained on our first night on the river and most of the next day; everything got wet, including many of the sleeping bags. We stopped early the next day to dry out; then it turned hot and dry until the last night when it rained again. The river flows through a deep steep-walled canyon with a ridgeline lined in jagged broken granite. (Left, an interesting rock formation.) We saw a lot of wildlife: ospreys and eagles, a Sooty grouse (below) and many chukar, usually when I was too busy for picture-taking. The chukar make several interesting sounds and they behave somewhat like the quail I’ve seen. We saw many mountain sheep, both on the mountain sides and in the woods near the river; a small group is shown to the left. For much of the way the river flows through a deep canyon with steep rock walls, a few trees clinging to the sparse patches of soil. A large section in the middle was burned off in a recent fire, but farther downstream there are wider canyons, with ranches and some scattered residences, all “grandfathered in” because they were built before the area was declared a wilderness area. One of the sites is a homestead built by a colorful hermit, Buckskin Bill – in addition to its historic interest it offers a chance to replenish fresh water supplies and purchase minor treats like ice cream bars (I bought two.) Bill was a colorful character, who made his own tools, rifles, and ammunition. He raised a garden, focusing mostly on root vegetables which would keep through the winters, and hunted for his meat, using the rifles he had constructed. Bill’s tool-room is shown at the bottom of the previous page; his sleeping room is to the left. Another interesting pioneer was Polly Bemis. Born in China, she was sold into slavery by her impoverished family, smuggled into the U.S. and sold to a bartender in Idaho, where she cooked and kept house for lodgers. A man named Bemis won her from her owner in a poker game and set her free; when he was shot in the face she dug the bullet fragments out of his face with a knitting needle and nursed him back to health; they were later married. After he died she lived alone for several years, running a rooming house. For the most part the easier, (class II) rapids are formed by a steep flow over smaller rocks, which sets up 2-3 foot waves; the skill involves pulling sideways across the current to dodge rocks that are shallow enough to ground the boat entirely. When water flows over and around larger rocks, it will cause a swift flowing hole followed by churning turbulence and a standing wave behind the rock; if the rock is large enough the standing wave may cause a raft to rise vertically and flip either sideways or even end-over-end. A class II rapid is shown below; you can see one of the standing waves near the rocks on the right. The speeding of water over the rock will also draw water from the sides, setting up a side-current that tends to draw rafts toward it. Class III, IV, and higher rapids have larger rocks, often located in series such that dodging one may set you up to be sucked into the next one. One Class III has a notorious, very sharp-edged boulder that is capable of slicing a long cut in a raft. The most dangerous thing on the river is not the rocks, but fallen trees; one is shown below. The branches can trap a raft or kayak, and the pressure of the current may push the paddler under water. It can be impossible to get free, and people often drown when they tangle with one. We passed this one on the opposite side of the river; it took some vigorous rowing because the tree extended over halfway across the river, and we needed to land on this side just below it. I am still learning to row through rapids; this trip gave me lots of practices. I handled the Class II (moderately difficult) and did some of the more difficult Class III rapids perfectly, but on most of them I was unable to fight the pull of the side currents well enough and ended up going over large boulders and through the deep churning holes behind them – but I managed to keep the boat upright through 75 miles. The final rapid, Vinegar Creek, has two huge boulders, each followed by a deep hole, then a massive standing wave that often upends and flips rafts. I skirted the first and got sucked over the top of the second boulder and into the middle of the second hole, but kept the raft upright, earning my a round of applause. Overall, my run was far from perfect, but it still felt like a great accomplishment to row 75 miles through that many rapids without incident, even if I did get my sister splashed in the face with several huge waves. Rowing was fun; it was also fun to watch Karen, Anne, and the five kids playing in the easier rapids with the rubber kayaks. River rafting is actually not that dangerous – Steve has researched it, and most of the deaths and serious injuries come from either failing to wear a life-jacket or a heart attack caused by the shock of falling into cold water on a hot day. The fallen trees can be deadly, but they are usually easy to spot and avoid. Everyone in my group wore a life jacket whenever on the river, and no-one has heart disease. It's not a good idea to take it lightly, but with good sense and following the safety rules, it's safe and very rewarding.

Representation and reality

I am reading an interesting book (just published) by Andy Clark, “The Experience Machine….” about the now well-established fact that our perception works by predicting continuity and transmitting only to correct prediction errors – and then only what is currently relevant, because of limited band-width. One fact I didn’t know and one I knew but didn’t connect before. There are +/- 4 times as many neural circuits from brain to perceptual organs as from perception to brain. Aha! Explains a lot. And – broadcast engineers greatly increase capacity by using the same assumption. My first publication was a critique of naïve attempts to apply information theory to human communication (and my first book an expansion of that critique) but I failed to see how that one wholly justified and useful application of Information Theory might apply to human perception and conversation. (So did everybody else at the time.) From another interesting book, Enfield “The Way We Talk”: It takes a half second to understand an utterance and a half second to formulate a reply – painfully long - so keep conversation moving, we all maintain a representation of the conversation and use it to predict what the current speaker will say and when they will finish – and to maintain and constantly up-date our potential replies, so we can jump in as soon as they finish. If they surprise us, “um” or “uh” or an equivalent will hold the floor while we re-formulate the (erroneously) prepared reply. We live and act in a world we imagine, partially (as relevant) updated by our limited-capacity senses. Because our brains and neural circuits are slow, we experience the past and act in the future. I’m not sure what we mean, then, by “the present.”

Dolomites Hike 2023

Day 3 – July 4 Violent thunderstorm & rain last night, but sunny and clear this morning, the beginning of a three-day route (light blue line on the map, left. The red teardrops mark the two “refugios” where I stayed.) I debated hiking up to the ridge instead of the gondola, but warnings about a muddy steep trail nixed the trail – later I was glad. That delayed my start until 8:30 but it was only 10 minutes to the top. Starting out I encountered some confusion from the map program – and across this entire valley noticed that the trail signs didn’t always give the trail numbers, sometimes gave only local destinations, and sometimes Outdoor active app was confusing – I had several back-tracks. However, it was a lovely hike across and down into the valley, warm sunshine, beautiful vistas in every direction, accompanied almost everywhere by the symphony of cowbells. At first the most prominent view was the long mountain to the north (the first half of tomorrow’s walk), then the destination for today became more evident, though I didn’t realize it until later in the morning after I had approached more closely. I was quite taken by the pyramidal rock on the right end, and the little spire in the gap, details of which don’t show in this photo. The tall mound toward the left is the mountain top, the highest point on that end; my destination for the day, Schlernhaus Hut or “refugio” (more of a large dormitory really) lies at the foot of that mound on the left. The meadows are all filled with lovely wild-flowers; I recognize a few species but many of them are new to me. The pale purple ones in the photo (next page) are new to me. By the time I reached the grade leading up to Schwernhaus, clouds were already building in the sky (that seems to be a theme in this area.) The trail up the mountain is in the lower right corner of this picture; the large mountain in the distance is the destination for tomorrow – at the very far end of this long rolling meadow of a valley. It was a long climb up but I kept a slow steady pace and enjoyed walking. I reached Schlernhaus a little after noon (as usual, having snacked along the way on granola bars, an apple, and a couple of cookies). A young employee, probably college student, checked me in, showed me the boot room, where you are supposed to change from outdoor boots to indoor slippers, and warned me that rain was expected later (no surprise given the thickening clouds). I immediately started up the peak, and got a few nice pictures of nearby peaks, half-hidden in the clouds. Occasionally a patch of sun would break through and illuminate some of the peaks for a moment or two, as shown to the right. The fog thickened quickly, enveloping the refugio (“hut”) entirely, as shown on the next page. The temperature dropped rapidly, ruling out any possibility of sitting outdoors to enjoy the lovely patio area. Unfortunately my room, though single, is very small; the bed is the only possible place to sit. The only common area is the dining room – I sat there for a while, then one of the staff told me that I should sit at a table they had assigned to me, so I moved there. I think in better weather the patio area would be very nice in the late afternoon. The picture to the right shows the refugio just before it became totally enveloped in the cold wet fog. Day 4 – July 5. I went to bed early, slept quite well, and awoke about 5. Looking out the window I saw that the fog had totally cleared, so I dressed in all the warm clothing I had, put on my boots, and went outside. The first thing I saw was a pile of snow in front of the door (where it had apparently slid off the roof), and a few patches on the ground beyond. There was a thin high overcast but visibility was excellent and all the surrounding mountains were clearly visible. The first half of the hike ran along the top of the ridge separating two valleys, then past some fairly large peaks. It was easy hiking, moderately uphill until it approached the end of that ridge, and an area where two ridges meet, separated by deep gorges. The trail descended along the face of a cliff, with many switchbacks and a few places where gravel had slid down, damaging the trail and leaving only a precarious narrow path (for the most part the trails are at least three feet wide). Near the bottom of the descent I realized I was going to have to share the trail – with a flock of sheep. I sat down on a rock next to a switchback to wait and see what they would do. The bellwether saw me, and led the herd uphill onto a steep grassy slope where they commenced to graze – leaving the path open for me. From that point the trail began to undulate more, up for a while, down for a while, but with the large mountain next to my destination ever closer. I had seen and photographed that mountain from the far side of Ortisei the day before, and I had assumed it to be a single big mass. I had been thinking about whether I would climb that mountain, Sasso Plate, or not. I was beginning to feel a bit tired from the up and down, probably because of the need to keep adjusting my pace to the slope, and when I had reached the destination, Plattkofel Hut, I had almost decided not to do it. The climb is over 2100 feet, topping out at 9700, well into the thin oxygen zone, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Also, the usual cumulus clouds were beginning to form, many of them building up like thunderheads. However, as the trip notes warned the place was rather a zoo, with dayhikers all over the place and the manager too busy with them to spare any time at all for checking me in – and the room wasn’t made up anyway. I looked at the mountain again, studied the slant lines that were probably the route, and decided to do it. As usual, I set out uphill with short steps and a slow pace I could sustain without overtaxing my breathing. Fortunately this route is well marked with the red and white squares of paint every few feet so I didn’t need to stop and consult the gps – I just slogged on. Halfway up the sod and grass gave out, and it was just a scree field; bushwhacking would have been possible but it was very nice to have the best route marked well. I encountered a number of hikers coming down, as I expected; usually the trail is wide enough to allow easy passing. When I broke over the edge I was surprised to see the cross-marked top separated from me by a deep canyon sloping down on either side of a narrow stretch of rock – not terribly tricky, but a “steep” penalty for a mis-step. A young couple were on top; he offered to take some photos of me. I took a few others just to show how broken up this mountain top is – not at all the monolith I had thought it was. The ridge I was standing on stretches for some distance, with several other peaks beyond the one we stood on, separated by narrow, steep-sided saddles with a narrow path along the entire length – far too narrow and steep-sided to tempt me. In fact, the mist and the thickening cloud had me sufficiently concerned that I only wanted to hang around there for a few minutes. I hadn’t seen enough sign of thunderheads to be worried about lightning yet, but I had no desire to be up there in a thick fog, so I carefully crossed over to the top of the slope I had climbed and picked my way down, grateful for the splashes of color marking the way. As it often does, it subjectively felt like it took much longer going down than coming up. The fog did not thicken for another couple of hours, after I had checked in and set up my bed. I was in a room built to accommodate four people, but in spite of the claim that the place was booked full, no room-mates ever showed up. As in the other place, there was no place to sit except on a bed; I tried sitting on the patio wearing my pullover and jacket for a while, but the thickening fog and chill drove me in. About the time dinner was served it started to rain, then some lightning and thunder. I chatted to my English-speaking table-mates for a while, then we all went to bed about 8:45. Day 5 – July 6 Woke up to a clear sky – 5:15. Stepped outside to see how cold it was – and the door swung shut and locked behind me, so I had to go around front, push the door-bell; someone popped his head out an upper story window and told me the boot room was unlocked. (?). Anyway, I put on my boots and walked ¾ mile over to the next ridge and back to warm up and loosen up. Someone at breakfast said the forecast called for rain and, sure enough, the sky had clouded up by the time I set out. It did start a very light rain an hour into the hike – the familiar Portland dilemma, is it better to be wet from a light sprinkle and slightly chilled or wet from sweat and overheated? It didn’t rain long, and I hiked most of the way in my short sleeve shirt. The trail basically circles the mountain, with a possible detour to the top of one of the halfway down canyons that split the mountain where you can catch a lift down to a resort hotel at the pass above the Val Gardenas; the photo above shows this split. Officially the trail ends at a gondola down to Selva, but I chose to follow Trail 526 all the way to the pass – nearly level and not terribly long. The meadow-covered valleys are beautiful; I had to include one photo. It’s all pasture for sheep and cattle, and the animals all wear bells, presumably so they don’t get lost. I loved this gate – a tree stump for the frame and it’s two branches to form the gate. There are sheer cliffs like this all over the place; I thought this one was particularly impressive. One reason I chose to follow the trail all the way to the Selva Pass was to visit what is described as a “City of Rocks.” I wasn’t disappointed – the two mountains hovering over it justified the extra walk (and actually it was less than an extra hour, over nearly level and slightly downhill terrain). In the selfie you can see that the mountain is actually split into three by the deep canyons. The bus down to Selva was two stages; I had to change at a resort halfway down, but the stop was only 2 blocks from my hotel, which has a little balcony with a very nice view. The trip is halfway over, great trip thus far. If only I keep being lucky about rain! Day 6, July 7. Second day in Selva Day started out clear and sunny; I headed out at 8 for the recommended hike, a loop up to the top of Mount Stevia then down and back, recommend direction counter-clockwise, but with a hairy-sounding descent on the north side of Stevia I preferred to go clockwise, because if there’s scree and loose gravel I strongly prefer to go uphill. The route is in blue on the map to the side – 11 miles, 3800 feet up and down. The old trail follows the fall line for the first mile or two, but heavy construction equipment blocked that way, so I followed a street that switch-backed up the steepest part. One of the Trail 17 routes branches off fairly early, then a second at about Juac Hut, but I had decided to go clockwise so I continued on almost to Regensburger Hut / Refugio Firenze. At first I missed where the trail branched off so I had to double back. The first few miles were forested so I didn’t really get a clear view of the formation below until well past Juac Hut (which is far from a hut to judge by the external appearances). I walked clear around Stevia Mountain (below). The left-most knob is the top; it is separated from the other wing by a very deep chasm. The trail leads up another deep chasm (first photo on the next page), but after a little meandering through some pretty woods at the bottom the first part of the ascent, probably about half, is over a long slope of unstable gravel, cobbles, and small rocks. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this would be a nightmare coming downhill – and it was almost as bad above the gravel area. The top half or so of the climb is over stairs. Some of the stairs are made of planks (below and right), which would probably get slippery in even a light rain. Others are made of logs in front filled in with cobbles and gravel, which would provide better footing in rainy weather (left). One flight of stairs was a little narrow – they had strung a steel cable for support. It would have been much more welcome down on the scree. This picture also gives a good sense of the vertigo-inducing slope – and why they built these stairs. I talked to an Italian-American woman, obviously experienced, fairly near the top and she agreed that up is the only sane direction for this part of the trail. As it often happens on a trail like this, after climb-climb-climb suddenly you reach a ten foot long stretch of wide easy trail and – you’re at the top, looking at the top of that odd stone spire. The view behind the rock formations was so spectacular I decided I had to stop for a granola bar here. My new friend offered to take some pictures of me (left) before she hurried on. After enjoying the view for a while I started on down the trail, then thought again about it. The peak is only about a half mile and maybe 200 feet above the trail, and it was already after 11; I ran a serious risk of getting back to the hotel by one. So I back-tracked a quarter of a mile and climbed up the grassy slope on a faint trail to a pleasant almost flat spot at the top. There I spent well over an hour in complete solitude: Surprisingly few people make that extra little climb. I almost didn’t! While I was sitting there just soaking it in I took several more pictures, including a couple more selfies. Some (inevitable) afternoon clouds began to form – and created the composition to the right. I’d have liked to get the foreground peak a little closer to the center of the shadow-peak (but still off-center), but that would have required me to dash out into thin air, like Wiley Coyote, so I accepted the gift I had been given. I like the slightly off-center effect anyway. Eventually I returned to the trail and headed down again. As I headed down the sloping ridge I noticed the rock formation in the picture to the left – like teeth in the jaw of some monster. I sat for ten or fifteen minutes just gazing at these before moving on. The rest of the hike was uneventful – ups and downs, then a long descent, mostly on more of those stairs, logs back-filled with rock, no slippery gravel to contend with. I returned to the hotel by three, even after loitering so long on the mountain top. Day 7 July 8 Today I walked partway up a glacier-carved valley, then climbed up a steep trail 3500 feet to a ridge around the end of the valley; the red dot trail shows where the valley abruptly ends in a virtual wall – a true box canyon. The red trail meets the trail I took at a refugio – not much of a view from it, but a good base for several potential hikes. Trail 14 leads around the end of the canyon then, where several other trails converge, begins a long steep descent into Corvara, in the next valley over. It was a pleasant sunny day, with some clouds developing in the afternoon but never actually developing into much. Top of next page is the mountain that guards the entry to the long glacial valley. The first four miles, through the valley, was mostly forested, but an occasional meadow afforded views of some of the rock spires near the upper end of the valley – like the ones pictured to the right. As I climbed higher, I began to get the occasional view of the cliffs at the upper end of the valley, like the one shown at the top of the next page. I also began to see the sheer wall that terminates the valley – also pictured on the next page. At first I encountered several people but they must have turned off onto a different trail. After at least a mile of vertigo-inducing trail hugging the canyon wall, it broke out onto an upland meadow. Here, only a quarter mile from the refugio and the end of the canyon, I found a delightful meadow to stop and have a granola bar and sit a while to enjoy the view. It was only about 10.5 miles total and I really didn’t want to get to my next hotel too early in the afternoon. I saw one other hiker in the 30 minutes I sat there – very unusual! At the crossroads refugio I saw a young couple engaging a bunny, trying to feed it I think (not a good idea and strongly discouraged – but people will do it.). Its companion, who was having none of it (but still pretty tame) is pictured to the left. A half mile or so on, where the trail began its descent into the next valley, I found another great spot, this time a hundred yards off the trail, to have lunch and kill some more time while I took in the scenery. Here’s a picture of part of my view from my lunch spot. The hike down is pretty. Mellow actually – after the first 200 yards or so. I had been watching the trail up while relaxing over lunch, and seen only one big party and a handful of 2s and 3s. The big party went partway up the trail to the point shown on the right of the picture; by chance they returned to the main trail and started on just when I decided to head down. The trail is squeezed between two rocks just at the top, and there is a narrow, tight staircase – I had to wait for three people above the pinch point, and for at least 35 on the landing between there and the staircase. How I do love huge hiking groups – they are really the major pain in the butt in the Dolomites. Unfortunately I neglected to get a photo of that traffic jam point, but I did get photos of the mountain to the right of the trail coming down – the bottom part of the trail can be seen faintly on the right of the picture. I also got a nice picture of Corvara from several hundred feet up – right. I am in the nicest room by far I have had here – Hotel Villa Eden. My room has a balcony with a view of one of the mountains, two good places to sit inside, a roomy bathroom (a rarity in my experience) and a jacuzzi open at 4 pm – not quite hot enough for my taste, but still relaxing after a long hike. And they lent me a bathing suit – no charge – probably something a previous guest forgot. The dinner was also quite good – good salad bar, GF pasta with excellent pesto, pork chops well seasoned – oddly paired with black beans, but that’s the fashion now. Chocolate ice cream – full serving not the tablespoon full I had at the Crown. Day 8 7/9/23. 11.3 miles, 2700 feet climb. Today was billed as a potentially easy day – if you took advantage of the ski lifts to do the uphills, but I preferred to do the full hike. It started out with some frustration – supposed to catch a bus to another village, Badia, and it wasn’t clear where to catch it, but I encountered some other hikers from Oregon and they set me straight. Once I was on the bus it was a short ride, all downhill. The trail led uphill for over a mile on a steep paved road, which gave way to gravel for another couple of miles, still quite steep but through beautiful countryside. Eventually the trail loops back to a church, San Croce, and refugio named after it. An attractive place, but on a very pleasant Sunday afternoon it was crawling with hikers – and mountain bikers. Going uphill, most of the bike riders could barely go faster than I – a few of them not as fast – and their steering was consequently wobbly, requiring hikers to give them extra room. Downhill, they really zoomed. I didn’t see any of them wrapped around a tree so I guess they weren’t completely out of control. After San Croce, the trail is level for a mile or more, then heads downhill, soon joining a steep graveled road (fortunately the gravel is not loose. Near the bottom I decided to take a different trail, leading more directly to a trail that follows the river back to Corvara, instead of catching a bus back. It was a very pleasant three mile walk (not steep – it just rises 600 feet in those 300 miles) and I got back to the hotel before 3. At 4 I went to the jacuzzi to help ease my shoulders – and discovered that the heat turns on right at 4; I lingered until almost 5, and it finally got hot enough to do my muscles a little good. They have artists doing installations along the trail – I was quite taken with one that celebrates fairy ring mushrooms (the subject of local folklore). Even the full-size photo unfortunately doesn’t do full justice to it: the globes, about 6” diameter, on little “stems” a few inches high, in a circle 8 or 10 feet diameter, are very shiny and reflect the sun in sparkles reminiscent of a mountain lake. I will copy in the largest that will fit the page on the next page. I don’t want to sound like Ronald Reagan’s comment about redwood trees, but other than the fairy ring sculpture the mountain scenery did not really set itself apart from what I’ve copied in before. It’s all spectacular and there’s a temptation to show every photo I’ve taken but I’ll try to restrain myself! Tomorrow and the next day promise to be more exciting in terms of scenery – the trail goes higher, and it leads to some WWI battlefields with considerable historical importance. The sparkles actually look like little lights; much brighter in presence than in the photo. Even the shape of the ring is like a mushroom fairy ring – slightly uneven, dense in some places, not so dense in others. The largest globes are about 6”; the smallest only a couple of inches.   Dolomites 9 July 10 2023 Today was a long hike, 13.9 miles, 5496 feet total climb – I chose to do the whole thing. It was mostly a good day, truly fine weather. The company recommends against starting out in town on Trail 2A and recommends a chairlift to get you up the first fifteen hundred feet or so. I was glad I hiked it – the woods are sparse and afforded some nice vistas of distant mountains. However, there was some rock scrambling, some of it on the edge of a cliff. When I was near the top, I saw a sign for Trail 2B pointing back to Corvara with the word “facile.” Apparently all that scrambling could be avoided – also, I discovered when I looked more closely at the map, 2B comes out on the main trail a hundred feet lower. I had some frustrating experiences with the navigation app, Outdoor Active. It was set for trail 14 – Alpine Hikers recommends 13 and I should have just stuck with that, because partway through the app started leading me off onto minor trails that disappeared into the grass – “you’re leaving the route” when there is no other trail or, a couple of times, the trail it tried to take me on was headed downhill when the route was side-hilling – a hundred yards or so down, “you’re off the route.” I finally sat down, re-read the trail-notes, which are often frustratingly non-specific, and located the pass we were supposed to go over, climbed a hundred feet or so to trail 13, ignored the “you’re leaving the route.” Fortunately the app shuts up once you’re completely off its programmed route. As I mentioned the entire center section of the trail side-hilled around a mountain, a way above timberline, affording some superb photos. Once we got around the mountain, entirely new vistas opened up. Most of trail 13 after I joined it was relatively narrow, and required some scrambling over a jumble of fallen rocks and again where huge rocks made for gigantic step-downs or step-ups. As I have on half the trails out here, I wished several times for a green grubber or some other tread improvement tool – often 5 minutes with a good tool would have remedied an excessive slope or a narrow spot squeezed by slough from above. The trail notes recommend taking the chairlift up to Lagazuoi Refugio, the goal for the night. However, after bumming some added water from a bar, I elected to climb the 2000 feet. I was glad I did for several reasons, including the best photos I got on this entire hike, made more dramatic by cloud shadows. (bottom of previous page) This area was the front line and scene of heavy fighting during WWI and there are trenches scattered here and there and rock walls and caves (left) where digging a trench would be difficult. The one pictured is at the top of the mountain, a few hundred feet from the refugio. The peak is riddled with fortifications and caves, some dug for safety from enemy fire, some as part of a scheme to blow up an enemy position The refugio itself perches on a cliff with 360 degree views (right), and it’s dorm only – I share a room with 16 other people, in bunk beds. Unfortunately the clouds thickened enough to block the sunset – and the morning haze was too dense for sunrise – or distance photos. Fortunately there wasn’t much wind and it was warm enough that we could all sit outside until dinnertime then go for a sunset walk before bed, so the lack of indoor sitting space was not the problem it has been at other refugios. Food was adequate – the GF problem again; lots of great bread and pastries. However, they did manage to provide an excellent flourless chocolate tart for dinner, greatly compensating for the lamb chops (overcooked and I had to cut off literally half of each chop because it was pure fat). At breakfast I met five people, two art students, two employees of Nikon, and I think the third was either another Nikon employee or a guide. The art students were getting a multi-day lesson in how to use their Nikons to take fantastic nature photography. Talk about a plum job! How I envied those Nikon employees. Last day – July 11. 9.85 miles 1700 ft. Even beyond that pass, it clung to the side of a very steep hill, just below a sheer cliff, most of the way to the objective. One particularly interesting spot was where the cliff overhung the trail, and left about four feet of clearance, on a steeply uphill part. Fortunately, the trail opened out onto a more moderately sloping meadow not much further, and that led to a saddle, with the objective just beyond. The hiking notes described this as a moderate day – and I could have made it a little more moderate by waiting until 9 – but by 9 I was already down the mountain and over a mile up the trail. Where it got not at all moderate was when the trail (#441) came to the final pass – two or three hundred yards of the most intense rock scrambling I’ve ever done, straight up a narrow split in the mountain-top, some of the reaches three feet or more, with only a dimple in the rock for footing. It was fun, but pretty taxing, and not for the faint of heart. The objective of the hike was Cinque Torri, a cluster of gigantic rock slabs standing on end, a few upright but most leaning at crazy angles – and a mecca for rock climbers from all over the world – several were on top of some of the slabs, and others on the way up. It was fun hiking partway around, then through a passage between two of the slabs into an open area climbers were using as a staging area. The hike back circled the other side of the mountain on Trail 440, descending sometimes gradually, sometimes very steeply, with some more rock scrambling – nothing remotely like that on 441. The cab obligingly picked me up at 2 instead of the scheduled 5, so I arrived in Cortina well before dinner, in time to clean up and walk around a bit. The Cortina d'Ampezzo is a 4-star hotel, frankly not nearly as comfortable as the “3-star” Hotel Villa Eden. The Cortina d’Ampezzo has many more staff, young men who don’t seem to be doing much most of the time, and does not have any seating on the balcony – a great advantage of the Villa Eden. In my book, the Cortina d’Ampezzo’s 4-star rating is just for pretentiousness, gilded antique décor, and a bell-boy who hung around expecting a tip (I didn’t realize that hotel bell-boys are an exception to the “no tips expected” generalization about Italy until I googled it again). The town is nice, and I’m sure it is a great place to live. Overview This was a great experience – the Dolomites have to be one of the world’s most spectacular mountain ranges. The crowds are a problem but did not spoil the trip. My cab driver tells me that the last half of June and September – “shoulder” seasons – are much better for the crowds. The scenery is wonderful, the trails as well-maintained as gravity and unstable soil allows. Many are quite steep, and in a few places it feels rather precarious. Loose cobbles and gravel are problems on many of the steep stretches: I blessed my trekking poles on every hike (and still managed to have my feet slip out from under me once). Good equipment is essential – sturdy boots, trekking poles, a hat with a brim, sunglasses. Overall I consider it one of my great hikes. It would be possible to arrange this for yourself – expect to spend a couple of weeks researching trails and accommodations and arranging luggage transfers. Alpine Hikers did a good job for me and saved me a lot of time. It would also be possible to spend a week or ten days almost entirely in the high country, hiking from one refugio to the next – the people I met who were doing that were mostly in groups with a guide. If you’re lucky enough to have several friends interested in adventure travel, hiring a guide would also be worth it. For a solo traveler or a couple, it would be quite expensive. Hotels The best hotels I stayed in were the Hotel Cosmea in Ortisei and the Hotel Vista Eden in Corvara. Comfortable rooms with comfortable places to sit both inside and outside on a balcony – with a great mountain views. Competent, relaxed, friendly and attentive staff, great food morning and night. The Vista Eden has a table and two chairs on the balcony, comfortable for reading or writing or just chilling out. The Hotel Cosmea in Ortisei also has a nice outdoor garden. The owners are very helpful and kind; when I arrived late because of a delayed flight they kindly managed to put together an excellent gluten-free supper for me on very short notice. Both of these hotels were very successful at accommodating my dietary restriction. Another option to consider, if you don’t mind the dormitory sleeping arrangement, would be to book a bed in a refugio for several nights (some of them have single rooms) for several days and use it as a base camp – most of them are situated at the convergence of several trails, enough for at least three days’ hiking. I talked to several people who were doing that. If you don’t have dietary restrictions the food is pretty good – unfortunately breakfast relies heavily on bread and pastries, but they all serve some meats, cheeses, and yogurts. At dinner there is often only one suitable dish for each course. I don’t know what the situation would be for other food allergies. Accommodations in the refugios are often bunk beds, dormitory style, with no place to sit indoors – the dining areas are often locked until just before each meal. If weather is good the outdoor patios are great – great views, reasonably comfortable, but if weather is bad it can be rather miserable.