Crazy German Hobbies!

Ahhhh.... what nice relaxed views of the beautiful, peaceful Mediterranean Sea... this is what holidaying in Italy is all about right?




















When Brad and I planned a trip with our friends Olga and Andreas* to Cinqueterre, a small region made up of 5 towns dotted along the northern coast of Italy, we figured it would be a mellow place to relax, get caught up on postcards and do some leisurely hiking along the coastline.

That is until Andreas found out that there is a good rock climbing site along the Cinqueterre coast!!! Now, we have known dear Andreas for quite a while now, and we knew he had some odd tendencies, for example, insitsting on jumping into every body of water he passes for a 'quick swim', no matter where, when or how many degrees below zero it is. Another example is in regard to German swearing: Now would you ever believe that a real and true German swear is: "Drill a hole in your knee and poor milk into it" ...... I have no come-back to this one; all I could do when I heard it was fall off my chair laughing.

Anyway, as I say, we know Andreas was a bit odd, and we knew that we was into rock climbing as a hobby, but man, it's one truly crazy sport! And its proponents are obbessive as well. Never had I realized how much I love dear, sweet, flat mother earth until I was half way up the sheer rock-face pictured below:




















Do you see that small grey figure somehow clinging to the rock face??? Yes!!! That's me!!!! Shocking I know. It's been nearly a week, and I'm still not sure how Andreas talked us into climbing up this thing! But, hey, now that it's over and done, I can say that it was an enjoyable challenge, and that absailing down a cliff face is seriously SOOOOO much fun that it is (almost) worth the difficulty in getting up in the first place.




















- Another shot of me attempting to scale the cliff.























- Brad's valient clamber up the wall; he did very well! I think it's 'cause he is part monkey:)






















- Yes it was serioulsy this steep!

















- Getting strapped in before the climb...
















- Brad, Olga and Andrea goofing around on the beach the day after The Climb.

That's it for now,
TK

* Yes; the same Olga and Andreas whose wedding we attending in Russia all those months ago.