Our Days in the Alps

Our first day in the Alps was rainy and we were still struggling to fight off travellers fatigue. We lazed around for the morning and then went off to explore Martigny with Megan's Aunt Linda. Martigny is the "big city" down the hill from where we are staying. Aside from some cute store-lined streets, the town also houses ancient Roman ruins. We saw several sites of old homes and a coliseum... not nearly as big as the one in Rome, but probably older and still incredibly neat to see. These ruins were especially fun to visit because they were not surrounded by crowds of tourists... we had them all to oursleves.

After returning to Salvon, the sun came out and we decided to explore a little closer to home by going on a run out to Marecottes. Linda gave us a wonderful route down a wooded path where we enjoyed a short evening jaunte before heading home for dinner. After a bit of a lazy day, we were ready to start some hiking adventures in the morning.

We've been hiking in the Alps for the last two days... a huge playground right outside our door! Yesterday, we climbed to the valley of Emanay... through the neighboring town of Marecottes, across a stream, and way up into the woods. As we approached Emanay, we encountered two swooshes of snow spread out down the face of the mountain (I thought we had avoided snow this winter)! As we crossed these slippery slopes we dug our boots into the mountain face and managed not to slide down to the valleys below (phew). We reached our destination just in time to stop for lunch. Our surroundings were almost too good to believe. We were enclosed in a valley with mountains steep around us on three sides... beautiful slopes of green grass and colorful spring wildflowers, grey rocks with gushing waterfalls, and patches of snow beginning to melt in the warm sun high above. Our other view ran down the mountainside we just climbed and across to giant peaks in the distance. The unbelievable part about our lunch spot is that we were all alone... not a single soul in sight... only a couple marmots (sort of like groundhogs), a bunny rabbit, and a few birds to keep us company combined with sounds of running water and happy chirps to break the silence. We had managed to find a magnificent speck on the globe untouched by development or tourism... a true paradise. I felt like singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music" and skipping along the grassy green slopes.

After lunch, we set out to continue onwards and upwards over the peaks in front of us... except, unfortunately the snow obscured our path. We explored up and down the hillside, but found no sign of red and white marked rocks which were supposed to lead us to the top. We climbed quite a ways on our own, but as the terrain grew steeper and we saw avalanches on the mountain face to our left we decided it was wise to head back on a marked route. So we returned down the mountain on another spledid path full of fresh forest scents, colorful wildflowers, and distant mountain views. We landed home just in time to cook a Thai meal and fill our hungry bellies.

Today, we set out for another journey... this time to Fenestral. Ann, the kind neighbor who provided us with our cozy chalet, was kind enough to lead us on our walk today. It was great to have a knowledgable guide to show us the way, identify wildflowers, and tell us a bit about our surroundings as we climbed. We spent another morning climbing through the pine forests and across clear flowing streams, surrounded by fresh mountain air and glorious mountain views... in the distance we could even see the french border and the snow-topped Mount Blanc. When we reached the "alpage" of Fenestral, we stopped for lunch in the warmth of the afternoon sun... again alone in a magnificent setting... a plateau of green meadows (where cows pasture in the summer) with steep, rocky faces continuing up the mountain and a mixture of green, grey, and white-topped peaks out in the distance. It reminded me of a scene from Heidi.

After lunch, we returned home down a steep mountain path along a frigid stream... and then walked through several small villages full of cute chalets, beautiful gardens, and quaint cafes. By the time we made it home, we were zonked. We ate a delicious meal of Linda's homemade sushi and then hit the sack.

When I look at the places we have hiked, I wonder why crowds of tourists aren't gathering here. The surroundings certainly rival the Routeburn in New Zealand and the Great Ocean Road in Australia. Perhaps we should just keep this one a secret - Shhhhh....