Tag Archives: #alps

VALLÉE DES MERVEILLES – MAGIC MARVELS IN THE MARITIME ALPS

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Along the shores of the Lac des Merveilles with the Baisse de Valmasque shrouded in clouds beyond.
Along the shores of the Lac des Merveilles with the Baisse de Valmasque shrouded in clouds beyond.

High in the southernmost reaches of the French Alps, lies the small slot-like canyon of the Vallée des Merveilles – the Valley of Marvels.  The name came about from the many thunderstorms ranging through this uppermost section of the Maritime Alps which contain the last of the alpine peaks in France reaching up to 3,000 meters in elevation heading south through the range towards the Mediterranean Sea.  Those same ‘marvels’ led men centuries ago to create marvels of a totally different sort, literally thousands of pictographs allowing us a small peek into life during the Bronze Age.

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L’AUTHION – STUDY OF DEFENSE FROM ONE CENTURY INTO THE NEXT

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Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.
Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.

The massif of L’Authion separates three valleys from each other in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the southeastern corner of France. Located at a strategic location, the peaks of L’Authion figure in history over the centuries as armies have clashed here high in the mountains.

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MAGIC OF WALKING ON THE GRAND RONDONEE 52

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Looking north from the top of Mangiabo on GR 52.
Looking north from the top of Mangiabo on GR 52.

Grand Randonnée 5 represents France’s premier alpine adventure running from Thonon-les-Bains on the south shore of Lake Geneva to Nice on the Mediterranean. Many choose another alternative for the final third of the route, switching GR 52 for 5 just south of the Col de Larche. This route – known as the Balcon du Mercantour – stays much higher than GR 5 and offers much more drama as it marches southeast and then south to finish on the Mediterranean at the boat harbor of Menton-Garavan.

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TRANSATLANTIC JOURNEY REVEALS MAGIC IN THE AIR

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Late Fall sunshine on the east Greenland coast seen on a transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Seattle.

After just returning from a series of eye clinics in Albania, I will share a few thoughts on the sights seen outside the window from over 34,000 feet as I made my way back on a long transatlantic sojourn. This was the second set of clinics I have worked in Albania.

My transatlantic journey began too early at a crowded Nënë Tereza Airport just to the northwest of Tirana. The first of three flights involved in my return to Oregon was scheduled for 0600. Another colleague was flying to Rome at 0530, so we shared a cab. We left our hotel out in the western Albanian countryside near Durrës at 0330. This coming after our last day of clinics. In an unheated building, we saw over 700 patients in Kukës, Albania, three hours north of where we were staying close to the border with Kosovo.

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