I already think that Le Serrota was the first and the last mountain of the day. I was wrong. As I drive towards Madrid, I notice another pretty hill with windmills. If there are windmills, there will be a road. And so it was that I drove up. I could go almost to the top,…
La Serrota
An unplanned bonus peak on this trip. I wanted to hike it a few years ago, but I was probably distracted by other peaks, and my gaze constantly kept returning to this red dot. This time I have the whole day, and I’m in no hurry. Slow breakfast in the hotel, then driving towards a…
Torrecerredo
This peak is included in Core Europe’s 50 Most Prominent Peaks list, the World Peaks with 300 km of Isolation list, the Spain Autonomous Community High Points list (two), and the Iberian Top 100 by Prominence list. It has so many reasons to be climbed, and the most important reason is its beautiful scenery. Torrecerredo…
Pico de Aneto
Top of the Pyrenees and Spain’s third-highest mountain, and also the birthplace of what were once the largest glaciers in the Pyrenees. Today, the glacier looked like a big patch of old snow in the summer. I was concerned about how we would avoid crevasses when we were planning the peak, but after watching a…
Pico Almanzor
After successfully climbing five ultrapeaks in Morocco, we arrive in Madrid, get in the car, and a couple of hours later, we stay in the village of Hoyos del Espino, which is reasonably close to the trail. Pico Almanzor is the first of three planned peaks in mainland Spain. Good, we have a plan; we…
Atlas Mountains 2022
The main objective of this trip is to climb five Moroccan ultrapeaks. This trip worked well in combination with a Iberian Peninsula trip. The easiest and most reasonable flights were from Madrid. We took one of them and arrived at Marrakech airport in the afternoon. After a few hours of driving that evening, we slept…
Morocco
We did a lot of travelling between the mountains by car. We started our journey in Marrakesh, then drove towards the Atlas Mountains towards the Atlantic Ocean, then along the entire length of the High Atlas Mountains towards Algeria, and then north towards the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, we finished our journey in Casablanca. As a…
Jebel Tidirhine
The last of five planned Moroccan ultrapeaks is located right next to the Mediterranean Sea. So it feels like a resort: warm, dry, with lots of pine and cedar trees. It is likely that this climate is also very suitable for hashish, with practically all the fields planted with lush vegetation. The fields are irrigated…
Adrar Bou Nasser
Three planned Moroccan ultrapeaks have been climbed, leaving two to go. So, we’re doing a big Northeasterly loop along the Atlas Mountains, and Adrar Bou Nasser is the most suitable mountain for the next climb. We get up early, drive to the trailhead, and leave the car at the end of the unpaved road. The…
Irhil M’Goun
We start in Said’s home valley, in the village of Arousse. Said, his brother, and a helper with two mules, Rockinstraw and myself, all walk up a rough road next to a river. The road is rising gradually and passing through a few farms. The valley turns into a canyon, and at some point we…
Aghouri
Our main objective today is the Irhil M’Goun ultra summit. But this is a long hike, and we will be staying overnight in the refuge de Tarkeddite. Before arriving at the refuge, Said and I will take a 2-hour detour to climb bonus p600 peak Aghouri. In front of the village, there is a large…
Jebel Toubkal
The world’s 36th most prominent mountain is Morocco’s highest mountain, the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains, and the nearest higher mountain is more than 2,078 kilometres away. There’s definitely more than one reason to climb it. A guide is compulsory, but it is not very clear why it is needed. Everywhere there are wide,…
Tinmal Mosque
We’re on our way down from Jebel Igdet, our first trip ultrapeak, and it might not even be lunchtime. Jebel Toubkal is not too far away, so we have spare time. Said offers us a tour of one of Morocco’s older and more important mosques. It is not operating as a mosque at the moment,…
Jebel Igdet
The westernmost ultra-peak of the Atlas Mountains. There are certainly enough reasons to climb it. We get up early in the morning and drive to the village of Arg. We leave the car there, quickly prepare, and start the walk. For a couple of kilometres, we follow a trail trod by locals and mules. On…
Lobo
The main goal for the next few weeks is to target ultras in Morocco and the Spanish mainland. I stop in Madrid on the way; it’s only 2 p.m., and my next flight is tomorrow morning. The plan is clear: find the mountain. Of course, I found it. There is one more P600 mountain, just…
Old Photos of Vilnius
We love to walk, even at night, and tonight was no different. We ventured out at 2am and decided to take a stroll around the city centre. At the end of Didžiosioji Street, where it meets Pilies Street, in a square I noticed a street gallery with some very interesting photos of old Vilnius, most…
Poznań 2023
The journey from Brussels to Vilnius is long enough to make you tired. There are several solutions, one of which is to stop somewhere in the middle and explore. Poznań in Poland is an ideal place; it is halfway between Brussels and Vilnius, it is a very interesting and beautiful place, and its hotels and…
Frida Kahlo
During our walk through Brussels, we visit the Horta Gallery (covered passageway), where we see the exhibition “Frida Kahlo – The Life Of an Icon”. We enjoy original films, video projections and digital installations on the walls, ceiling and floor. It smells a bit commercial, especially the ticket price, but in the end it was…
Saint-Sauveur Station
Lille-Saint-Sauveur is a former freight station in Lille that was converted into a leisure and exhibition space in 2009. Since then, the station has been managed by the City of Lille to host cultural and leisure activities throughout the year. We had an interesting time exploring the ecology related art installations.
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France, close to the Belgian border. It is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region and the prefecture of the Nord department. With a population of 1.5 million, it is the fourth most populous city in France. Nicknamed the “Capital of Flanders’, Lille has a turbulent history from the Middle…