We decided to visit this peak unexpectedly, although I had wanted to go there for a few years. We drove fifteen kilometres from Vilnius and were still surrounded by houses, with construction going on next to the hill. First we tried the south side, but were stopped by the construction fences that ran all along…
Tag: hike
Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active stratovolcano, it is the 31st most prominent mountain in the world and the 4th in Africa. It is also the 22nd most isolated mountain in the world, and a country highpoint. In short – it is a very interesting peak, and of course worth all the bureaucratic effort. Peter, Dave,…
Cabeço Raínha
Last peak planned for today, so we drove to the lower summit of Besteiros at 1080m to check out the views and a large black and white conical trig pillar. We then drove to the highest point where we found a huge concrete trig pillar (unfortunately impossible to climb) with two smaller ones on either…
Zibreiro
Fifth of six summits today, and the fifth drive up. We reached the summit on a reasonably good road. An auto-moto-peakbagger would be excited as he or she could touch the base of the trig pillar with a car. Perhaps that is why the trig pillar has been raised by two metres. And the lookout…
Povoínha
The good news about windmills is that one could almost always find the road. It might be private, closed or bumpy, but it will be a road. This time it was a good gravel road and soon we reached the top of Povoinha, which is surrounded by windmills and has a raised trig pillar. We…
Alvaiázere
We climbed the third peak today and again had a tarmac road all the way to the top. There was a windmill farm, a lookout tower and a trig pillar on a 2m tall plinth. It was nice to be able to climb the trig pillar as there was a ladder on one side. The…
Ourém
This legend tells the story of a Christian knight, Gonçalo Hermigues, who kidnapped a Moorish princess named Fatima on St John’s Day in 1158. The knight took her to a small village in Portugal and she fell in love with him and converted to Christianity, taking the name Oureana. As a reward for her conversion,…
Aire
The highpoint of the Santarém region in Portugal. Rob and I found that neither of us had bagged this mountain, so there were few arguments against visiting it. We checked previous reports and expected to have to leave our car a few miles early, but when we arrived we found a reasonably good road all…
Sameiro
This is the last peak of the trip, a small hill with communication masts and a dirt road. We left our car at one of the forks, although with a larger car it might be possible to drive all the way to the top (rough road). At the top we found a trig pillar, a…
Muquinqui
The storm had completely stopped by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain. We parked our car on the main road and walked up the almost perfectly formed spiral road to the top. We were able to take in all the surrounding views at least four times; twice on the way up and…
Pico Boa Entrada
Today is a short day and we have to catch a flight home sometime this afternoon. We chose a couple of peaks within easy reach of the airport. The first was Pico Boa Entrada. It’s not very high, but it has a nicely shaped volcanic crater. Our first attempt to get close to the slope…
Cantagalo
The last of today’s summits was relatively easy, but harder than expected. We tried to approach from the south-east, but were turned back by some gentlemen, so we drove around the southern peninsula and parked our car on the side of a rough forest track. A stronger car could have gone a few more kilometres,…
Lama Porco
Before the second summit of the day, we stopped for coffee at the lodge cafeteria, which has a beautiful sandy beach lined with palm trees. The drive through the potholes was worth every minute. From the cafeteria we could see tourists getting into small boats and heading for Ilhéu das Rolas. This small island lies…
Cerro Rabo de Mico
I wanted to squeeze in one last adventure before my flight home. A great way to do this is a short hike up Cerro Rabo de Mico. Located near the capital city of San José, the hike itself is relatively easy, with a moderate incline, and takes about two hours to complete. I was following…
Cerro Chirripó
Cerro Chirripó is a remarkable journey in Costa Rica, situated in the Talamanca mountain range. It stands tall at 3,819 metres and is the highest point not only in Costa Rica, but also in the Cartago, Limón and San José regions. Being ranked 36th on the “World Top 50 by Prominence” list, it is a…
Volcán Barva
Volcán Barva is an impressive inactive stratovolcano in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica. Located about 30 kilometres northeast of the city of San José, it is the highest peak in the Heredia region and the Braulio Carrillo National Park. The volcano’s summit is covered in lush vegetation and is home to a variety…
Volcán Miravalles
Volcán Miravalles is a stratovolcano located in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is the highest peak in the Cordillera de Tilarán, rising to over 2,000 metres above sea level. The volcano powers several geothermal power plants at its base and offers hot springs for tourists. As usual we start early in the morning…
Volcán Masaya
The shuttle takes us from Managua to Liberia in Costa Rica, but we have plenty of time, a couple of hours drive and not much to do the rest of the day. So we look at the map and see a tourist sign for the Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya. There is also a small peak…
Volcán Maderas
The ferry leaves in the afternoon, so we get up early and make our way to the Volcano Maderas trailhead. The road is asphalted and not bad, but the biggest danger is the “sleeping policemen” who are hard to see. But that’s what they were invented for, to drive slowly. I can say that they…
Volcán Cosigüina
After breakfast we say goodbye to Renee. She and Dave have successfully climbed some peaks in Honduras and yesterday we climbed together Volcán San Cristóbal in Nicaragua. Today she is on her way to Managua to fly home, Dave and I head for the Gulf of Fonseca, where the Cosigüina volcano rises on the coast….