There's a little spot at 760m asl, high up in the hills above Serramonacesca, where the vista takes your eyes along the mountains of the Gran Sasso, to the hills of Le Marche and takes in nearly all the 130km of the glorious Adriatic coastline, finishing with a sweeping view of all the Abruzzo towns and villages in between.
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| LOOKING DOWN ON SERRAMONACESCA |
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| THE CROCE D'ALPINI |
The Croce D'Alpini. A spiritual plateau of tholos and terracing, and ancient trails and pathways. Linking the spiritual sites and the northern settlements of the Majella; this is where the shepherds, still following the traditional ways, drive and graze their flocks. A fabulous place to begin any exploration of this beautiful Majella wilderness. And what an amazing spot to wave farewell to the old year and a big hello to the New.
And so we did. On a whim.
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| WILD-CAMPING ROSEMARY - HER LITTLE SPOT AT THE TOP OF THE HILL ABOVE SERRA |
The weather right now is glorious: the brightest blue crystal clear skies, snow on the tops and endless sunshine all day long. Sharp and fresh at night, mind you, but, oh the stars...
The setting sun painting her crimson colours in streaks across the darkening sky is only rivalled by the rising one.
It had to be done.
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| AND DOESN'T SHE LOOK BEAUTIFUL - QUITE COMFORTABLE AND AT HOME |
The afternoon saw us packing and preening Rosemary ready for her trip up the mountain. Brakes checked, engined tinkered, test drive done, the dear old girl is in fine fettle.
Food, wine, chocolate, blankets, and a whole host of other essentials were loaded, and Rosemary just grinned from wing-mirror to wing-mirror. Started her up and she whooped and hollered, then purred out of the drive and down the lane.
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| ABOUT TO LEAVE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS OF SERRAMONACESCA BEHIND |
A couple of drinks, chin chins and good cheers in the village and we were bouncing our way out and up the hill. And up and up we went. Switch back after switch back, first gear mostly, or the co-pilot hanging on to the gear stick attempting to keep it in second. Rosemary doesn't like her second gear, and without a second thought will pop it out when you need it the most. A few more creaks and groans and the grand old lady made it.
We built a fire and set up home. It was good to be back, and we easily became hobos once more. We ate, drank, walked higher and deeper into the hills and marvelled at the stars up above and the lights of Abruzzo way, way below.
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| BERE GRYLLS EAT YOUR HEART OUT |
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| THE BEST AND ONLY WAY TO COOK SAUSAGES! |
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| THE LIGHTS OF SERRA, WAY DOWN BELOW |
And then midnight struck and the whole damned world erupted. Apocalypse and a thousand blitzes into one. We thought we might be in for a treat, but nothing had prepared us for this! Fireworks on and on and on and everywhere, across the whole of Abruzzo and beyond. Flashing, exploding, mushrooms of colour, sparkles and droplets and way, way below us. On and on it went. For over an hour, someone somewhere was letting off a firework. And we saw every single one. Welcome 2013!
Bed was cold, but soon warmed. The air was frosty, with your breath hanging in front of you, but soon turned to droplets of condensation on the windows. Despite the steamy interior, any thoughts of passion quickly passed with the feel of cold hands and many clothing layers. But we were toasty warm, snuggled and cocooned.
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| AS COSY AS COSY CAN BE |
Apart from a minor incident with an axe murderer opening the door in the wee small hours (don't ask), we slept briefly but well. Sunrise had to be done. 6.30am and we were outside in the crisp morning, still dark but with a long line of deep red to the eastern horizon. Slowly, it built and deepened and brightened, and awoke a sleeping world. Snuffles in the undergrowth, birds in the branches above, yet still the moon shone.
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| FIRST RAYS COMING UP OVER THE SEA |
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| SLOWLY THE WORLD AWOKE AND APPEARED BEFORE OUR EYES |
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| YET THE MOON STILL SHINED BRIGHTLY |
Finally, the sun burst through with all her winter strength and warmed the cold, cold ground. Her rays were joy indeed.
Time for a long slow, breakfast whilst we watched the morning unfold.
Most importantly, however, it was awaiting the thawing of the icy hill for our safe passage down!
Happy New Year everyone from the Kokopelli Team
May it be a good one!
Kokopelli Camping, with some great self-catering options (including our dear Rosemary the VW Camper), is open all year round with a winter wonderland awaiting exploration!
Much more than just camping (with snowshoe hire thrown in): http://kokopelli-italy.blogspot.it/2012/12/winter-camping-anyone.html
Hiking guides, escorted walks, snowshoeing, mountain bike hire, skiing, snowboarding, its all here, just ask: http://www.kokopellicamping.co.uk/contact.html
