Kilometres Walked : 21

Floors Climbed : 89

Friday 12th May, 2023.

Once again we didn’t set out to do 21 kms. This seems to becoming a bit of a habit I know! Driving along a nail biting winding narrow road with a sheer drop on one side all the while wondering how on earth we would be able to pass another car, we headed to the tunnel so we could walk into Baiardo. Uncle Ray & Aunty Marie assured us it was only about 12kms or so and would take a couple of hours there and back. Mmm I wonder what could possibly go wrong here? Baiardo is another quaint medieval village further up in the hills from Apricale. You can walk there from Apricale itself but we did a shorter version from the tunnel. Setting off with a little bit of blue sky we were on our way through a beautiful heavily forested track. After a good kilometre or 2 of very rocky uneven terrain we came out onto a much wider more even path with plenty of viewing spots through the trees. Wow how picturesque. Even with the mist and cloud sitting in the mountains it was just breathtaking. Of course then it started to hail. Only tiny pieces but hail nonetheless. Donning our waterproofs and having a chuckle we pushed on. A couple of hours later we finally arrived at Baiardo very wet and quite cold, so we headed straight for the first bar to order coffee and to try and dry out a little.

After drying out somewhat and warming up we went to explore the village. More charm, cobblestones, old stone buildings , flowers, cats, winding paths and views to the surrounding landscape. Once again feeling as though we had stepped back in time. Aunty & Uncle discovered another little cafe where we finished off with more coffee and delicious cake and warmed up some more in front of the fire before the return walk.

After a delightful stop at the beautiful little cafe we headed back to the car. Now this should have been fairly straightforward. Everything was going fine until we came to the turnoff for the last section which was the steep rocky part. Jason & I decided we should head off to the right so we could connect to the road which would be quicker and nice & flat. Uncle Ray & Aunty Marie decided they would prefer to take the track. So off we all went planning to meet up at the car. What could go wrong you say? Well we made it back to the car in about 20 minutes. Taking gear off and finishing sandwiches we waited for Uncle & Aunty. About 2 hours later they eventually turned up. Unfortunately they had taken a wrong turn up another track and went completely the wrong way. ( These things can happen to anyone) Jason & I spent 1 1/2 hours walking the other track’s trying to find them to no avail. Eventually we came back to car and debated how much longer before we needed to call the Caribineri and of course my cousins when Jason ( thank god his hearing is so good) heard voices and yelled out to them. Working out where they were I went back up the track and found them on another side track. OMG talk about being relieved. No visit to the hospital tonight! No police paperwork. And no phone call required to my cousin’s. After many hugs and warming up in the car first we then slowly wound our back to Apricale for a much needed Scotch to calm the nerves. Yes I have informed my Uncle & Aunty that they aren’t allowed to go on any excursions by themselves 😊 Sitting back now nice and relaxed we can all have a laugh about the whole ordeal and pass it off as “It’s all part of the adventure.”