Underwater Seamount "Summit"

Princess Alice Bank is a very special place on our planet, difficult to reach but amazing rewards for those lucky enough to get there.  In the middle of the Atlantic, 45 nautical miles offshore from the nearest island, this underwater seamount rises up from over 6,000 feet deep to its highest point only 115 feet from the ocean surface.  This is where we dropped anchor, right on its "summit", then had a briefing by our dive master and donned our SCUBA gear. 

During a short period of time every summer, large groups of Mobula rays and Mantas converge upon this area to feed as it attracts lots of other big fish including large tunas, jacks and barracudas.  Thanks again to Jonathan and Melissa for getting married in Portugal and for giving us an excuse to go to the Azores to climb Mt. Pico, and to be on Pico Island at the perfect time of year to witness this sensation. 

Denise and I clipped onto a weighted descent line for safety as the strong open ocean currents can easily sweep you out into the oblivion.  It wasn't long until our first visitors came gracefully "flying" by to check us out and play in our bubbles.  We counted 16 Mobulas (also known as Devil Fish) on our very first dive.  The wingspan on these beautiful creatures was at least 12 feet across on some of the larger ones and they seemed even bigger when swimming in the water next to them.  I was pleased to capture some great pics and video of this remarkable experience on my GoPro Hero 8, and hope you enjoy them as well!  

 

Video of me shooting the prior video of the single Mobula from underneath  

At Pico Sport dive shop in Madalena before doing two "checkout" shore dives the day prior

4:07 AM on Aug. 15 boarding the Blue Bay for a slow but steady 5+ hour journey to the Bank

Dinner and view from our Airbnb above the town of São Roque, Pico Island

 

Portugal's Mount Pico

More than 900 miles off the coast of Portugal's mainland, are the Azores islands and the volcanic Montanha do Pico, the country's highest point.  This is our 25th summit of country high points around the world and we are dedicating it to my cousin Jonathan Fejtek and his bride Melissa.  We were lucky enough to attend Jon and Mel's wedding on Aug. 6th in a small town called Ourém, north of Lisbon in the same church where Mel's parents got married and in the village where her family all grew up.  It was a memorable experience rich in cultural charm and overflowing with food, drink and love. 

...and the occasion gave us a good excuse to thoroughly explore the beauty of Portugal over the last three weeks from Porto in the north, Lisbon, Sintra and down to the Algarve region in the south with its spectacular sea caves and postcard perfect cliff-enclosed beaches.  However the group of nine islands which make up the Azores, was a very different slice of Portugal which we likely would not have made the effort to experience if it weren't for Mt. Pico being located there.  

 

This technically "active" stratovolcano is an impressive sight to view from offshore as its steep cone-shaped slopes reaching up to its summit at 7,713 feet, tower over the rest of the island.  Clouds tend to obscure the view frequently and despite the mild subtropical weather, snow periodically blankets the mountain in the winter.  Climbing it was a relatively easy 7.5 hour round trip hike and the most challenging part for us was simply getting a permit.  In recent years access to the mountain has been restricted by the local governing Portuguese authority which has limited the number of permits per day to 160 people.  (They are also charging a fee, currently 25 Euros).  By the time we finalized our travel itinerary, there were no more permits available for any of the five days we planned to spend on Pico Island.  Fortunately we were able to find and secure the last two spots on an organized group permit with a company called Hominis Natura and led by owner/guide Steffi Denecker.  We truly enjoyed our time with Steffi and the other members in the group.  The only other Americans were a young couple from Washington D.C. Mike and Megan who recently got married and planned their climb of Mt. Pico as part of their honeymoon in the Azores.   ...our kind of couple!  We wished them all the best in their new journey through life together as husband and wife and once again to Jon and Melissa - congratulations on your marriage and thank you for inviting us to be a part of your important milestone and celebration in Portugal that we will remember forever! 

With Steffi Denecker & "Steps to the Summit"

Obrigado!

Paul & Denise

Macedonia & Albania (M&A “Twofer”) Mt. Korab

Immediately after bidding farewell to Zeus and descending from the home of the gods, we continued north in our trusty little rental car towards Mt. Korab and the Macedonia border.  Korab is one of only two peaks in all of Europe which are the highest points in more than one country (Mont Blanc is the other).  

Only two years ago in 2019 a long disputed argument and source of instability in the region was finally ‘settled’ by renaming the country North Macedonia (changed from the most recent official name approved by UN Security Council Resolution in 1993: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but widely referred to simply as Macedonia). We later learned at an amazing seaside dinner in Thessaloniki with Constantinos, the cousin of a good friend in So Cal, that the new name is still disliked by the ethnic people of Northern Greece who claim pride in their heritage as Macedonians and prefer the country to the north be named something else altogether.  Regardless of the name, we wanted to climb the country’s highest peak and were allowed to pass through their border without any requirement of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination card. 

More than five hours after leaving the trailhead at Mt. Olympus, we arrived at Mavrovo National Park and the quaint mountain guest house of Yasmina.  

Our off-road machine reaches Strezimir, trailhead location.

We were up early again the next morning knowing that our two-wheel drive/low-clearance Nissan Micra would need to endure at least 13 km off-road to get us to Strezimir, the starting point of our Mt. Korab adventure. Thankfully we made it without incident and didn’t need to ditch the car and add any more miles of walking than necessary to what would be another long day.

Although our entire trip was a fairly last minute decision, fortunately I had done enough prior research on Korab to know it is not common to run into many others on the trail. (Mostly just sheep and their protective and aggressive dogs).  So before leaving I was able to find and download a GPS track onto my Gaia topo maps app on my phone. Anticipating zero cell coverage in this remote area my advance preparation turned out to be a real lifesaver.  As the hours of hiking ticked along and elevation gain grew, we encountered much more snow on the slopes than we had expected for this time of year. We didn’t bring crampons or micro spikes so in order to be safe it was critical to avoid slopes with pitches that were too steep. It had also snowed the night before and there were no other people on the trail ahead of us with no telltale  footprints to follow. In addition we had no visibility of our target Mt. Korab which was hidden both by clouds and other peaks, so navigating by GPS was the only reasonable way to go.

The only crowds encountered on the route all day.

After running into one dead end with a steep couloir, we turned around and backtracked looking for another way up.  It was here that we met the only other people we had seen on the mountain so far that day. It was a Polish couple and we chatted a bit and looked around together at possible ways to ascend. I showed them my GPS track and topo and they said something in Polish and continued to study their paper map. Clearly they were not convinced of my technology because they decided to go in the opposite direction to where I was suggesting and pointing we should go. We parted ways and Denise and I quietly wished them luck under our breath.

About an hour or so later after traversing several very reasonably low-angled snow fields, we reached the snow free summit ridge of Mt. Korab! Here we walked along the border of North Macedonia and Albania, taking in the stunning views until we achieved the “twofer” standing at 2,764 meters (~9,068 feet) the highest peak of both countries!

Until the next adventure…

All the Best,

Paul & Denise

P.S. Fortunately as we were descending we spotted the Polish couple so we knew they were safe. It seemed that at some point they gave up on their approach and ended up following our track up, but they probably decided it was getting too late in the day to go all the way to the summit so they were heading down.  Good decision, but a better decision earlier in the day would have been to trust technology ...and the Americanos! :-)

Mt. Olympus: Home of Zeus

Greetings from Greece where we have now climbed the highest mountain in the country - Mt. Olympus - the cradle of Greek Mythology and the home of the gods.  This is the first time we have left our home/country in almost two years so we’re quite grateful for the opportunity. Greece opened for tourism in mid-May and itching for a new international destination to visit, we were welcomed into the country after presenting our CDC vaccination cards. It was a fairly last-minute idea to book flights and go, and so far we couldn’t be happier with our decision. After arriving in Athens we checked into a great hotel with amazing views of the Acropolis right from our room. 

At our very first dinner in Greece I learned that Greek salad tastes even better in Greece. ...especially with a glass of Ouzo!  Early the next morning we pointed our rental car north and four hours later we were awestruck by the monasteries perched atop rock monoliths at Meteora.  One of them was featured in the 1981 James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. 

It was well worth the detour on our way to Mt. Olympus.

With its imposing vertical spires and no apparent way to reasonably ascend, we figured out why it took so long for the mythological home of Zeus to be confirmed as a myth.  ...nobody could actually climb to the peak of Olympus to find out if Zeus really lived up there! 

We decided to spend the night at a mountain refuge called Spilios Agapitos in order to break up the 6,000 vertical foot climb.  With great views and an incredible location, the hut has been managed for the past 20 years by Maria Zolota and her husband and they serve delicious hot meals and are truly wonderful hosts.  

We were up early and on the trail by 6:00 AM before everybody else in the refuge was awake and before they started serving breakfast...and COFFEE!  We were alone on the trail all morning with exception of several chamois (sort of a horned goat-antelope) and two guys who turned around at Skala Peak. This is the point where most people who hike Olympus head back as it is the beginning of the somewhat sketchy exposed rock scrambling section that begins with demoralizing down climbing. It was here where we spotted the only other group on the mountain ahead of us. It was a guided group of 10 who were roped together and all wearing climbing helmets.  

My prior research on Olympus seemed to indicate a rope was not necessary but seeing that the only other people climbing the mountain were using one, made me wonder if we should have brought our gear. Luckily for us the Greek Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (E.O.O.A.) has carefully painted red and yellow markings along the route so we could easily see the most manageable way up and we felt comfortable without a rope.  Although I’m sure the protection of a rope would definitely provide some mental reassurance with the steep slopes and sheer cliffs we navigated around.

It really wasn’t that bad just a bit intimidating at points to be unfamiliar with the route and not knowing what awaited for us ahead.  It made me appreciate that this was a perfect analogy for life.  And it reminded me of some advice found in Step #2 the “Live Courageously” chapter of this great book called “Steps to the Summit.”  😉 

Wishing all of you our very best!

Opa!

-Paul & Denise