Les Marecottes

On Friday we took the train to Les Marecottes from Milan, Itlay which was a little challenging. Even though we were in first class, the air conditioning was not working very well, so it was super hot for a couple of hours, then we had a quick change in Brig to get to Martigny. The Italian train was 8 minutes late leaving the station, so our easy 12 minute connection, became a tight 4 minute connection. Luckily the station was pretty small, so we didn't have to go far to catch the train, but there was no room for error as Swiss trains are never late.

We spent the weekend in Les Marecottes, Switzerland where my cousin Gregor has a country house. Les Marécottes is a village in the Swiss Alps, located in the canton of Valais. The village is situated in the western part of the canton, in the Trient valley, near Matigny, at a height of 1,110 metres (3600 feet, for reference Denver is a mile high at 5100 feet). 

The entire family gathered here to celebrate my cousin Sara and my birthday's, we both turn 50 this year. It was great to see the Alardyces, although we were missing Grant's family. All the MacInotoshs were there, as well as all my family.  The first night began with a pizza party at Greg's house, where they made over 80 pizzas in his brick pizza oven. We left around 11 pm, but the party went into the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday started with a bang. We did something called Canyoning. You can see a video here: https://vimeo.com/26719209, and I'll post some pictures of us doing it as soon as I get them. Basically you put on a wet suit, climb up to a large waterfall, then you slide down the canyon into areas where the water pools or you jump off the cliff into one of the pools. There is also a zipline.  It starts out pretty tame, but as you go down the canyon, the jumps get higher, with the highest one just over 10 meters or 33 feet. I have to say, that jump hurt a little, as I did not hit the water at the correct angle. However, the water is so cold, you soon forget any impact pain and start thinking about how you are going to get to land before you loose all feeling in your hands.

After the canyoning, we went up in the gondola to the top of the mountain for lunch. The view was amazing and I ate kangaroo for the first time (I have been to Austrailia and don't remember anyone serving it).  After lunch we decided to walk down the mountain, which went pretty well after we got back on the road and off the ski runs. It took about an hour and a half and we were pretty worn out when we got back to the hotel.  

Me and B2 at the top.

Me and my cousins Alan and Michelle

The highlight of the next day was a visit to another waterfall where the villagers had built steps all the way up the side of the mountain so you could walk from the valley all the way to the top of a waterfall. The men of the village met every Tuesday night after work for 20 years to complete it, and none of them were engineers or builders.  When you are on the ground this is an amazing story, but about a quarter of the way up the steps, which are very steep and very narrow, I started to think, holy crap I am walking on some steps bolted to the side of a mountain by some dude who had no idea what he was doing and panic set in. I am usually a little afraid of heights, but all of a sudden the lack of oxygen and anxiety were a huge problem. There was a point near the top that was extremely narrow where you had to go down about 20 steps before you could go up again and I froze, I could not go down. I was wondering if there was any other way off the mountain, when it got even more embarrassing, my 81 year old uncle (with two hip replacements) passed me.  Luckily my cousin's wife, Daniella, also caught up with me, she had done the climb several times and was happy to stand close to me as I went down the steps on my but.  Life saver.

From there on I just focused on breathing and stepping until I got to the top, where both my parents arrived about five munites later - my mother has pretty severe arthritus in her knees. I learned that mountain climbing on sheer cliffs is not for me, even if there are steps. Also, it is amazing how the negitive thoughts can take over and almost paralyze you. 

After a few beers I was back to normal, but I have noticed that I get nervous around balconies now, which is a little concerning.

Swiss bathroom signs

We closed out the night with a nice dinner at the public pool, which thankfully is heated. It is located next to the zoo which is a fun way to pass a few hours.  Next morning it's good bye to everyone and off to Paris.