It was food and coffee for us at breakfast, but our Russian guests added a shot of Vodka. The Russian presence carried on for the entire day with groups of 6-10 passing us going in the opposite direction 

With all these fit young men here you wonder who is making up their military,

Needed an early star for a walk which essentially went from sea level to 1100 meters over an expected 7 hours of walking.

Early part saw the fit and healthy trend with lots of walkers and joggers. The other trend was non observance of the road rules. Firstly a Mum driving with a baby no older than 9 months tucked between her legs and then a granny with a jozzed up mobility scooter with three kids in a trailer arrangement – obviously the school bus.

Weather was very pleasant and we soon reached the national park where there are natural gas fires burning out of the rocks and have done so for 2000 years. 

Too early for ticket man, but soon punished with a kilometer uphill walk on a Roman road to the top. Interesting 100 meter distance markers – they were plastic garbages.

There were six or seven obvious chimneys and the heat was pretty intense.

That kilometer up started the trend for the day with our 3 hour walk leading up to lunch being 95% uphill on very challenging ground. Had a hare and tortoise chase with one young guy who we saw right throughout the day.

It was hot and humid and within 2 hours we were sweaty messes.

The only down part was pretty rugged, with lots of rockfalls and fallen trees  to negotiate, plus a creek crossing on slippery rocks- we both stayed dry.

Found a bit of relief with some dirt road walking into our half way point where we stopped for lunch at a trout hatchery  and naturally had a lamb shush. Main reason was the dead and ailing trout in the pool below our table not being very appealing.

Got ripped off for the first time with operator charging us different prices to what was on the menu and his inability, real or feigned, to speak English made arguing difficult.

Second part of trip was 9 kilometers and an expected completion time of 4.5 hours.

A couple of trail misadventures saw us lose some time early , but we picked it up on some good gravel local roads. Finally found a farmer picking the pomegranate crop. A couple of teams of four were busy transferring boxes from tractors onto transport trucks.

After a solid hour of road walking and scrambling we were both taking less photos, talking less and constantly checking the bearings.

The last hours were a blur as we weaved our way up the side of the mountain often trying to find a foothold. At one stage I think we both would have been happy to be consumed by a wolf. 

A bit of a second wind got us going and we finally broke out onto a main road, which like all trails today wound steeply into town. Our hotel, which also served as the grocery store, had definitely seen better days, but It had a dribble of hot water, clean sheets and prospects of a hearty dinner.

Jane’s bed had an interesting arrangement which was either holding up the ceiling or letting her practice her pole dancing. Her impromptu display after dinner suggests her best pole dancing days are behind her.

We are heading towards the summit at 7700 feet tomorrow, so it will be upwards and onwards again. With quite heavy rain starting just after we arrived it will add an element of challenge we could likely do withou should it continue.

No ride on the cable car for me as the road does not go to the top of the mountain to termination station. You can only gain access at bottom unless you add 4 hours hiking.

I was feeling sorry for our tortoise and hare mate camping out, but the vet yea he announced himself and said he was camping here under cover.

Dinner was a first, no animals hovering around our feet. 

Early to bed and most parts of body aching, already had a couple of cramps in the thigh and suspect a few more tonight. 

It seems the CTP goes a bit later up here in the mountains and it’s right outside our window. Jane and I have started putting our own interpretation to the words.