There was spring in the Berlin, when we arrived. Some interesting people went into the Easy Jet plane – three youth and a girl, all with traveling haversacks. In the next morning, when I took a seat in the plane to the Olbia, mystically again emerged that interesting foursome. Almost like in the Matrix movie.

 

There was beautiful and sunny Sunday morning. The plane does not debarring. Then, tired after Saturday’s evening, some Lufthansa technicians were waked up from the bed. They talked with pilot about something for a long time, I think they try to bring a round him. Then they let the plane. In the half of the way, when we achieved the highest point, the pilot announced, that they had a success with the plain repairing. That was good, because the most of the passengers were suffering in obscurity.

We did not stay in the Olbia for a long time, because we needed to visit the cave of the Neptune – the coast formation in the earth horn behind the Alghero. Beautiful. I suggest. It is one of the rarest caves where you can see quiet big underground lakes.

Honestly, getting to the cave entrance was not so easy – I needed to climb the stairs – approximately, 646 steps, and then we achieved the sea level.

We drove across the entire isle. Some roads were hard to pass through. Especially problems arose, when we wanted to drive through herd, while I contrive that these beasts respects only outstripping on the left side.

In the evening, finally we arrived in the camping of the Cala Gonones. The camping houses, that we ordered some time ago, were completely and till the last one full (the same situation was happened with other teams). However, the manager of the camping loudly spoke with her husband and the miracle happened – the old man remembered, that he saw one free, as house made caravan. And than happened the greater miracle – in the next building were housed our team mates. Adventurers were in full stuff. It was hard to not celebrate this meeting with tiger shrimps, that we bought in the Auchan for 6 Euro (700g plate!) and balloon of vine. The red vine.

Friends, yesterday had small fail. Their hundred km driven hired Ford decided to drive on his own on the slope. The car did not get very far – near the elementary school fence. The car gets small scratches, but fence was destroyed completely. As they didn’t wanted to meet parents of the Italian kids, our friends tried to quickly deal with the bricklayer. Later to this fail chain was added broken camping house key, broken glass and some other unimportant things, for example, broken bicycle handlebar – the bicycle, with what we should have taken part in the competition the next day.

Arose new morning and our camp had begun.

Kristaps talked a lot about unusual environment, what will surround us here everywhere. Many of us comprehended it with incredulity, and that’s why he suggested taking some hike, to better see the unusual environment.

In the end of the second hour, when we juggled on the Cala Gonones in the height of 600m, I should agree, that adventure competition in the mountains have its own specific…

…even only about razor sharpness rocks, what left only two chances for us – either you will get straight to the rock or with the leg into the block.

From this stone phallus finally we could see home. Kristaps, for sure, suggested running down by talus, while participants with more experience chose auto road.

The second day came as sunny as the first.

That day we decided to try bike and sea boat stages.

In the stage of the sea boats the best that I remember were three things:

1)  how we bring boats through entire Cala Gonones village

2)  how easy is to turn around this boat and how hard is to get back onto it, especially, if it is turned around on the coast rocks

3)   that coast cave rocks have nasty edges. If you go in to the cave, for sure one wave will pressure you with your head to the cave top, and is suggested to wear the helmet and gloves.

Kristaps also mentioned that not always we could get into the water from the coast. Some enthusiasts in the same time hurried to find out solution for this situation.

Here I need to be honest about one sidestep. Together with the cheer group I couldn’t decline the temptation to visit nearest Geocache point. One was hiding on the passage of the old concrete building. Beautiful view – the rock trails with huge wind nibbled windows. That’s ok, that point coordinates were incorrect and push us to dig through the biggest pickle bush in the surround.

The third day came with the amazing clear morning.

Someone proposed to go to the rocks and have some training for rock stage. Everybody agreed with it.

In this rock Kristaps had tied up the descending rope. He was joking that 30m rope was too short. Honestly, this rope was really too short.

We liked the surrounding environment so much, that in the afternoon shade we came back to the mountain, this time to find the colored balloons that were hidden in the rocks. Everything could be great, if there were not these bushes. You can’t go anywhere, because always you will get in the bush heap. We could move only by mountain tops and riverbeds.

In one moment the fog came up. That was funny, because all orienteers were missing.

The status of the fourth day was unclear. The competition should start in the evening, but “very active introduction” were promised already in 9:30. So much active introduction was not experienced a long time. For the three hours we were pedaling with bicycle to some hidden beach in the canyon, stretched hydras, swam around the rock block, went out in canyoneering, cycled back to the camping, again got back to the beach, again stretched hydras, jumped into the sea from the rock block, again went through canyoneering, again stretched hydras, again jumped down from the block and climbed up to the nearest rock. Apologize, if I mixed up the order – my head is still going around.

Meanwhile, 20km further, cheer group was searching for instant geocache. 20 km after azimuth in the nature turns in to 65km of bended road (in one way) and visited uncounted side roads. Finally, with the fifth try was possible to find the start of the path.

The cache is… it can be seen somewhere in this picture.

 

And than THOSE started. Those, about what people on the spot asked “What is this?” and we were answered “No, no, do not think this is competition!”

In the start everything went good – a little bit exhausting pedaling up to the passage, than with the wind down, nice asphalted side way, after some curves a big house, from this house on NA road branch, stone heap 50m from the crossroads…

Then we saw the organizers car – everybody so deceitful, so deceitful. We understood that something is going wrong…

After a good half of hour high up in the mountains on the horrible Enduro trace, that the least was similar to the road what was on the map, we found nice, before described point. The adventure competition in the Kristaps Liepins style was started.

How refreshing was this drive down behind the valley! Around were green vine and purled Mountain River. We contrived to cycle to the lowest place of the valley, where, what a surprise, on the stone block was sticked CP2. The things that we experienced before so clearly indicated, that the nearest hour we will be pedaling back up to 600m High Mountain. Someone mentioned something about cold beer. Up in the big Cala Ganones tunnel we met some 3×4=12 lamps. Soon all these lamps prepared in nice string, what with 50km/h speed were curled down from the mountain to the direction of intermediate finish.

The sea stage traditionally started with boat persons hike through the village. The further were like in the dream. The boats easily swam till the first cave – about 5km.

The first cave was comparatively easy to go through, despite some tried to get into the deep by crack, where even the cat couldn’t go through.

The second cave surprised with the first stalactites.

The dessert waited after some four kilometers. The complete system of the caves, with several stages, channels and corridors full of stalactites. We didn’t want to go away, but control time brought us back to the reality…

The afternoon started with bike +foot +rock stage. To the old tunnel were some tens of serpentines and almost 600m of height. The last stage we needed to climb by old, small stoned concrete road. Towards the mountain it was fine, but the way back, speed was hard to control…

Somewhere around this place started the canyon. Yes – there were some people, who hustled around this ghostly rock trail. There was no doubt, CP was on the top.

Kristaps was taking into account faults from days before and in this time tide on 45m long rope. Truth, fully vertical rock wall this time also was the same higher.

Excess to say, that on this plot through pickle bushes we climbed back.

The last stage of the competition was promised as the most interesting. Coasteering or coast discovering. When we looked into the map, we noticed that parallels in this stage converge together in one line near the coast. Are these rocks that are finishing straight in to the sea?

In the stone bathes were collected salt. From here wasn’t any road further near the coast.

The further distance we climbed by turn swimming and joggling on the alga shelves in the foot of rocks.

The walk on the shelves was not so innocent – every second the leg can plunge in some of the wholes that are rinse out in the rocks and stay there forever.

On this purpose I mostly prefer swimming.

When the next CP – the gigantic Millenium grotto was almost achieved, my attention was attracted with some huge cave, that looked like mouth without teeth loomed 10m above the sea level. It is full of stalactites! Your sincerely author got an idea to make some side steps. While the Adventurers are climbing to the Millenium grotto, I would find some shelve in the rock and get to this mysterious cave.

If I have an idea, than I do! Here our directions went separate – the Adventurers climb up to the grotto, but I try to find out the direction to the toothless mouth.

Some teeth were in there, and they were completely yellow.

To the Millenium grotto was great climb and it was enormous.

In the sea waves rose up from somewhere. Time to time some of waves flushed us down from shelve.

Here is small video roll about this entire event 🙂

 

The Adventurers have climbed to the finish!

In the dessert after the competition we visited the nearest Ispinigoli grotto with the highest stalactite in the Europe – 38m. It is forbidden to take a photo of it.

Kaspars, Ainārs, Valdis, Ilze and support team – Vita, Reinis and Raivis.
See you later in some latvian swamp!