Gary Yetter Gets His Bread II

Okay, sorry for such a long delay, but I’ve been having too much fun! I’ll try to take it easy for a while.

We spent three days in the small town of Putignano, home of Pietro, one of my former roommates from Seattle. Again we were treated to large meals and plenty of wine, including a new favorite, vino primitivo, which is very strong stuff indeed. Dotting the surrounding area are cone-roofed buildings called trulli (trullo, singular) that, according to Pietro, are only found here and in parts of Sardinia. Not far is the town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is chock full of these strange buildings. They function as homes, businesses, and churches, and some of them are painted with strange symbols from the distant past.

Trulli in Alberobello

We were also treated to a free guided tour of the most fascinating cave I’ve ever visited, located in Puglia. It was HUGE and full of amazing geological formations, including eneryone’s favorite: the giant dick. Such formations are worshipped ’round the world to bring fertility.

You make me feel so inadequate

This was the last room on the 1.5 km walk through the cave…nice way to finish

Next stop: Rome. What a place! Here we took a break from staying with my friends and did the classic stay-in-the-dingy-hostel-and-get-drunk-with-the-other-foreigners thang. It was fun and the hostel was actually a lot nicer than I expected (and fairly cheap; I negotiated our beds down to 17.50 euro per night). We had full access to the kitchen which saved us a bit of dough as I could cook or, as it turned out, have other guests cook occasionally. You MUST visit Rome before you die if you have not already!! The incredible sites are made so much more so when you are standing before them. Of course, I loved the coloseum being a fan of fighting and fight history, but my favorite place in the city was the Roman Forum. Ruins everywhere, so many that it was a bit overwhelming for me because my eyes wanted to look all over the place at the same time.

Vive Italia!

The Roman Forum. I could spend hours here just gazing

Home of the gladiators

The Vatican City

Heh, heh…I like your style fellas, very festive

Leaving Rome, we ventured north to Frankfurt, Germany. We stayed with my friend Anita, whom I met climbing in Southern Thailand, in nearby Russelsheim and had a nice time seeing German wine country and eating liverwurst. We spent a day bouldering on some nice sandstone and then began our climbing-centered road trip.

Heading south into Switzerland, my first goal was to find St. Joder, from where my surname ‘Yetter’ originates. We drove late into the night and camped under the stars on a remote rural road in beautiful Swiss cow country. Turns out we were just a few kilometers from St. Joder! Not much left there, just a church and a couple houses, but it is set in the most vibrant rolling hills of green and home to probably the most beautiful cows in the world (I know I mention the cows a lot. Can’t help it; I just think they’re cool). Of course, having so many beautiful cows brings many beautiful cheeses, and we certainly had our fill (along with lots of bread and sausage, and of course, red wine…Anita HAS to have it nightly!).

My Swiss miss…a looker and a grazer

Greener than green around St. Joder

Ticino is located in the South, near the Swiss-Italian border. Here I got to experience one the best bouldering areas I’ve ever seen. I first became familiar with this place from the rock climbing/bouldering documentary Dosage Volume 3. Dave Graham spent a long time in Ticino bouldering hard lines and setting a new 5.15 route. The scenery was amazing…all of these beautiful boulders near a rushing river of bright blue water teeming with trout. Many of the homesteads were made of stone and like in St. Joder, the greens were really, really green. In the distance, craggy mountain peaks towered above us. We lived under a big overhanging boulder and cooked pasta and vegetables, or ate muesli and bread and cheese. The boudering was…sick. I have to return to Ticino.

Our “house” in Ticino

An old abandoned homestead in the main bouldering area

A freshly victorious Anita above a nice highball problem

Best…river…ever…

On a hike we did in the Alps

We set sail for France next, staying near Chamonix our first night. The famous Mont Blanc is right there, and yet another gorgeous site. It, or one other mountains next to it, is home to Europe’s largest glacier. As we drove on, I noticed a crag with some kids climbing, so we dropped our socks and grabbed some rocks as well. It was a nice warm-up for the climbing we’d be doing over the next several days in the south of France, plus we had those pretty snow-covered mountains right behind us.

The view from Chamonix

Unfortunately, when we reached the south, Aaron received news of a family emergency back in Nevada and flew back immediately. It’s too bad his trip was cut short, but he’ll be back on the trail again soon, I reckon. Anita and I rolled on to Les Calanques, a geological wonder right on the Meditarranean coast. Limestone, beautiful overhanging walls and towers of finger-friendly limestone, stretched for miles and miles, awaiting our ascents. Anita and I wasted no time. Needless to say, the climbing was fantastic and I feel that I’ve been bitten by the climbing bug again. Next stop, Phra Nang Peninsula!

Les Calanques

Bread!

Big danke schön to Anita for making the trip so cool (and possible), leading the routes (she’s a much better climber than me!), and introducing me to the joy of liverwurst. Don’t forget, girl: “Je ne veux pas travailler/ Je ne veux pas dejeuner/ Je veux seulement oublier/ Et puis, je fume.”