sunrise in the Dolomites. August, Saturday 10th

Morning is due to all —

To some — the Night —

To an imperial few —

The Auroral light.

{Emily Dickinson}

Malga Preghena di Sotto, Val di Non. h 5.30 AM

i am an earlybird. i love the morning light, the silence, the chill, the expectations, to peacefully plan my day sipping coffee on the couch. but i usually don't get up so early to see the sun rise. i did it in a cold and clear August morning, after a stormy night, and i saw the mountains waking up with me.

our alarm clock rang at five, it was still dark, too dark for pictures, we had a quick sip of coffee and run out to see the cows, who were loudly coming back from the pastures for the morning milking.
where and why did i do that?

we were hosted at Malga Preghena, in Trentino Alto Adige region. cows usually spend the summer in the mountain pastures, from the end of may to the end of september. during these months, the herders live in a mountain hut with a stable and a dairy. this place it's called malga. in the past, a malga's only purpose was to be a place where a family and their cows live, but now most of them are also a good place to eat and buy fresh products.

this summer, some malghe in Trentino offered the possibility to spend the night there, wake up with the family and watch their daily work. a chance to get closer to a lesser known reality. this project was called albe in malga: sunrise in malga.
this was not my first malga experience, but i had the chance to get a better look to the hard work of the family that runs the place.

oh, and the golden light that slowly came from the surrounding mountains to reach us? totally made ​​me forget the ungodly hour at which we woke up. (together with the crazy delicious breakfast we had after the milking!)

we went canyoning, i got proof. July, Friday 19th

i don't feel comfortable in the water. when we go to the seaside (and it does not happen so often), i'm the one who keeps an eye to the clothes and bags while everyone goes swimming.
so, i wasn't excited at the idea that the major activity around the Raganello stream is canyoning {or canyoneering}. well, i was wrong.
this is the brightest memory from our days in Calabria, and i'm really glad we did it.
canyoning means to explore a canyon from the inside, to follow the waterstream walking, swimming, climbing, sliding down the smooth rocks, diving.. not to mention falling. all enriched by an amazing view. 

i did not dare bring my camera, but thanks to the bravest Flavio {thinking nomads} i can now show you some pictures. 

Civita's lower gorges are perfect for canyoning. the waters are not that cold ant you can choose your route from different levels of difficulty.
squeezed into a tiny wetsuit and wearing an helmet, we followed our guides down in the gorges for about 3 kilometers {the entire route is 7 km}, surrounded by high walls and roaring waters, to reach the devil's bridge {first picture}. bruises, scratches and goose bumps are part of the game, but also are breathtaking dive, rush of adrenaline and laughs. 

having a guide is important not just for being safe, that is clearly the priority, but also allows you to take the water path that best suits your ability. in our case, it was simple and sometimes tricky, with small waterfalls that i would have avoided if i had been alone, but turned out to be fun when approached with the proper equipment.

info & tips
to stay in Civita, take a look at the lovely b&b Il Comignolo di Sofia. Stefania, the volcanic landlady, is more that happy to give all the infos on the Pollino national park, Civita, where to hike and of course where to go cayoning.
i highly recommend Roberto De Marco as a guide, you can contact him at +39 3471776569.