SPRING HIKERS WANTED!

Why do we need hikers?

Over the last year, we've been exploring and mapping our routes through the Majella and writing up guides, a few of which are ready to be trialled, and this is where we need help!  

If there are any intrepid explorers out there (hikers or runners) who fancy giving it a go, there's a bottle of Prosecco for anyone who stays with us over April, May and June, completes three routes, survives and gives us a bit of feedback.

Who we are:

Seeking a simple life where old fashioned values, traditions and the changing seasons still guide daily life, three years ago we sold our house, gave up the 9-5 and the M25 and took ourselves off across Italy in our old VW Camper.  With our mountain bikes strapped to the back and our climbing and hiking gear inside, we were in for a treat.

For two months we lived like a couple of beatniks, just camping and climbing our way from north to south.   We hiked, biked and climbed and ate so well.  

But we were on a budget and we couldn’t live like this forever, we’re neither old enough nor rich enough to retire, so we had to find a way of eking a living that indulged our passion for the mountains, whilst staying true to the original search for a simple life.  

We found Abruzzo, the mountains of The Majella National Park, and a little village called Serramonacesca.

Serramonacesca, between the mountains and the sea

During the last two years we’ve been creating Kokopelli Camping, our tucked away little site on the slopes of the Majella - its shabby-chic, with a touch-of-luxury, simplicity and quirky self-catering options being a relatively new concept for Italy.  And what a great start.  We’ve had hikers, bikers, honeymooners and the military; we’ve had troubled souls seeking peace, writers seeking inspiration, and a whole bunch of fascinating people in between.  

Here we are!  In the foreground, just off-centre.

So, some inspiration for hiking in our beautiful, hidden part of Italy:

For a sneaky peak at what we have here at Kokopelli:  http://kokopelli-italy.blogspot.co.uk/p/facilities_2.html

For more information on Abruzzo and the Majella:  http://kokopelli-italy.blogspot.co.uk/p/abruzzo-majella.html

To give you a bit of a flavour, all the following photos were taken during April, May or June: 

APRIL

SNOW STILL ON THE TOPS, TREES JUST TURNING GREEN

SPRING FROLICS 

SPRING FLOWERS IN ALL THEIR GLORY

RETREATING SNOWS REVEALING A CARPET OF CROCUS

MAY

TRADITIONAL CELEBRATIONS OF SPRING IN THE VILLAGES

BUTTERFLIES GALORE

CASCADING WATERS AS THE MOUNTAIN SNOWS MELT

SO GREEN, SO COLOURFUL, SO FRESH

JUNE

SNOW STILL ON THE HIGH PEAKS

YET THE WATERS WARM ENOUGH FOR SWIMMING

Tempted?  

Send me an email:  jaqs@kokopellicamping.co.uk

Prices on our website:  http://www.kokopellicamping.co.uk/prices.html

An example of a few of our hikes on Everytrail:  http://www.everytrail.com/my_trips.php?user_id=778916

Exactly where we are:  http://goo.gl/maps/iNrT3

Go on, you know you want to...