Still low on numbers despite an active year. First hill of the new year was Grendon Green, where the friendly farmer aided me in finding the trig point. On returning home I was dismayed to find that this hill has been stripped of Marilyn status. Looking at it positively, at least we had a good walk in the countryside.
August finally saw region 42 completed, with a pleasant 19-mile walk up Wilmington Hill followed by a circuit of the South Downs Way and the Seven Sisters walk, accompanied by my 75-year old father, who has many more Marilyns to his name than me.
During a visit to Shrewsbury to stay with friends, I was able to sneak out after dinner to go over Stiperstones (a repeat) and then Heath Mynd in the dark, returning for coffee in polite company. The reaction of our hosts ranged from respect for my athletic qualities to downright puzzlement about my needing to climb some hill on a list. To be honest I would have climbed it whether it is on the list or not, but being a tick made it all the more sweet. Arnside Knott became my 100th English Marilyn, a fact celebrated with the opening of a bottle of Jefferson's rum. It has taken long enough as I have been distracted by so many long-distance paths.
The country collection is coming on well, my annual target being three new countries. These are never just day trips or overnight stops but are thorough journeys. First off was El Salvador in April, where I met only six tourists, all on the same day at the 2365m summit of Santa Ana volcano (Lamatepec is the indigenous name) in the Cerro Verde national park. Clouds obscured most of the views but made it very atmospheric as they rolled by. This country was the most disconcerting one so far, with firearms common and peasants with machetes shouting out 'gringo'. Next was Brazil in May with Eleni, where the highlights were the Iguacu Falls and a stay in the Caraca natural park (in a former monastery). In the evening the resident padre left raw meat on the patio for the wolves to devour, whilst the watching guests sipped wine made by local priests.
In December we visited Portugal, my 49th country. On our return I checked the number and it seems that I had miscounted. With Monaco having joined the UN back in 1993, I had reached 50 but messed up plans for making South Africa (Eleni's homeland) number 50 in 2006.
All in all a good year, with the Ailsa Craig trip being only my second walking trip to Scotland. I have now made a resolution to visit Scotland more and more to enjoy the hills.
