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Published: September 5th 2019
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We slept well last night..it is silent here after dark, and very quiet during the day. Everyone seems to have at least one dog, but they don't bark at night. We woke around 6:30 am, and were on the road by 9:30. We had decided to visit the national park near Belluno today, but didn't have concrete plans after that.
We found the trail area in the Cordevole Valley after a few tries...life is more complicated without google, although we did download maps while we were on wifi at the apartment...We don't have data here, so we are navigating with a GPS, paper maps and road signs, and sometimes the help of strangers.
We took a short hike along the river, and returned on the narrow country road, through a few small villages. In one, there were fig trees growing near the church, and I stole one...A major north/south highway follows the river on the other side and goes all the way to Germany. We decided to try a smaller road in the next valley, along the "Lago del Mis", a reservoir formed by damming the Mis River. The road there is a popular cycling route, and we saw
many cyclists, mostly older people, on the road.
Drivers here are crazy...passing with inches to spare, speeding along narrow roads, and around hairpin curves. The motorcyclists are no better, and even the cyclists coming downhill are in the middle of the road! But we didn't see a single accident all day. Once we were off the main roads, there were very few cars. Bill, even with jet lag, drove all day!
The route along the river has been used for centuries, and some of the tunnels are hundreds of years old and carved out by hand. Near the top of the lake, along the Brenton River, there are a lovely series of basins carved by the water, cascading down into the valley. We hiked along a section of these, before continuing north. Once we passed the "Cadini", there was very little traffic, a good thing, especially in the narrow tunnels! We decided to go west and cross back over the Dolomiti via another route, but ended up on a dirt road. We decided to try another way, and drove higher to the village of Tiser and then back down to Le Feste, where we stopped at an overlook.
Dinner tonight
Fresh figs, goat cheese, and tomatoes from the garden here.. I noticed sign for local goat cheese at a home across the street, and we went over to buy some. The woman spoke some French, so I asked her for a place to eat and directions back to Belluno.
On her advice, we drove to the ski town of Forcella Aurine, where we had a great meal of grilled cheese (not a grilled cheese sandwich, but a slab of grilled cheese) with polenta and delicious mushrooms, downed with a glass of beer. As we got further into the mountains, the buildings all looked Swiss and the food is more German. On these roads motorcycle groups replaced the cyclists.
We headed across the Cerada Pass, with an elevation of 1369 meters, and down into the upscale town of Fiera Di Primiero. From there, we turned back towards Belluno and home, with a stop at a grocery store. The GPS took us yet another way back to our apartment, where we took a nap!
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Carolyn
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Love your blog
I am so enjoying reading about your trip. I would prefer to be there with you but this will have to do for now. May you have many clear days ahead! Love you both.