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Published: June 16th 2009
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We left Interlaken on the26th May.
We had a date to keep. Our youngest son, (the one with the fractured spine) had decided to come to visit us as part of his recuperation. Perhaps a little risky, considering his delicate condition and unable to get himself health insurance he nevertheless with the confidence of youth, decided to fly to Bergamo airport to spend 10 days with us. Able to walk short distances and do gentle exercise, he spent a week in our “Swiss clinic” being waited on hand and foot!
We spent just over a week at Locarno in the Ticino area , on the Swiss side of Lake Maggiore .
The temperatures soared reaching the lower 30’s and some days it was hard enough for us all to do much more than lie in the shade and have a dip in the pool.
One night a group of entrepreneurial ants also decided it was too hot and after a scouting visit by an inventive group of property-developer ants, they decided that the water tank of our iron would make an ideal condominium. The exclusive crib, equipped with a handy designer tunnel atrium entrance and
tinted windows. (The iron has a see through tank) they marched in and called their mates on the ant phone to come and join them. Via a vent under the bedroom sink, the operation was swiftly carried out in a matter of hours.
The next morning it was like a disaster movie in ant city. A giant monster swept their apartment block into the sky and suddenly things began to get scary. Floods and searing humidity !Titanic and towering inferno !
Ants ran out of the iron in all directions ! Until then I hadn’t noticed the seething black mass inside the tank . I hastily unplugged it and gasped in amazement . We tried to flood them out but the tenacious little buggers clung to the life-rafts and swam around resisting the deluge.
I’m ashamed to say a fair few perished that day as my patience ran out and I plugged it back in and hit the steam boost button. Little black dots went crispy on the t-shirt but brushed off easily enough.
Insects became something of an obsession for us during this time. After the ants came the mozzies and midges (night runs to the toilet block
needed to be swift to avoid an excruciatingly itchy night) and the MONSTER Wasps, ( they truly do deserve the capital letters). These bad boys were not to be messed with. 2 inches long & probably on steroids, you gave them complete right of way! Two of the trees adjacent to our pitch were favourite spots where the wasps would chew wood to take away to build what must be their nightmare monster nests.
Entomology aside, we had a good time doing not very much. We drove around the area taking in the fantastic views of the lakes valleys and mountains.
The Verzasca valley near Locarno holds the dam that is featured in the James Bond movie Goldeneye. A dizzyingly high structure which sweeps down vertically in a dramatic curve beneath your feet into a deep narrow ravine. Bond does a scary bungee jump down it.
We arrived on a day when the bungee was up and boinging for any person wishing to lose their senses and 170 Euros . 220 Meters of drop and a reverse recoil almost as scary. We watched spellbound as people jumped every 3 or 4 minutes. Like money spiders (back
onto the insects again ) zipping down the vast face of the dam, they made a fortune for the bungee operators at 170 Euros every 3 minutes!
We mooched around the smart lakeside resorts of Locarno and Ascona watching those with lots more money than us cruise around in their Porsches, Maseratis, Bentleys and other flash cars.We watched crazy street performers in Ascona, rode funiculars and cable cars for stunning lake views and drove the Simplon Pass over to the Valais and up to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.
As we prepared to move on to our next site in Italy, on pretty Lake Iseo, the weather in the Locarno valley went mad. Electric storms and torrential rain for 12 hours without break turned the site into a paddling pool with a river running through it. Got rid of the mozzies though.
We returned Chris to Bergamo on the 8th June looking more refreshed, a little fatter and lightly toasted. I think our Swiss Rehab clinic did him good.
We moved onto big tourist country ; not far from Lido di Jesolo with the intention of visiting Venice. Our chosen campsite was full! Some religious festival/ conference
had taken over the site, people meditating everywhere!
We needn’t have worried though as the area is camping city with loads of sites along the sandbank that separates Venice lagoon from the sea. Trouble was there were no other discounted sites available so for once we dug deep and paid the full price!!! Good job the Euro’s gone down!
One day in Venice was wonderful but enough for us. Thankfully it was not too hot and not a hint of smell. Unique in every way, (except for the crowds and tourist rip off restaurants etc) we were really glad we made the effort to visit.
Two nights later we headed north to get the mountain air again. Straight up and up over a scenic route snaking its way through Cortina D’Ampezzo into the heart of the Dolomite mountain range. Awesome peaks and gorgeous valleys. The limestone geology giving a very different feel from the Swiss Alps. The peaks like teeth, the valleys lush.
Our chosen site was amazingly located beside a lake in a steep gorge . But unfortunately, heaven it was not. As soon a we pitched it became
apparent that the site was undergoing major redevelopment and hardcore lorries arrived every 10 minutes all day and the next, delivering huge piles of rubble and soil. The dust was everywhere. To add insult to injury the workers then decided to use a small pile driver to put in tree trunk size fence posts all round the back of our van! The noise was indescribable. I went to complain but was told by the wife of the owner “why don’t you go out then!” No apology or anything. I had to badger her a bit to tell me when it would stop. But she eventually conceded it would go on till 6pm ( it had started at 7 am!) . Needless to say we quickly moved to a much more peaceful site down the road ( if not so scenic). We will linger in the Dolomites for a few more days.
We intend to move to the Salzburg area next although we have dipped a toe into Austria already. Literally!!!.
We did a stunning walk the other day along a mountain ridge where the path followed the Italy/Austrian Border for a
mile or so. At times one leg was in each country ! We had a beer in an Austrian Refuge at 2400m high and wandered back to Italy for our tea. It confused our mobile phones like hell. ( How DO they know where you are???)
Yodeleheehoo...
Donna & Martin.
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