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Published: April 25th 2016
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Guten Tag – we are still in Switzerland. Well for a few more hours. We paid up. Swiss campsites are notoriously expensive coming in at about 23 euros a night. Wouldn’t want to stay on them for too long. We drove through the mountains seeing more and more waterfalls as the snow was beginning to melt. At the same point as normal the sat nav gave up the ghost . It seems the mountains are too high and closed in and the satellites disappear from view. We have got used to it now as it happens so many times.
On to the achievement that is the Gotthard Tunnel . We drove through the St Gotthard Tunnel. A marvellous achievement . The Mersey Tunnel pales into insignificance. Mile after mile it runs under the mountains. Nothing gets in its way. Traffic lights now keep the traffic moving.
There is a Hindu proverb that I read which mentioned that "Everyone who looks downward becomes impressed with his own greatness but looking upwards he feels his own littleness". That is how you feel in Switzerland. Looking up the mountains soar on forever covered by clouds and obscured from view. Looking on them
you feel small.
As we left our site we passed the military in their camoflage outfits waiting for the local bus. All ages they must be conscripts in Switzerlands military. Something perhaps we should learn from in our country. Perhaps the world would be a better place if everyone had to do military service at some point in their lives.
We crossed the River Ticino. The rivers are all a strange blueish green tinted by some minerals in the rocks. They look like slivers of glass. Our next stop diesel . Never an easy job in Italy. The first service station was confusing as we found ourselves in the parking area with no visible method of getting to the pumps. Not a problem there will be another in a few miles. This one we missed as we got too involved looking for the telepeage to go through. Ever onward we plodded to the next one which again we missed . Finally gratefully we pulled in to the fourth and Suzy got a well earned drink. As we filled a young lad of about 9 came to the front of the van. Smiling and laughing he went
to get his mum. He was delighted to find a van from another country. He waved. I waved back. His mum waved . I waved again and the waving and laughter continued for some miles. One simple thing made me smile and one little boy a happy boy.
The traffic built up around Bergamo. No reason really just some kind of strange thing that bungs up the motorway and clears up as mysteriously as it arrives. More delays around Pescheira. We eventually arrived at Camping Palme at Pacengo. Parked up , took the map and went around the site looking for a suitable parking place. The place was relatively empty due to being the start of the season. We chose plot 130 for no other reason than it was next to a chalet which appeared empty, no-one was next to us and it was close to the lake. On site was a restuarant and a mini market but typically out of the season many of the amenities were closed. The pool was open but even me , a hardy swimmer would not venture in. Eventually like Topsy who grew and grew or Pinochios nose the camp did begin
to fill. Next door the campers in their village cleaned and tidied their mobile summer homes. Folks walked and drove past us and the chalet next door filled up. We headed for the beach where we sat at a bar drinking birra piccolo and aperol spritzers before walking around part of the lake. It is a lovely spot to passiagiata and many others were making the most of the sunny afternoon to do the same as us. We ate a welcome coffee gelato on the way home.
What is there about this life not to love? Italians have a real love of life and it rubs off on us.
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