I left Courmayeur at 9:30 yesterday morning on a very fine bus - large, clean, huge windows, seat belts, friendly driver - heading for Aosta. Riding down the Vallee d'Aosta was beautiful - snow-capped mountains behind us and apple orchards and vineyards in front of us. One hour later we were in Aosta itself and then the real adventure began. I boarded another very fine bus to take me up and over the Grand St Bernard Pass into Switzerland. As we climbed higher and higher the south-facing hillsides were covered with vines, the houses in the valley below began to look like toy houses and the farmers fields resembled very well manicured miniature golf courses. We were very high - almost level with the peaks around us.
Then at last we came to the Grand St Bernard tunnel, which wasn't a tunnel at all really but more like a very long carport - at least for the first few kilometres. This allowed great views of the mountains and the valleys below. The rivers here are white with glacial sediment just as they are in Nepal. They race down the mountainsides at great speed and with great turmoil. The bus ride down to Oriestes was spectacular - what can I say, this is Switzerland!
Since I had a 90 minute wait for my next bus, I decided to walk into the centre of Oriestes for lunch. Now Oriestes is a very small town in the centre of "nowhere" so little did I know that when I sat down on the terrace of a very small restaurant I would be offered delicacies one would only expect to find in Paris or London or New York! But I was - with prices to match!
The bus ride up the valley to La Fouly was lovely. I arrived in mid-afternoon and spent a few hours sitting on the balcony, reading, with a cold beer waiting for my friends to arrive.
What Did I Miss?
Quite a lot! Today's trail crossed the Grand Col Ferret and took the TMB out of Italy into Switzerland along the eastern edge of the Mont Blanc range. It began with a lovely winding trail that descended into the Val Ferret. It later passed through rolling pastureland and beautiful forests. There were more climbs and more great views and (so I heard) glasses of vin rose to be drank at the top of one of the cols! I missed that as well as the sunrise behind the Rifugio Bonatti and the amazing views of the Grand Jurrasses, but my journey over the Grand St Bernard was an adventure it itself so I am not complaining!
Today, Sunday, I took a hair-raising bus ride from Oriestas to Champex-Lac - hair-raising because the road was steep and narrow and the bus seemed to almost veer off the road every time we went around one of the ubiquitous hair-pin bends! We made it though. Champex-Lac is a lovely small town with great views of Mont Combat off to the east.
Then at last we came to the Grand St Bernard tunnel, which wasn't a tunnel at all really but more like a very long carport - at least for the first few kilometres. This allowed great views of the mountains and the valleys below. The rivers here are white with glacial sediment just as they are in Nepal. They race down the mountainsides at great speed and with great turmoil. The bus ride down to Oriestes was spectacular - what can I say, this is Switzerland!
Since I had a 90 minute wait for my next bus, I decided to walk into the centre of Oriestes for lunch. Now Oriestes is a very small town in the centre of "nowhere" so little did I know that when I sat down on the terrace of a very small restaurant I would be offered delicacies one would only expect to find in Paris or London or New York! But I was - with prices to match!
The bus ride up the valley to La Fouly was lovely. I arrived in mid-afternoon and spent a few hours sitting on the balcony, reading, with a cold beer waiting for my friends to arrive.
What Did I Miss?
Quite a lot! Today's trail crossed the Grand Col Ferret and took the TMB out of Italy into Switzerland along the eastern edge of the Mont Blanc range. It began with a lovely winding trail that descended into the Val Ferret. It later passed through rolling pastureland and beautiful forests. There were more climbs and more great views and (so I heard) glasses of vin rose to be drank at the top of one of the cols! I missed that as well as the sunrise behind the Rifugio Bonatti and the amazing views of the Grand Jurrasses, but my journey over the Grand St Bernard was an adventure it itself so I am not complaining!
Today, Sunday, I took a hair-raising bus ride from Oriestas to Champex-Lac - hair-raising because the road was steep and narrow and the bus seemed to almost veer off the road every time we went around one of the ubiquitous hair-pin bends! We made it though. Champex-Lac is a lovely small town with great views of Mont Combat off to the east.
What an adventure you had in last couple of days! Beautifully described. Looking forward to your next post. Our day was pretty ordinary in comparison. Seven of us biked to Old Chelsea where we enjoyed smoothy. Then we biked back. It is a lovely sunny day in Ottawa. Hugs Vera.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your note, Vera. Glad you had a great bike ride to Old Chelsea. Looking forward to joining you when I get back - if my toe allows it!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to have you biking with us soon.
ReplyDeleteI am picking up my new Opus bike next week. I took it for test ride yesterday and liked it very much. Greg Christie will do few mods and install peddles, mirror, bike computer and water bottle holders. Have a great week! Vera.