Day 22 - A Wet Day in the Alps
Sunday 31st July 2016
There's a massive thunderstorm brewing at dawn. Fortunately I'm snuggly atent as the wind howls and raindrops the size of old pennies hammer down onto the canvas outer of the tent. Thunder and lightning go on for ever and the torrential rain threatens to wash away less anchored campers.
Finally in a break in the rain, though not in the thunder, I stumble out and down to the nearby supermarket to score the necessary for breakfast. I eat on the camp site terrace and contemplate the weather. Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere today.
So I book in for a second night and spend a lazy day catching up with blog notes and reading until the storm finally blows over. In the afternoon the sun finally breaks through and the lowering cloud burns away. It is like it never happened except for the steaming tents and the soggy conditions underfoot.
So now I head down to the shoreline at the bottom of the hill and have my first ever swim in an Alpine lake. Now I've stuck my hot feet in alpine streams before and nearly lost them to frostbite but I've seen a few swimmers in this lake. either it is warmer than most lakes or they are extremely hardy folk hereabouts.
As unlikely as it seems Lake Endine is warm. Warmer than the Mediterranean swim I had back on Corsica the other day. Who would have thought it. There are pedalos for hire down here and a few kids splashing around and running the length of the jetty to hurl themselves into the water. It's all rather wonderful.
In the early evening I have a dinner of bread, ham, cheese and eggs and head over to my new friends' lager for another natter and more booze. I take it easy on the booze tonight. I've got to get off and away tomorrow.
There's a massive thunderstorm brewing at dawn. Fortunately I'm snuggly atent as the wind howls and raindrops the size of old pennies hammer down onto the canvas outer of the tent. Thunder and lightning go on for ever and the torrential rain threatens to wash away less anchored campers.
Finally in a break in the rain, though not in the thunder, I stumble out and down to the nearby supermarket to score the necessary for breakfast. I eat on the camp site terrace and contemplate the weather. Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere today.
So I book in for a second night and spend a lazy day catching up with blog notes and reading until the storm finally blows over. In the afternoon the sun finally breaks through and the lowering cloud burns away. It is like it never happened except for the steaming tents and the soggy conditions underfoot.
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| A very wet day on the shores of Lago du Endine |
So now I head down to the shoreline at the bottom of the hill and have my first ever swim in an Alpine lake. Now I've stuck my hot feet in alpine streams before and nearly lost them to frostbite but I've seen a few swimmers in this lake. either it is warmer than most lakes or they are extremely hardy folk hereabouts.
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| Time for a swim |
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| Fun in the lake |
As unlikely as it seems Lake Endine is warm. Warmer than the Mediterranean swim I had back on Corsica the other day. Who would have thought it. There are pedalos for hire down here and a few kids splashing around and running the length of the jetty to hurl themselves into the water. It's all rather wonderful.
In the early evening I have a dinner of bread, ham, cheese and eggs and head over to my new friends' lager for another natter and more booze. I take it easy on the booze tonight. I've got to get off and away tomorrow.
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