Day 25 - It's Quite Hilly Round Here

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

I pick up my croissant and bread from the camp shop when it opens at 8am. The cheese I bought yesterday Is great, gritty like the best cheddar and similar in taste.

I am away by 9am for a day riding in the mountains. I ride up the Umbrail Trail once more but don't bother with the Stelvio summit. There are too many bikes, cycles and tourist cars already.

Like a ribbon that has drifted down

So I ride down the Western approach almost into Bormio stopping at the waterfall cafe half way down for a coffee and to take a few photos. The road below looks like a ribbon that has drifted down in the wind and draped itself over the rugged slopes.

 

Waterfall on the descent down to Bormio

 Before Bormio I turn right onto the Livigno road. I am looking for a side turn up to a mountain lake that I have seen on my map. There is a village marked on the map in the gap between two lakes but the satnav doesn't have it so I am riding using the small scale map.

I find a sign to the first lake and follow a tiny road into the mountains. It end at a gravelled parking area and only a rough track continues the climb up the hill. I'm not going to try that one so I backtrack down. I try a few other unsigned roads but eventually give up trying to find the road that is clearly marked on my map and instead head back for the main road to Livigno.

 It is a good fast road that climbs over two passes, Passo Foscagno tops out at 2,291m and Passo Eira is (2,208 metres high before dropping down into Livigno.

I stop at the cafe at the Eira summit for an excellent plate of tagliatelle with hare ragu, and fresh orange juice.

Hare ragu at the Eira summit

Livigno is a strange place. It is a little tax-free enclave in Northern Italy right on the Swiss border. It reminds me of a Wild West town, with wooden Swiss-chalet style buildings spread haphazardly along a broad flat valley and huge signs advertising duty-free perfume, whisky, wine and cigarettes.

And it really is very cheap. I pick up a litre of Bushmills Blackbush Irish whiskey, triple distilled and a particular favourite of mine, for €15.60 and a bottle of Chianti Classico Ruffino for tonight that would be thirty of your good English pounds anywhere back home.

 

Cheapest fuel in europe?

Petrol is €0.91 so I tank up before returning through the short and nasty tunnel from Livigno into Swizerland. On the Swiss side it has a €12 toll for bikes and even more for cars. Presumably this is to deter Swiss citizenry from popping over the border to tank up on cheap Italian fuel and duty-frees.

It is a short run from there over the Passo del Fuorn aka Ofenpass, and down the Mustair Valley to Santa Maria. The east side of this pass is magnificent, fast but with deceptively tightening corners. I must be getting tired because I really screw up on a couple of these, so suitably chastened I cruise very gently down the rest of the pass.

The cafe at the Ofenpass summit

When I return to the campsite I meet a new neighbour, just arrived. The Swiss family Bucher consists of Roman, Rita and their two boys Henry and Florin.
Roman is a biker, currently has an old Yamaha 500 single. We converse in bad English and German and are able to understand each other easily.

Around the campfire

In the evening I am invited to their fire. Roman recommends the area in the Jura mountains of south west a Switzerland and the adjacent French area as a good area for bike touring. He especially recommends his favourite campsite at Salignelegier. I will have to give it a try one of these days.

Later I sit round Phillip's fire and we watch his team Young Boys of Bern live-streaming on his iPad. It is a Champions League qualifier and eventually Young Boys beat Shaktar on penalties much to the delight of my new-found friends. 

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