Overcoming the pain

Joan has not shamed me into writing this blog entry! I have had a sore left index finger for the last few days but after running warm water over it for a couple of minutes it feels better and I can now contribute to our blog. I think I overdid it with the little paddle spoon they give you in Italy to eat your gelato!! There is pain associated with getting the very last speck of the delicious delicacy!!

Joan’s description of Cinque Terre was accurate and I would only add that it is absolutely indescribably beautiful. A very rugged coast line, deep azure blue water, very steep terrain and dotted with succulents you commonly see in Arizona. The trail is manageable but was apparently very dangerous in the days before the safety rails. My photos don’t do this piece of paradise justice.

The race down the steps was kind of funny but at the time I wasn’t laughing. When at last we all got on the train with seconds to spare none of us had a dry spot on us. The sweat was pouring off. The ambient temperature was 85 degrees, matched by the humidity at the same dreadful rate! A darn shame that we all lost ten pounds in the run!! (Leanne only lost nine!) The look back at these towns as you walk the trail is a must and each ten yards you walk you get another unique angle of the beauty of these communities.

As Joan mentioned Linda and I drove to the Splugenpass and beyond yesterday. This is a road I have wanted to drive for years! It is one of the most remarkable engineering feats in the world. What probably started out as an animal path centuries ago has been improved by man to a drivable short cut between the Lake Como area and Switzerland. Now, of course, other roads have been built in somewhat near areas that antiquated this road. None the less this forgotten passage has been well maintained for the locals, the bicyclist enthusiasts, the mountain goats and the crazies like me!! Going north on the Italian side you pass through and over some very green and luscious mountain country and some charming towns. One in particular, Chiavenna, is an Italian Alps village town with a very ancient history. Thankfully little towns like this were never bombed during WW2 and have maintained their past blended in well with their present. Once past Chiavenna is when the fun begins. There is an altitude change of about 5000 ft to the Pass. What a ride! Hairpin after hairpin where you need to pay close attention to the oncoming traffic, the edge of the road, the clutch, the brakes, the side mirrors, your speed and the car in front of you while all at the same time enjoying the view!! Linda and I stopped a few times to gawk at the scenery and to admire the towns below that started to look like small toy houses from far above. As we got higher and higher the tree line came and went and now we felt like we were driving across the moon with the very rugged rocky terrain. Very beautiful and very mean looking. As we looked off in the distance you could still see remnants of man made roads seemingly leading to nowhere! At last as we neared the top and the temperature plunged from a balmy 75 degrees at Bellano we noticed that our car was indicating an outside temp of about 45 degrees a mere 40 miles from the lake. Our selection of shorts and t-shirts for the trip made us look silly! With the heater warming us we crested the summit and gazed down on the piece of road that I have been wanting to traverse forever. From the accompanying pictures you might recognize this road from car commercials made over the years. I’m sure the car companies were touting their braking systems!! I felt that the engineering wasn’t quite as spectacular as the Italian side but the view was second to none. After taking our pictures we started down slowly and just enjoyed the whole experience. The road you see is about three miles long and a blast to drive. It is entirely in Switzerland by a few kilometers. Just keep your foot on the brake and down you go. What was remarkable were the bicyclists coming up in there lowest gear and just dying. Tough, tough people. We admired them and were so happy we were in the car. We were soon to the bottom and drove to the Swiss town of Splugen in the rain, turned around and started back. Still a lot of cyclists heading towards the toughest three miles in the world. God bless ‘em! Still being very careful we retraced our miles and saw all the scenery we missed. With a lot of brake pad now gone we arrived safely back in Chiavenna, had a gelato and walked a couple of miles around town and shared our thoughts of the drive. Both of us agreed it was a first and perhaps some day we would do it again. When we got back to Bellano I quickly reviewed the pictures on the computer and while enjoying them realized right away they did not do justice to what the human eye observes.

Got to go now as the pain in my finger is starting to flare up again.