Gene's favorite photos

How strong are these wooden cross beams?

Old foundation for a long lost building

You talking to me?

Looking for gold

A long way down

Really good Italian engineering

Don't sit in the back seat!

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.

Cinque Terre and Spluga Pass

As I mentioned last week, things are winding down. Gene has been promising to do a posting for at least a week. Perhaps I can shame him into finally getting it done. He usually writes when he gets angry about something but things have been pretty peaceful so he is lacking inspiration. So don't hold your breath waiting for his input, although he does get angry when the gelato person does not fill his cup to his specifications.

Pat and Leanne arrived last Tuesday and stayed overnight. We had a great dinner at Sottovento in Lierna and walked into Bellano and environs Wednesday morning, 4 miles in all. They left for the Cinque Terre late Wednesday afternoon. We decided to join them and the Browners on Friday to hike between some of the 5 villages. It was a 300K drive which took about 3 hours. We met everyone at the train station in La Spezia and took the train to Riomaggiore. We then did the first walk to Manarola. We continued on to Corniglia, a longer walk of about 45 minutes. Along the way Leanne got a splinter in her finger from the wooden fence and I was able to pull out my new Swiss Army Knife(purchased in Zermatt) and help with minor surgery on the path. When you arrive in Corniglia there are 400 steps up to the village. It's not a bad climb though as the steps are easy to walk on. It's just long. After much debate we decided to take the train to Vernassa after lunch. We finished lunch, checked the schedule for the next train which was in about 11 minutes and decided we could make it. We ran down the 400 steps and the street to the train. I barely made the train. I had been nursing a gimpy left knee for the last 2 weeks or so. All the steps we had been taking in Bellano and the hill towns were taking a toll on my poor knee. I was fine the rest of that day. We walked around Vernassa, had a gelato and decided we were ready for the 300K ride home. We took the train back to La Spezia, found our car and headed home. Gene and I both retired early that night. The next morning I could barely walk on my left knee. It was quite swollen and very sore. Linda, who is a personal trainer, arrived that day and told me it would help to get in the pool and get it moving, so that is what I have been doing. I'm moving somewhat better now but it is still painful and I think my hiking is over for this trip. Luckily we leave Italy on Tuesday.

On Monday Gene and Linda(I stayed behind) drove the Spluga Pass between Italy and Switzerland and also visited Chiavenna. They did some hiking but mostly just enjoyed the drive. Gene loves twisty mountain roads and is always looking for a new one to explore. When Gene does his post he will include his favorite photos from the Spluga Pass excursion.

Linda is heading for Mallorca on Thursday morning and Gene and I will be getting ready for our departure from Villa Wally on Saturday morning. We are then driving to Radda in Chianti for 2 nights and then back to Milano to catch our flight home on Tuesday AM.