At 9:15am we left Feriolo and headed north up the motorway. When we reached Gravellona Toce we found ourselves in a wide valley with impressive steep sides and very soon the valley narrowed and we were seeing snow covered caps on the mountains ahead. Rodney wriggled, settled back and enjoyed the drive up to Domodossola. We were in the mood for mountains and definitely for some less humid air, because at 11am it was already 31°C. So we chose to take a 74 kilometre diversion for a picnic, up near the top of the Valle Antigorio. We followed the signs at Domodossola which said it would be 37kms to Formazza. Half a kilometre up the road, it said it would be 25kms to Formazza (a very big reduction in such a short distance) and a further 2 kms up the road it said it would be 36kms to Formazza. Yep, we were confused, very confused.
The road took us past endless waterfalls and through lots of villages with whacky names like Emo, Crodo, Premia, Foppiano and Passo, to name but a few. They were all appearing to be more Alpine in style and we got quite excited when we saw the first cows with huge resonant bells around their necks. Love an alpine cow with a big bell. Just past Foppiano, the road went in to a 3.1 km tunnel that definitely did at least one complete spiral as it climbed uphill. It was one long turn to the right and apparently it generously cuts out eight hairpin bends on the old road. The amazing thing is that the road is a dead end, it doesn’t go anywhere, apart from about through eight more tiny villages, before ending just short of the border with Switzerland. When you’re not in the tunnel, it really is a beautiful drive, the only thing spoiling the views are the quarries that pop up here and there and sadly leave quite a scar on the mountain sides.
Just past Canza, there are some good hairpin bends and then suddenly you have the most amazing view of the Cascata del Toce, a stunningly beautiful waterfall. We drove up to the car park above the falls and breathed in the beautiful clear air, it was still hot, but so much more comfortable. We ate lunch there in a meadow amongst buttercups, clover and forget-me-nots whilst looking up at the hanging valley above us. I think we could have stayed up there all day.
On the way back down, we pulled over and walked as far as we could towards the base of the beautiful waterfall and then continued driving back down to Pontetto, where we turned east up the Valle Vigezzo. The road was fine as far as the village of Re, but then as we neared the Swiss border, on a hairpin bend, it turned into a twisting, turning, crazy road that was only single lane in many places. When we crossed into Switzerland (no passports needed) it didn’t improve much and to add to the fun of it there were plenty of roadworks. Some sections of the road were literally on a balcony hanging over sheer drops to the valley floor and there were a number of bridges over incredibly high gorges. At certain points we couldn’t see the rivers below us, they were so far down underneath the road and all around us the mountains were covered in thick green forests. Rodney kept saying “you’ll have a lot to write about today”, but I just can’t think how to describe it all in detail…
We had heard that driving through Locarno can be a bit of a nightmare and it was getting close to rush hour, but to our great relief, the road suddenly whisked us in to yet another tunnel which continued for 5.5 kms, with not many cars down there, and we popped out at the far end of Locarno. It may have been a pretty city, but we’ll never know! We headed south towards Lugano and at 5:45pm and with the temperatures back at 34°C, we got our first glimpse of Lago di Lugano. Following the signs to the Italian border we hit a bit of a traffic jam; was everyone trying to leave Switzerland today? A traffic jam and 34°C is not a good mix when you don’t have air conditioning. We crossed the bridge back in to Italy at Ponte Tresa (still no passports required) and pulled up at Camping International on the banks of the lake.
A pleasant surprise awaited us there. Attached to the campsite was a Japanese restaurant and so we left the fish in the fridge and strolled over for dinner, in the air-conditioned restaurant, for a wonderful feast. After dinner we wandered around to Ponte Tresa to find a cash machine and considered crossing the bridge on foot, just to say we had been in and out of Switzerland again today, but decided that one visit was enough for the day.
On Wednesday morning we drove over the bridge back in to Switzerland and up to Lugano. We fancied spending the morning in the city and walking along the lake promenade, but after an extensive drive around, we could not find any parking for Eileen and feeling like we had now seen most of the promenade and a large part of the city, we decided to continue on along Lake Lugano and cross back in to Italy.
The road finally left the lake at Porlezza and crossed over the hill down to Lago di Como. As we came down the hairpin bends towards Menaggio we could see across to Bellagio and the campsite where we had stayed a week ago. I had hoped to see a bit of Menaggio and perhaps get some photos back toward Bellagio, but the view disappeared as we got sucked down another tunnel, followed by a series of tunnels and suddenly we were halfway up that section of Lago di Como. We think Italians don’t like building new roads through their towns and villages, upsetting householders, etc.; they just tunnel underneath it all!
We checked in to Camping Magic Lake and discovered a little gem. It’s nicely laid out, the shower block and all the amenities are really good, and through the lakeside gate they’ve created a little garden and a small beach. The heat and humidity had continued to climb all day long and at 3pm a massive storm came through the valley behind the campsite. All of a sudden the wind gusted about and everyone started strapping things down and tightening guide ropes. No rain fell, not a drop, but the temperatures did fall, for a brief period, although by 5pm it was hot and sticky again.
We had considered just one night there, but while sitting outside the bar, we decided to stay longer. The Bacardi was again a triple and by the time I finished it, I couldn’t remember if I was in Switzerland or Italy……..but I didn’t really care…….
Thankfully, we both managed to sleep fairly well, despite the temperature in Eileen never dropping below 30°C and we woke up to the sound of big blobs of rain falling all around us. It soon stopped, but then just as we finished breakfast, the storms started to rumble again. Waves of storms then continued all day, on and off, and the valley behind kept disappearing and then reappearing while the temperature and humidity climbed and climbed. After our favourite easy lunch of tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella with salt, oil and balsamic we pulled the bikes off the back of Eileen and set off north along the lakeside to Gravedona. On route we stopped at the wonderful Santa Maria del Tiglio Baptistery and spent a while gazing at the beautiful frescoes in the church and cooled down in the ancient crypt.
We pulled up at a gelateria on the waterfront and sat looking out at the stormy views up and down Lago di Como. After cycling back to the campsite, we continued on south to the village of Dongo, where Mussolini was captured by partisans in 1945. And all the time we kept an eye on the clouds and listened to the thunder rolling around the mountains. Back at the campsite a few drops of rain fell, but it still didn’t amount to anything, thank goodness. And tomorrow we’ll finally leave Northern Italy and head off to the Swiss mountains where it will probably be cold and wet……
