Kind of sad to leave the campground – it’s so beautiful here looking out over Lago Orta.  We followed slightly slower roads generally west then northwest until we reached Saint Vincent which is just off the highway.  We know we’re on the right road at the moment as we see decorations for the race.

We stopped at a cafe for some cappuccino and to check tomorrow’s route from here again to make sure we take the correct small mountain road to camp on.  We met an older Dutch fellow who’s travelling alone in a campervan and is going to the finish of the stage but we’re planning on being near the top of the second climb.

Saint Vincent seems to be a popular place to go hiking from.  There is a large map in front of the cafe that shows miles and miles of hiking trails in the area.

We found the right road and it winds up and up the side of the mountain, going thru beautiful alpine villages and past lovely open fields.  We passed a couple of spots that would have been good to camp at but they were taken already. We had almost reached the top of the climb when we saw a place that had two cars – we guessed they were hikers as there are tons of hiking trails around here.  

We drove a bit further then, as we were going downhill towards Torgnon decided to turn around and go back to the spot we’d passed.  

It was a lovely place – the air is really fresh and it’s very peaceful.  You can see a structure just below us and there is a trail to it so I took Mo for a little walk.  It almost looks like a church, with paintings on one side but I’m not really sure what it is. The door is very sturdy and is locked – it’s definitely not a hiker’s refuge.

Another campervan pulled in to join us – three friends from the Netherlands.

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