First, and most important – a very happy birthday to brother Bob – the big six-oh!!

Slept in for once – didn’t get up until 7:40. Sunny and breezy seems to be the norm here. They keep everything very clean and tidy – the shower was great, hot water for 7 minutes with the magic blue bracelet.

Ate breakfast on a picnic table near the fountains/play area. Little black kitty came right up to me but didn’t seem to like the beef packet I had bot at the store. Maybe the kids that came to play spooked him. I’m sure he’ll track me down later.

Got a nice long newsy email from Marge – very nice to hear from her and get caught up a bit on what’s happening back home.

Took a little ride on the seaside road back towards Split. Was just starting up the hill, away from the ‘strip’ by the town beach, when I came upon a bunch of people walking up to the church. I thought – ok, it’s Sunday – not surprising. When I saw the crowd of people outside the church I wondered if maybe there was a wedding happening. I stopped (near a couple of other cyclists that were also wondering what was going on) and waited. There was an official looking church guy and some kids dressed in gowns and holding candles beside a building across from me. Cars kept coming up and down the (very narrow) road. Finally a tall man gestured for the cars to stop coming up, but a jeep proceeds anyway. When the tall fellow waved him to hurry the f-up, he stopped! Church bells were starting to chime which produced more frantic gestures and the jeep finally got the message and continued up and out of the way. The kids were on the move, two by two, and there were a lot of them – probably 30 or 40 in all with another churchy guy at the end. They all filed into the church to the tolling of the bells – very touching, whatever it was for.

Probably got about half-way before the road I was on veered to the highway. I’m going to ask at the office if there’s a road that goes all the way thru so I don’t have to ride on the highway again. Passed what looked like a playing field (soccer pitch?) that had a wall around it. The wall facing the parking lot had a painting of a confederate flag and the words ‘white boys’ in big blue capital letters – don’t know what that’s about.

Views from the road were spectacular, when there weren’t buildings in the way.

Finally got my odometer working again – along with other parts of the bike it got a bit of a s***kicking on the trains and bus. Still haven’t got the front fender snapped back into the little bits that connect it to the actual wheel – might have to ask someone with stronger hands to help me or it’ll be rattling every time I ride and that will irritate me. My bike was beautiful and perfect when I left home and now it seems like a bit of a wreck – oh well, at least it’s getting used a bit!

When I rode past the church on my way back I could hear the kids inside singing – sounded really good – still wonder what it was all about.

Had a nice cup of hot black tea on one of the terraces above my tent site – first one in days.

Put my second ground cover down with my black blanket on top and had lunch outside my tent. Little black kitty came around and I tried to give him some food – he still doesn’t like the beef I got this morning, so tried a chicken (I think) packet – he liked that enough to eat two portions. The ‘tuna’ I got for myself turned out to be kind of a pate – not bad, I guess, but not what I expected – so much for getting the ‘cheap’ one! Fresh tomatoes and a cuke, in addition to multi-grain bread-roll and cheese (from Trieste) rounded out my meal.

Did some laundry – a lady at the sinks shook her head at me when I plugged in my ipad at the electric outlet (meant for hairdryers). I thought she was warning me that it might get stolen, but I think I was wrong. Turns out she was a cleaning lady, and was likely telling me I shouldn’t be powering up my stuff on their dime. I just smiled and continued doing my laundry by hand. She continued doing her cleaning up (actually a good job!) and shooting me black looks from time to time. I guess I’m in trouble if the camp’s electricity police come looking for me, but in the meantime I put up a line by my tent and am air-drying my clean clothes.

Went for a walk around the campground – it’s actually really big. There are probably 10-12 places for tents, but looked like a couple hundred campervan spots, and almost full capacity. Tried out the water – actually quite warm and might have to swim one of these days. Using the solar panel again to power things up – works really well as long as I use the charger in between it and the ipad.

Asked at the restaurant/bar if they could put the Giro on tv – it’s the last day – another individual time trial, but the only two sports channels they have are both showing soccer games.

Little black kitty came around again just as I was finishing my dinner – he had a whole packet of fishy stuff and still wanted more. Didn’t want to make him sick, so just patted him until he purred. Poor little thing – probably the most affection he’s ever gotten.

First selfie ever!!

Very nice evening – breezy but not cold – a bit cloudy but not stormy.

Oh – just found out on cyclingnews.com that Dutchman Tom Dumoulin won!  I’m so happy!  I couldn’t be there, but my fried Colin was – can’t wait to hear what it was like!

Woke early (what’s new) to streaming sunshine. My tent’s under trees, but not all around – I’m totally mixed up about which direction I’m facing – I thought my main tent entrance was facing west, but apparently it’s actually east. Face-timed Dom, even though it was after 10:30 at night in Kelowna, but he answered fairly quickly. I knew he’d want to know I made it here ok and was too tired by the time I got setup last night to let him know where I was.

Checked in just after 8 – you get a blue plastic bracelet with a chip of some sort in it for the showers – you can have 3 a day – guess people swim a lot here. Then went next door to the store, which is actually quite well stocked. Got some whole-grain bread (well – at least multi-grain), a large bottle of water, and a just as large bottle of red wine. Grand total – 26 k (just over $5!).

Came back and moved my tent – was on a bit of a slant, and not enough shade. The view isn’t quite as good, but I can still see water, and a village the hill across from me. Powered up the ipad from my solar panel – works quite well.

The campground is really very nice – lots of gardens, water fountains, bar, restaurant, kids park (lots of kids here). I may stay awhile, despite the highway so close. I checked out a couple of other places online, and they’re at least as close to the road as this one is.

A nice couple (of motorcyclists) next to me heard me trying to pound in my pegs when I moved the tent and came over with a hammer – works a lot better than the bottom of my metal water bottle.

Planning on taking a ride around the area tomorrow – figure the traffic won’t be quite so heavy on a Sunday.

Had a very quiet day – hung around enjoying the weather, but staying out of the sun. There are a few cats about the place – figure they’re probably all strays, as they all look rather small and thin. Heard some hissing and growling outside my tent and saw a couple of them facing off. Shewed the bigger one away and tried to calm the smaller, black one. Went back to the store for more water (and some peanuts in the shell) and got a packet of cat food. Found the little black kitty again and gave it a portion of the food (think it’s fish) and he wolfed it down. After two more portions I decided it was enough for now or he might get sick. Will look for him again and give him more. Poor little things – seem very sweet if only given a bit of attention and a little caring.

It’s a very lovely evening – not quite so hot as it was earlier – ever-present breeze. Face-timed Dom again – had a nice chat. My kitties miss me very much and are extra demanding, of course.

Took a nice walk around and sat on a bench out of the sun. Walked down to a point just above the beach and did some chi gong. Wonderful breeze, sound of wind and water – very relaxing.

Can’t find the little black kitty again, but I’m sure he’ll be back as I still have some food left, and its smells strongly of fish..

Got up fairly early – had a pretty good sleep. Went to shower at 6:30, but apparently no hot water until 8. Did yoga while I waited, and researched campsites near Split.

Had a nice hot shower (well, a mix of almost scalding then barely warm – no in between). Just finished a bit to eat (what I’d brought with me) when Dom face-timed me. Nice to see a friendly face, someone that’s not trying to scam me for something.

Checked out before 10:30 and headed for the bus station – only a few blocks away. Was now told that they couldn’t sell me a ticket until 15 minutes before any bus leaves because they might not have room for my bike. First bus to Split leaves at 1:45 (gets in at 11:50- pm) – I’m to come back around 1:20 or so. If that one doesn’t have room, I will try the 4:15 to Rovinj, which is much closer and gets in around 6 this evening. It’s on the Istrian peninsula, which is supposed to be nice, but can be hilly so might not get to do as much riding around. Sue will be there for 3 days, though, so would likely get a better visit. Failing that bus there’s the 6:15 to Split (that I missed yesterday), getting there at 4 tomorrow morning. I’m going to try my luck on the first one and see what happens.

Sat on a bench in the park across the road from the station – some guys sat next to me that I think were making drug deals. Went to an Arab market/store to get some cheese, buns and water. Had a picnic on a bench in a different park waiting to see if I can get on the 1:45 to Split.

Lots of pigeons and a seagull begging for food – didn’t give them any as bread isn’t good for them (although I don’t think they care about that). Some guy came up to me asking for money for the bus – gave him 1 euro, although he’s likely just another scammer. Maybe the gesture will bring me good luck for my kindness and generosity (ha ha).

Went back to the bus station shortly after 1:00 – a different girl said ‘oh, you don’t have to wait, that bus isn’t even half full – you can get your ticket now. Look for the bus that has AutoTrans on the side – should be in bay 1’. Waited around a short bit, then went to the bus bay. No bus in bay 1, then an AutoTrans bus pulled in and went straight ahead next the the sidewalk marked ‘bus’. Waited a few more minutes – still no bus in bay 1, so walked up to the driver of the AutoTrans bus and asked if he was going to Split – of course he was! Wasn’t sure what he wanted as far as the panniers on the bike, and when I asked a man if he spoke English (to try to translate for us) he said ‘a bit’, and walked away. The driver opened up a new storage thing for me and I took the panniers off – think it irritated him as I heard him say something about ‘blankety-blank tourists’ to another guy. I kind of started to cry and then I think he felt a bit sorry for me. He handed me one of the small panniers and indicated I should take it on the bus and stow it. The bike cost 12 euros extra and each pannier another 2, although all together with the ticket itself is wasn’t really that much. Got on the bus head down and sniffling, got into the first empty seat I could find – 3 rows back.

The drive to the Slovenian. border didn’t take long – I saw a small building with one policeman/guard at it and thought – was that just the border? Apparently it was, as the next thing I saw was a sign in Slovenian.

Very pretty here – kind of like parts of Italy (of course) – hills with lots of trees. The border to Croatia was much different than the last – we stopped and a guy came onboard and collected passports from everyone that wasn’t European – myself and one other couple.

There were two booths in each lane, one right in front of the other. Our passports were taken first to the front booth, where the lady looked at them, in between letting other vehicles thru, then gave them to the guard, who turned around and gave them to the guy in the rear booth. He also looked and looked (and passed other vehicles thru), then stamped each and gave them back to the guard, who again turned around and returned them to the lady in the front booth. She now looked and looked again, stamped each, and finally we got them back. Looked inside mine and saw that the rear booth-guy stamped ‘exited Slovenia’ with the date on page 6 of the passport, while the front-booth lady had stamped ‘entered Croatia’ with the date on page 28 (entering Italy with the date was on page 29). I guess I’m not on any threat lists (at least not yet!).

Continued on the ‘milk run’, bypassing most of the Istrian peninsula, but following the coast very closely and stopping at all towns of any size, plus various places in between. People would go up to the drivers (they had 2 who took turns) and say – I want off in 1 km or something and they would pull over where ever they were asked. Changed to a window seat when one lady got off.

Had a couple of breaks – first one was supposed to be 20 minutes – ended up more like 45, but time to use the WC, change some euros to kunas (about 7.5 kunas per euro = about 5 kunas per C$). Bot a donair – it was so huge I couldn’t believe it, and so was the price – 25 K! Except when I worked it out it was just under $5, so had to laugh.
Terrain now is more like Greece – rocky hills with smaller, scrubbier trees, but still very pretty, with villages every 5 miles or so.

After it got dark and the bus was a little more empty I tried to sleep a bit. Got into Split over an hour early – drivers were impatient to get everyone off so had to really hustle to get my bike and gear out of the bottom compartment. Was just finishing getting it all together when a guy walks up and asks if I need help, or a hotel – surprise, surprise, another scammer. I said no, I was going to ride to a campsite and he did his best to talk me out of it. ‘It’s a really nice place, and cheap – only 40 euros’ – I asked how much money he wanted from me and he looked a bit offended and said ‘no commitment until you see the place, then whatever you think’. I still said no (very politely) and pushed my bike further up the sidewalk to get directions from a cafe to the route I had picked online earlier at the hostel in Trieste – supposed to be 7 km. The girls there said it was over 20 km to the campsite and would take me at least an hour – it must have been around 11:15 pm by then. They did point me in the right direction, and I was just about ready to start riding when the first guy came running up again, trying mightily to make me come with him to see the ‘great hotel, at cheap price’ that only he could show me. When I still refused and insisted that I was going to ride he looked very pissed off and huffed away muttering to the other scammer that was with him. I am so tired of folks like that!!

Rode a bit, asked a guy at a cafe if I was headed for the right road – got more directions. Ended up on the wrong road anyway, but when I stopped another fellow (who spoke very good English) he gave me more clear directions – I was headed the right way, just on a different road. The roads I wanted to take were very small and up and down hills, so ended up taking the highway for a couple of km – nothing is marked that well, so went right past the campsite entrance and had to turn back after asking a very nice lady for help.

Finally arrived at the campground around midnight – some motorcycle folks in leather were just walking out (likely to the bar I had passed) and a campground guy was right there also. The office was closed, but he took my care-card as ID and led me to the tenting area – I can check-in in the morning.

Got my tent setup near the beach using the headlamp of my bike – got settled in just before 1:00 am. Very windy – as I was setting the tent up I had to quickly throw a couple of panniers in it to prevent it from blowing away.

Got up at 5:15 – couldn’t sleep for many reasons – roosters, goose, ducks, but the last thing was the train whizzing by just beyond the campground’s hedge. Had another nice hot shower, and finally did yoga – first time in days, right in front of the lake, nice and peaceful. Mr. goose came over to watch for awhile, but didn’t bother me.

Packed up the tent and got all my stuff ready – when Colin got up made some tea and had a nice breakfast.

Left around 10 to 9 – stopped at a farmicia for more cortisone cream. That stuff is working wonders on the sun-blisters – they’re almost gone and hopefully won’t leave any lasting marks.

Short drive to Brescia, where Colin dropped me off right near the station. Said goodbye (for now) and he left. Hopefully we’ll meet again in France and see a leg or two of the Tour in July.

Asked a couple where the station was (in Italian!) and got my ticket to Trieste – actually two tickets – one for me and one for my bike. Waiting almost 2 hrs for the first train – have to change twice – once in Verona and again in Mestre. Made sure to verify my tickets!

I stood up the whole way from Brescia to Verona holding my bike up in front of the doors – luckily there was only two other stops. Then of course I had only six minutes to change trains in Verona so had to run for the elevator to go under the tracks and over to the next ones. A very kind lady let me go ahead of her (and her baby in a stroller and a toddler) when I told her I had 3 minutes to catch my next train. Could barely fit the bike in the lift but managed to squish it in. Ran like mad and reached the door just after it closed – no amount if pressing the button would make it open. Watched as it pulled out to the sound of my cursing.

Found another train listed in the ‘departures’ board so back to the elevator, down, over, up – right back where I started from. Read the electronic display, and discovered that the track listed on the other board was wrong, so had to hustle again (down-over-up) to yet another track. Finally the right one – train was sitting there. Managed to get my bike up (about a foot and a half) to the area between cars, only to be told that I had to put the bike in the first car of the train (even tho there was no-one on the train). She told me I had time to move, so I lugged the bike down ran to the front car, and was having trouble lifting the bike again. A very nice girl rushed to help me, then the conductor put the bike’s front wheel on a hook for me. Had to take all the bags off, but I get to sit on an upper deck looking down on the bike.

Powered up the ipad, the charger and my keyboard with the train’s plug-ins. Caught the next train to Trieste with a few minutes to spare. Ticket checker came aboard my car just after the second stop – eveything ok this time!

Got to Trieste an hour later than I should have because of the missed second train. Went directly to the ticket office to see about getting to Split, Croatia, only to stand in line with 12 or 13 other folks while the two open wickets assisted two people for over 15 minutes before a third wicket opened. Finally another person came over to the lineup and I kind of butted in and asked if there were any trains to Croatia. He said no, you have to take a bus from the next building – not the info I had looked up online before, but it’s their train service. Pushed the bike next door, and a man in front of the bldg offered to help me. The ticket agent said I’d missed the last bus of the day by a few minutes – thanks to the two boneheads in the train ticket office.

Then the ‘helpful’ man led me around to 3 different hotels – first two were full, third more like a hostel with shared rooms, although no-one else is in mine. The kindly man then proceeded to ask for ten euros for his help! Was too tired to complain so paid him to go away. They agreed to let me keep my bike in the room, rather than locked to a grate in the hall. Looking forward to checking out in the morning and heading to Croatia. Hope I can sleep – traffic is pretty loud.

Got up right at 7 so we could get an early start. Very cold – 2 above. Hit the road down the mountain after a quick up of tea. There are a lot of tunnels in some places – the longest is almost 8 km long, and one of them is so old and narrow there is a traffic light at each end. When we came up on Sunday we waited at a red light for the oncoming traffic to come thru, then got the green. Coming down a yellow was flashing – we waited and waited but it didn’t turn red or green, so we proceeded. Of course we then met severals small cars coming up. They had to back up to a slightly wider place near the bottom end of the tunnel so we could pass – what a system!

The above are Ben and Mo – Colins’s adorable little dogs.

Passed thru Bormio, saw many of the team busses that spent the night at various places along the way. Saw where the start of today’s leg will be in Tirano – glad we left when we did or we might have gotten stuck waiting for the race to go by, as we’re following the same roads all the way to Edolo where we go south and the race goes up thru the Tonale pass that we came over last Sunday.
Stopped in Aprica for tea – there’s going to be a sprint there so they have a banner and everything.

The cafe we we ate seems to have some resident sparrows – they walk right inside. A guy chased them out a couple of times, then fed one some food – they’ll never get rid of them!

Nice drive to Lake Iseo, many more tunnels.

Got to Camping Cavelo early, checked in and had a nice hot shower, followed by large lunch at the bar – right on the lake, too. Watched the Giro most of the afternoon.  After 2 above this morning and all the layers of clothing I had, it’s now 24 above and time for shorts!

Trying to figure out trains from Brescia to Trieste, or even into Croatia – have to make sure I can take my bike, then get onto a nice road or cycle path without too much trouble.

Did some laundry, read on the lakeside as the sun went down – nice quiet evening, swans, goose, ducks (not shy!) and everything.
Watched the sunset – beautiful.

The big day is here! The Queen stage of the whole Giro, and I’m here to see it! Colin’s alarm went off at seven, as usual, but neither of us arose until around 8:30. Both little dogs ended up on my bed after Colin had gotten up from his – guess I’m an honorary auntie now! Had a nice cup of hot tea, ate a (now crunchy) bunwich of camembert with sliced chicken, then headed up to the cafe, and to see what the crowds were like. Riders have been coming up the mountain ever since I got up. It’s another bright sunny day, although the wind is making it a bit colder.

Had another cup of tea in the cafe, caught up on my blog with their free wi-fi, then went back to the campervan. There’s always something to see – some folks are painting something on the road below us, some others are unfolding a very long banner in the snow above and across the road from us – must be for the helicopters. They’ve been erecting the crowd barriers all morning, and have setup the large ‘top of the pass’ banner already. More folks arriving every minute – cyclists, campervans, even large tour busses – don’t know where they’re all going to go.

 

Sat in the sun for a bit and read a very good John Grisham novel Colin had – loading up my charger with the solar panel. Walked back up the hill to the top – could hardly find a path that didn’t have a cyclist either going up, or going down. Used the WC in the cafe, then decided a glass of wine might be nice. Could have sat at a table outside with some other people, or order for myself at the bar, but the lineup was out the door and around the corner, and the servers seemed extremely harried. Walked to the ‘hotel’ side to see what was happening – there was a big buffet and lots of people. I walked thru but there wasn’t really a bar that I could order a glass of wine at – ‘spoke’ with a couple of Italian fellows – indicated that I was looking for vino. One of them pointed to the corner behind them – the bottle is open – there are the glasses. I introduced myself in Italian and told them I was from Canada. One of them said his family name is Wendy – although I’m sure it’s spelled differently. Walked over to where a server was, and asked for some vino rosso – she grabbed a bottle and said it was Chianti and then grabbed a very large glass and proceeded to fill it half-full. I reached for my money belt and asked how much it was – she just shook her head, winked at me, and walked away! I sipped it as I walked around the dining room, left the empty glass on an empty table that hadn’t been cleared yet, and walked out.

The road was so crowded you could hardly move, then we heard the sounds of police bikes/cars coming up from the other side. Where they thought everyone was supposed to go was beyond me – there were people and bicycles everywhere – everyone just glad to have made it to the top of the pass, get a pic taken by the top-of-the-pass sign, or getting ready to descend.

Came back to the campervan – watching the race on satellite tv. It’s a French station, but I can understand certain things. They keep mentioning Stelvio, so even though they’re currently riding up the first mountain of the day, this is obviously the one on everyone’s mind. I even heard the announcers mention Canada a couple of times, and sure enough when they showed the riders in the breakaway there was Michael Woods – a Canadian! Apparently it’s about 5 above here, and the sun is still shining brightly.

Helicopters started to fly over around 1:50 and the motos and officials cars arrived shortly after. It was awesome! The crowds went nuts every time an Italian rider went by. Started my viewing on the snow hill in front of the campervan – got a decent pic of Dumoulin and Nibali without knowing it.

Moved to the straight stretch after the last hairpin just below the summit. Was about to take a pic of a large group coming up when an Oriental girl rushed up to the barrier and leaned way out right in front of my camera lens. I had to say ‘excuse me’ loudly three times before she moved her fat head out of the way.

The sprinters all came by in a group at the end – they got very loud cheers from everyone.

The second the last rider went by the crowd was all over the road again and cyclists were going up and down again, then the place really started clearing out.

Went back to the van and watched the rest of the race on tv. Could see part of the route 3 km below where the race re-joins the road after the sashay into Switzerland, then they go downhill back into Bormio.

Had a bite to eat then headed back up to the cafe to face-time Dom and have a really cheap, but decent glass of wine (wine is cheaper than tea!). Place seems almost deserted after this afternoon, but they’re probably still busier than they’ve been in months.

Got up a little late – didn’t sleep that well, and kept waking up. There was a terrific wind storm at one point, but literally lasted only 5-10 minutes. Had a nice breakfast, then went for a walk up the hill to a closed restaurant that had a bit of a lookout – saw more of the road down the other side of the pass – it’s every bit as bad as the way up this side.

It’s not really a town or even a village here – most of the buildings are combination ski school/hotel/restaurant/bar, and there are still folks going up to ski, although the lifts don’t seem to be operating – guess they’re hiking up.

Lots more campervans in the parking lot – lots more cyclists coming up both sides of the pass, lots of motorcyclists. Even a bunch of Ferraris – at least 7 or 8, and all beautiful, of course.

Had a cup of tea at a cafe – got their wi-fi password so updated my blog and downloaded some pic’s. Went back to the campervan and setup my solar panel to charge my ipad. That didn’t work very well, so I put the charger in between the panel and the ipad and that worked much better.

Saw a couple of the guys go by that had been at Pian di Boccio and ride the ‘scooters’ – they were actually coming up the mountain faster than any of the cyclists.
Just after 5 went back up to the cafe – sat on a cement wall just outside the entrance and accessed their wi-fi to face-time Dom. Said happy birthday to him and had a nice chat – it cut us off once and we couldn’t see each other the whole time, but it was great to hear him. Clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up so we said goodbye.

Got back to the campervan just as a few raindrops started falling – it’s now hailing. Some of the folks on a higher level of the parking lot (there’s 3 or 4 levels) are getting a bit loud – wonder how late they might party. There are a lot of nice folks here from all over – met the Italian lady in the next van to us – she liked that I tried to speak with her in Italian, and she did understand what I said. Everyone thinks it’s great that I came from as far away as Canada to see the race.

And most important of all – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOM – I LOVE YOU!!

Got up early and left 2-Laghi (two lakes) campground just after 9.

Drove to Trento – stocked up on food supplies at Lidl, then headed a bit north before we veered of northwest on our way to Bormio/Stelvio, over the Passo del Tonale.

Very high mountains, but around every curve was another picturesque village perched on the steep mountainside.  Italian drivers are crazy – cars are bad enough but the motorcycles come out on Sundays and they are downright suicidal.  Just as one passes, with the oncoming traffic right there, another three whiz by – just nuts!

Turned north at Tirano towards Bormio. Started to see pink ribbons and other Giro signs along the way, so know they pass by at some point. Continued north past Bormio and onto the Stelvio Pass – the 2nd highest mountain pass in the Alps, with 48 hairpin turns.

Took over 100 pic’s on the way – do I ever love digital! Passed by a couple of possible stopping/camping places, but kept going to the top. Passed by the place where the Giro will veer off at some point into Switzerland, and kept going right to the top. So glad we did!
There’s a really large parking lot that campervans are already setting up, so we picked a spot looking over the valley we came up. Walked up just a bit and were at the top of the Pass. There’s lots of hotels/bars/restaurants here – should be a very festive atmosphere over the next couple of days. Lots of cyclists coming up both side of the climb – can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow, and then of course, on Tuesday with the actual race.

Bright sunshine – you can see south one way into Italy at the top, looking west I’m pretty sure is Switzerland (or not far), and Austria can’t be very far to the north. I feel like I’m on top of the world – we’re above the tree-line and there’s lots of snow still on the ground around us.  We’re going to re-arrange the beds inside so I don’t have to pitch my tent in what might be sub-below temps.

Had a wonderful dinner of pasta (stuffed with spinach) with fresh salad – romaine lettuce, radish, carrot, olives, gorgonzola cheese – like a feast on top of the mountain. Met a guy in a camper next to us – had a ‘D;’ on the licence plate – asked if they were from Denmark, but the D is for ‘Deutchland’. Met another guy and asked if they were from England because they had an ‘E’ – nooo – they’re from Espana/Spain, although they were quick to point out that they were ‘Basque’, not Spanish. The parking lot near the top of the pass that we’re settled in is getting fuller by the hour. The small commercial area at the top of the mountain was crowded with cyclists when we first arrived, but when we returned after dinner it was deserted and everything was closed up.

Expect a lot more people tomorrow – looking forward to a nice warm nite in the campervan – there is 8-10 feet of snow on the sides of the road, and as soon as the sun started to set the wind kicked up – would not be very comfortable in the tent! The elevation here at the top of the pass is over 2700 meters. Every time I opened a plastic bottle the liquid spurted out because of the altitude – the dish soap, my water bottle – just sloshed all over.

 

 

Even tho we’re having a ‘day off’ still got up early. Actually woke at 6 but stayed in my tent until 7. Kind of cloudy day, but had a lot of laundry to do. Colin and I pooled our clothes and used the pay-laundry – 5 euros for wash, 5 for dry – you can drink wine here a lot more cheaply than you can do laundry!

Spent a fairly frustrating morning trying to get proper wi-fi access – finally gave up and went for a bike ride into the town of Terme. Got another batch of cortisone cream for my sun-blisters (which are getting better) and rode around a bit.

It’s a very beautiful place with many cobble-stone streets and lots of magnificent views.

 

Got back to camp, face-timed Dom – many ‘screen freezes’ and had to re-connect several times. Had bot a bit more food in the town (well – a few buns, some cherry tomatoes, and – oh – some red wine). Ate a great dinner of tortellini stuffed with gorgonzola, with veggies of all sorts on the side. Tried to plan our route for tomorrow, and where we might stay the night, then park ourselves the next day in prep for Tuesday’s grand climb. Trying to prepare myself for how chilly it might be.

Got up fairly early after a decent sleep. Mosquitos didn’t bother me in the tent but they’re everywhere outside. Packed up, had a nice breakfast, hit the road around 9:45. Going north to Chioggia, then north/west to Trento or thereabouts. Ravenna is quite a bit further north than I thought – our trip through the Apennines was as much north as it was east from Foligno. Countryside here is so different than Umbria – very flat, with lots of lagoons and marshy-looking bits. Also lots of fields in various states of cultivation. The road we’re on is one lane in each direction, quite narrow and very busy. Lots of large trucks, and small cars (all cars here are small). Bypassed most of Padova, then went north – passed thru Cittadella, which has an old part surrounded by very well preserved walls and gates.

Continued north thru Bassano – can now see large mountains looming in the background. Into the mountains on our way north then west to Trento. Very pretty villages perched on the mountainsides every few miles. Sometimes driving next to the river Brenta.

 

Stopped in Trento and ate lunch in the van, then checked Colin’s camping book for a nice place to stay for a night or two. Chose one back the way we came – about 20 km or so, right on Lake Caldonazzo. It started drizzling rain as we left Trento, by the time we got to the campground it was pouring. Decided we didn’t want to stay there – no satellite access, so picked another campground up in the mountains a bit further. Found the place, but no-one was there – office and bar were open, but no folks to let us thru the gate or check us in. Looked for the next site, but the GPS kept trying to send us the wrong way down one-way streets, so headed to the next potential site. Drove a long way uphill on very narrow windy roads. Ended up at a very isolated campground that was so cold I asked if they had a room inside. Originally was told it would be 19 euros, then when I asked to see the room it was suddenly 35 euros. Decided we didn’t like the place so came down the hill to try the ‘no one home’ place again – still no one home. Continued on back to almost the place we started at near the lake. Drove right onto the campsite, bypassing the office by mistake – no barrier, so picked a spot and settled in. Wasn’t even setup yet when someone comes around the van and started speaking to us in French. Turns out he’s also a Brit living in France and he’d seen Colin’s French license plate, and he also is here following the Giro! When he first started speaking in French and we couldn’t respond in kind it was so funny – he realized pretty quickly that Colin was English.

Reminds me a bit of the area around Hope – very high, steep mountains, although as you drive around and thru the passes there is a village every 5km or so – very pretty.