Safe Return Doubtful

Minus 9 overnight, but the van is so easy to heat. Remote control on the heater means that ten minutes before surfacing a quick depression of the button and the edge is taken off getting out of bed.

The weather’s set fair here, with the middle of the day getting up into double figures, which is encouraging me to hang around for a couple of days more than I had planned. I was headed to Vosges, but temperatures there at the moment aren’t getting above zero all day. My original plan was to spend three or four days there, but I’ll keep that to one or two now.

An easier day on foot today, though was still keen to take in some viewpoints. After finishing my book, about 10:30 am, Roja and I did a circuit of the village, Meride, then headed up to a viewpoint at 750 metres. We were out for about 90 minutes.

I had forgotten how efficient the Swiss are at managing their trails. They are manicured to an extent that they are almost no longer wild. You get the feeling that if a rock, or a tree branch, is out of place, within the day a ranger will appear to correct it.

Then it was a quick stop at the Co-Op. Though more expensive, I’d say by about 25%, than their neighbouring countries, the supermarkets here are luxurious. I do enjoy using the Rosti that’s commonly sold in packets, and livening it up with some stir-fry veg.

We didn’t drive far, just around the city of Lugano, then up to the peninsula of land that juts out into the lake. There’s a village with the name of Carona, and a kilometre or so out of it, parking for a sports club and a park, at an altitude of just under 700 metres.

There’s four games of rugby to watch, one after the other, but just before dark, I took a wander to get familiar with the area. We will take a longer walk tomorrow.