This morning, I woke up in France and tonight, I will go to bed in Switzerland. When I opened my eyes in the hostel in Chatel, the first thing I heard was the sound of the river next to the hostel. It had been really quiet in the dorm. Most people staying here are mountainbikers and they don't get up as early as pilgrims. I was the first one to go down for breakfast around 8h. A buffet breakfast, basic but still what a luxury. It is only Sunday once a week. Outside it started raining heavily. When I left the dorm at 10h, some people where still sleeping. Luckily, the rain cleared. I was only outside for 1min before the first horse fly started attacking me. Who invented these bugs? My body is covered in bites. But that's part of the outdoor life. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. On my way! And up the hill it went straight away. The rewards were beautiful views over the Chatel valley. The town is literally surrounded by high mountains. Here everybody seems to be into sport. You have to be. You almost need to be an athlete to walk your dog. From here, there are several hiking routes into Switzerland. The route over to Torgon is pretty exposed and tricky when thunderstorms are around. So I choose to go via the Morgins pass. Reaching l'Aity en bas was pretty easy. L'Aity en haut was something else. I had to climb a ski slope which must be black. What a climb! During these efforts, I found out that I sometimes talk to my body. Body: stop sweating, I have nothing left. Me: sorry bro, can't help it. At the top, the views made it all worthwhile. Afterwards, the path went up and down high above Chatel. I crossed a family with two children. The boy and girl were definitely younger than 10 years old. They made it up here and they didn't even sweat or complain. Waw, mountain kids are something else. The weather was really nice, some clouds, around 20 degrees. No physical complaints either. Oh except for the horse flies, did I mention these already? After a short steep descent, I arrived at lake Morgins. A beautiful place which marks the French-Swiss border. At the horizon, high peaks with eternal snow. Some families were enjoying a Sunday picnic. It is impossible not to see you are in Switzerland. Suddenly, everything is extremely well maintained and extremely expensive. The sound of cow bells fills the valley. A broad track took me into Morgins, another beautiful town surrounded by mountains. I bought some food in a supermarket with the name Volg and took a siesta on the main square. There was not much going on. The girl in a little summer bar didn't sell anything while I was there and looked very bored. But the square looked amazing with nice benches, flowers, water fountains and even some music. In 1944, Morgins was not so lucky. Two bombs that had to be dropped on Montriond were accidently dropped here. Time to go again and up it went again. If somebody ever tells you that you can do a flat walk in the Alps, don't believe it! Before I knew it, the church was deep underneath me. Later, the path became less steep and ran high above the valley towards Troistorrents. Sometimes, I went through thick woods. Sometimes through open grassland with grazing cows. That means there are fences and gates to open and close. The Swiss make very ingenious ones and it took me some time to figure out how they work. The views got more and more spectacular. Sadly, clouds made it impossible to see the highest peaks. You can't have it all. The majestic Dents du Midi stayed mostly hidden. There was a bar/restaurant where the path hit the road. I thought about having a drink, but I felt a bit underdressed. Parking my backpack between a tesla and an audi Q5 would also have been weird. On top of that, my bed for the night was only 1km away. Uphill or what did you think. Chalet Chanso is stunning. This chalet was constructed more than 150 years ago but entirely renovated in 2013. Downstairs is a restaurant, upstairs 4 guestrooms. Located at an altitude of 1550m, the views from the chalet over dents du midi are stunning. On arrival, I took a shower and went straight back outside. My eyes couldn't get enough of so much natural beauty. When I got cold, I went back inside to cook in my room. The restaurant was a bit too expensive for this pilgrim. Around sunset, I went back outside one more time. The only thing I could hear were birds and a loud Dutch family. Then it was time for bed. If all goes well, I will reach Aigle tomorrow and then I will be officially on the Via Francigena!
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AuthorMy name is Dimitri and I'm turning 40 in 2023. Through the years, I have tried to live my dreams. Everything is possible, the sky is the limit as long as you believe in your dreams and work hard to make them happen. Do what you never did before. Go where you have never been before. It will be scary, but it will also be worth it! Archives
July 2024
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