When I woke up in the hospice at the summit of the col, it was 6 o'clock. The dorm was empty. All 7 others had already left. I try to get up early as well, but there are limits. At 7h15, there was a gathering in the underground crypt. I love to be part of these special moments. Afterwards, it was time for breakfast. There I met Elise, a nice French girl who was doing a road trip of one week in her renault clio. When a lady tried to open a window, a gust of wind entered the room. Two extra people had to help to close the window again. That's when I realised that the weather had dramatically changed. Outside, rain was pooring down. It was only 4 degrees and there were wind gusts up to 120km/h. When I finished breakfast, I met the two French ladies from last night. They tried to get down, but came back because it was too dangerous. What to do? Most people decided to take the bus. Some people went to the church to pray for better weather. I thought it was a better idea to check the weather online. It looked like there was going to be a gap in the weather around noon when it would calm down for a couple of hours. So no bus for me. I had a look at the museum and around 10h30, I went outside. At that moment, the wind was gone and the sun came through. But black clouds were still around and I could hear thunder. I decided to start walking to the other side of the lake. That's when I met a couple of the famous St Bernard dogs. Some still live on the col in summer especially for tourists. Earlier, they were bred here and used for rescue operations. The most famous one is Barry. They claim he saved up to a 100 lives. Half way round the lake, I passed the Italian border. On the Italian side of the col, there is a big hotel-restaurant and the huge statue of St Bernard. I went to have a look on the steep descent and it looked like a long way down. At that moment, thunder became louder and it started dripping. Time to look for shelter. I ordered a hot chocolat in the bar of the hotel. What happened next even surprised the locals. A massive hail storm started. Some hails balls were as tick as marbles. Cars got damaged and people who came in too late got lots of bruises. After the first storm, a second one hit 20min later with even more hail. The souvenir chalets around the lake closed for the rest of the day. It cleared around 13h. It might have been a crazy idea, but I thought this was my moment. I went outside and started getting down. The path was covered in slippery hail balls. It was madness. In certain places, the hail balls were ankle deep. One wrong step could mean disaster but I made good progress. Lower, the hail had melted but then the flood water caused problems. The path was flooded in numerous places. After the first buildings, the path becomes wider and less steep. In a meanwhile, I was very hungry but I didn't want to stop. I knew bad weather was closing in again very fast. On the exposed slopes, I really didn't want to get caught in a new storm. In two hours, I made it down to the first village of Saint-Rhémy. It's not more than one narrow street with old stone buildings, but it's beautiful. It would be a perfect for a movie. There was a bench in front of the church and there I could finally sit down for lunch. I've got an amazing lunch from the hospice with bread, cheese, sausage and even chocolat. A dutch couple with a child walked past and realised that their hotel for the night was not in this village. Oops, mistake of the gps. After 15min, it started dripping and in a matter of seconds, a new thunderstorm broke loose. This time without hail, but with lots of water. I was so happy that I had made it down on time. The church was open, so I had the perfect shelter. As soon as the rain stopped, I moved on. It was already 16h30. From here, I made my way further down on a nice path walking from hamlet to hamlet. Snails were everywhere. In Saint-Leonard, an old man insisted on putting the first Italian stamp in my passport. Sadly, his stamp was as old as him and didn't work properly. But it was a nice moment. In Saint-Oyen, I could see a new thunderstorm arriving. The sky was so packed with clouds that it looked like it was getting dark already. Etroubles is the bigger town. They do everything to make pilgrims stop. Even the pharmacy offers a stamp. The church was open but it was completely dark inside. I moved on because my room for the night was in the next village 2km further: Echevennoz. Sadly, it started raining and now I could only continue. My original plan was to put up my tent on a campsite in Etroubles, but that would be madness. The coming night, they even warned for tornados. So I had booked a room in old cosy guesthouse. It was already a resting place in the 12th century. The girl at reception looked like she saw a ghost when I entered. Soaking wet and tired, I didn't make the best first impression. But she was amazed when she found out where I came from. The sommelier of the restaurant even escorted me to my room. There, I took a shower, made some food and crashed on the bed. Outside, hell broke loose one more time. What an insane weather, but also what an epic day. Tomorrow, it would stay dry, how cool is that. Then I will make my way to the city of Aosta.
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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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