Lake Como June 16

                                                          June 16                                Trip to Date

Miles Walked                                       13.6                                            398.4

Feet Climbed                                        980                                           42,200

Song of the Day:  Cripple Creek Ferry by Neil Young

Hey, hey

Cripple Creek ferry

Butting through

the overhanging trees

Make way

for the Cripple Creek ferry

The waters going down

it's a mighty tight squeeze.

When we left the hotel this morning, it was overcast, with rain in the forecast.  So, we brought our rain ponchos just in case.  We ended up being fortunate, as it didn't actually start raining until 4:30 when most of our hiking was completed.  By the way, the weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny and warm.  That would be a welcome relief.  

After taking the ferry to Menaggio on the western shores of Lake Como, we headed south for a hike along the lake shore and inland through the lower mountains.  The great thing about this hike is that the views are spectacular no matter which way you look.  After completing our hike, we took another ferry from Lenno to Bellaggio.  Bellaggio is a beautiful, upscale town on the shores of Lake Como.  Lake Como is shaped like an upside down Y.  It is said that that it is shaped like a headless body, with Belaggio representing the crotch!  Here is a map of Como:

Tomorrow, we are hiking up the eastern side of the lake, from Varenna to Bellano and Dervio.  Should be a great hike, with a fair amount of climb.  As we are flying back to the USA on Thursday afternoon, tomorrow is our last serious day of hiking.  So, we hope to go out with a bang.

Here are some shots from the day.  First, from the ferry across the lake this morning, with Varenna in the background:

This one from the lakeside trail, with Bellagio in the background:

Here are a couple from the inland trails:

We also visited a place called the Villa del Balbianello today.  This is a fantastic lakeside villa that has been donated to the country.  Apparently it has been used in many movies including Casino Royale and Star Wars Episode II.  These photos really don't do service to how beautiful this place is:

Here is a shot of us as we are pulling into Bellagio on the ferry:

Last but not least....We have had some great meals on this trip.  But one of the interesting and at times boring parts of Italy is that they only have Italian restaurants here.  This year, I have seen a few sushi joints, but that's pretty much it.  As much as I love Italian food, it's also good to have a little variety from time to time.  On the menu of the restaurant in Bellagio was a "panini di wurst con croti."....don't you love that title?!  Basically it's a hot dog with sour kraut!  And it was really good!!  Two hot dogs on a bun with kraut and mustard.  A true feast.  But of, course, for my first course, I had lasagna (can't stray too far) then the double hot dog for my main course!!

After finishing our meal in Bellagio, we took yet another ferry from Bellagio back to Veranna and called it a day.