Unfortunately, the blog doesn't allow videos, so you have to imagine the sound of cow bells. With all of the cows in the valley (altitude 1,750 meters), one is assured of fresh milk, butter, and cheese.
La Balma...perhaps you could say "La Calma".
The dairy farmer milks some of the cows on the Main Street
Our visit to Veglia (Parco Naturale dell'Alpe Veglia) was the first one since 2000, when we accompanied Giovanni & M. Giovanna on their honeymoon (along with my niece, Julia, and other friends). Their summer cabin is in the settlement called Cornu; and next to their house is another dairy farmer, Signor Zanola.
Here's the view from a guest bedroom at 6:00 am. That's Mt. Leone (altitude 3,553 meters, or 11,657 feet)
There are a dozen or more hiking destinations in Veglia. We did two hikes that are considered to be relatively easy...about 3-4 hours round trip, with an elevation increase of about 600 meters or 1970 feet; up to about 7,500 feet. The views are spectacular; but since the trail is very narrow and rough (no park rangers here to smooth out the trail) one must carefully assess each step; so at least for Virginia and I, the going was slow.
Our hike to Lago d'Avino was rewarded with a view of a beautiful lake at the foot of Mt. Leone. We stopped for lunch at the lake (altitude around 2,200 meters, or 7,200 feet). During lunch on a rock above Lago d'Avino, Giovanni told me about the 20 km. rail line, in the Sempione (Semplon) tunnel from Italy to Switzerland (from Varzo to Brig). The tunnel runs right under the place we stopped to have lunch at the lake. That is, 2,000 meters below our location. The rail line starts and ends at an altitude of about 625 meters...and was built from about 1898 to 1905.
Lago d'Avino & Monte Leone
Giovanni has hiked these mountains since he was giovane (young), and he knows the trails like any Piemontese knows his or her Barolo, Barbera, or Dolcetto.
The intrepid hikers: M. Giovanna, Giovanni, Virginia, David, and Oliviero (photo by James, not shown).
On our last day in Veglia, we didn't hike, but we enjoyed the beautiful day with one of Giovanni's cousins and other friends that have nearby cabins. Both Giovanni and Virginia were wearing giallo (yellow) sweaters; that was enough of a reason to snap this photo.
Giovanni and Virginia wearing maglioni gialli
Giovanni, Oliviero and his friend from North Carolina, James, and Virginia
Alas, after the last 4-5 days in Veglia on our month long trip, we took the special low-gear 4WD SUV down the mountain to Domodossola, where we caught a bus to Malpensa/Milano airport. From Milano we had a United Airlines connecting flight
from Munich to Washington/Dulles. But we had a bonus experience: our flight trajectory was at a far north latitude, and we flew over Iceland and the southern tip of Greenland.
Iceland from 35,000 feet
FINE
