Lake Garda Thursday 23 May 2013

A long day today to the Dolomites.

We are away at 08:30 on what promises to be a hot sunny day for both us and the nine people staying behind.

I join the motorway north coming off at Egna Ora and onto the SS48 or as it is better known The Grand Dolomiti Strasse!

Immediately we begin to climb and within minutes are very high up and looking down on the motorway we have just left.

I have booked a hotel, the Tenz hotel outside the village of Montagne, for a coffee stop. The hotel sits high above the valley with a lovely terrace overlooking the same valley. We are quickly served coffee and for those hungry ones, apple strudel, and all at a cost of €2 for each.

It is just nice sitting on the terrace, in the sun, admiring the view.

It really is a glorious day as we leave here and head towards our destination the Passo Pordoi, 2239m (7345ft) above sea level or for the brave going higher by cable car 2950m (9735ft)!

Our journey takes us via Predazzo, Moena and Canazei before the ascent by 28 hairpin bends to Passo Pordoi.

I always like coming here especially after ski-ing over the car park a few years ago!

There is still snow about and of the nineteen people here fifteen are coming up in the cable car. Sadly we can’t get a group rate as we need twenty so everyone has to pay individually (€15.00) but the views will be worth every penny. I also go up as it is not always possible to have the views we shall have this morning, sometimes you arrive here and the top is shrouded in cloud making then cable car a worthless trip. It is very worthwhile today. The cable car is an old fashioned large car that holds 65 people though I think that would be a bit of a squeeze! Not so many in today, just our few and a couple of others so you can move about for views in every direction.

At the top it is stunning with a lot of snow and fantastic  vistas across the mountain tops. There is a little restaurant at the top where I enjoy a bowl of lasagne before going down.

It is a touch warmer at the bottom!

We are away from here at 13:45 to drive down the 28 bends and I take a different route home via the Lago de Carezza to Bolzano and the motorway south.

I have to drive over another smaller pass with more hairpin bends that is not as spectacular as the Pordoi Pass but is still extremely pretty.

We stop at Lake Carezza which is a beautiful place where the backdrop of snow capped mountains reflect in the clear waters of the lake.

The last time I was here there were a few wooden huts selling their goods and a winding track down to the lake. Not anymore!

There is now a brand new building with a couple of shops and cafes as well as decent toilets and mostly constructed out of wood that makes music!

There is also dedicated parking making it a much improved place to stop. It is also very quiet today with us being the only coach here.

The drive back to the motorway is through more pretty scenery though very different from the rest of the day. We descend into a gorge with steep rocks and a fast flowing river either side of the road.

It is normally a bit tricky around Bolzano but a new tunnel has been built which takes me straight to the motorway, saving a good few minutes.

As we drive south back to Riva we are passed on the other side of the motorway by a lot of the cycling teams who are competing in the Giro D’Italia which must be close by today.

I want to fill the bus up with fuel to save me a job later as tomorrow is my day off driving. I pull into a service area but there are so many lorries about that I end up in the car forecourt which is not a lot of good to me!

The next, and last, service area is closer to our exit and as I pull off the motorway there is more confusion with lorries all over the place. I end up on the commercial pump but wish I hadn’t as it costs €510.00 to fill up!

As soon as I rejoin the motorway we start to queue which is a real pain as we are only a couple of miles from our exit at Rovereto. We must lose about 20 minutes here although it seems a lot longer and it’s a relief to pull off the motorway. The tolls are on the other side of the road so we have to drive all the way over the motorway, pay our dues, and then drive all the way back for the road to Riva. The first part of the road is fast dual carriageway through a new tunnel which bypasses the town of Mori, the scene of hold ups in the past.

Today as the road goes down to one lane we join another queue and end up queuing all the way to Torbole, just outside Riva. This is a real pain as we arrive back at the hotel at 19:15, over an hour later than planned.

It is also raining very heavily by the time we return.

I learn later that the Giro D’Italia started in Mori earlier today and the traffic queue is probably the spectators making their way home.

I am going to go out for a meal tonight so am not in any rush so can take my time getting ready and my plan is to walk into town and have dinner in a restaurant close to the harbour.

After about five minutes walking it is obvious I won’t make the town as it starts to rain very heavily again with lots of thunder and lightning so I end up having a beer and pizza in a close by restaurant. Very good it was too.