Today we took the Tarlenta gondola and the Peio 3000 cable car up to 3000 metres. Unfortunately, the cloud was down so we couldn’t see the panoramic views promised on the signs. Nevertheless, we had a lovely walk, and saw some stunning scenery.
As we left the Peio 3000 lift station, we could see the mountains poking through the clouds ahead of us. I love it when the cloud’s swirling around giving tantalising glimpses of what’s behind it.
Behind us, in front of the lift station, there was a thicker wall of white cloud, which didn’t look as though it was moving anywhere.
We considered having a coffee and waiting to see if it cleared but decided that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we set off down the mountain, following a fairly obvious footpath, red and white stripes on the rocks, and the occasional finger post.
A babbling mountain stream accompanied us down the path from the lift station. Apart from the warning cry of a marmot, the water was all we heard for the first hour of our walk. There was nobody around and we had the path to ourselves.
The landscape was rocky and quite barren. However, now all the snow had disappeared, lots of pretty alpine flowers were nestled between the rocks. It’s amazing how they manage to thrive with such a short growing season.
The landscape got greener as we continued down the path and, after a while, we could see Rifugio Doss dei Cembri, which is above the chair lift station of the same name. Then a pretty little lake came into view, with the trees and clouds reflected in its water.
Instead of getting the chair lift, we continued walking, down to the Tarlenta gondola. The path now wound through woods and meadows, and we could see signs of the cows that graze on the hillsides. The only sounds were birds in the trees, and we were pleased to see red squirrels.
By this time, one of my knees was hurting from the constant and often steep and rocky descent… over 1000 metres in 8 kilometres. Therefore, I was happy to reach Rifugio Scoiattolo, where we had a beer and a pudding before taking the gondola down to Peio Fonti. As we arrived back in the town, it started raining. We’d timed the walk perfectly!
Before returning to the campsite, we had lunch… pizza for me and venison tagliatelle for John, washed down with a carafe of red wine. Now I felt like a snooze! Time to return to the campsite ☺️
Ramblings 
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