I can hardly believe that we are now three quarters through the camps. So much planning and then suddenly it is nearly over. Lots of hard work but well combined with incredible excursions and lovely hours spent with close friends.
With just one real weekend per camp we really use this wonderful opportunity to explore, some further afield in Italy and a half of us closer to home, enjoying this truly special Engadine valley.
With fine weather forecast for Friday evening, most of those remaining at the camp headed off to the picturesque Stazersee, tucked in to the mountains and forests by St Moritz and Pontresina. After several failed attempts at barbecues over the past years, fire ban once, thunderstorms and lightning another, we were lucky and had a really fantastic evening there, with good food, fine company and spectacular scenery!
Too many cooks perhaps! No, it was fine and we enjoyed a delicious feast. We had a lot of vegetarians amongst us, so it looked and was extremely healthy and colourful. Of course, with a setting like this, it doesn't really matter anyway.
As the sun started to sink below the peaks, it was time for the cyclists to depart. What a shame to have to leave such a paradise!
Four of us went by train and walked up to the lake, and luckily we could savour a few more minutes there, admiring the sunset over the lake, where just a few hours before we had had such a refreshing swim. The temperature was perfect both in and out of the water. It is rare to spend an entire evening at the Stazersee without warm clothes. Marvelous.
Even the walk back to the station was fun and then we sat on the balcony at the school chatting till 11 pm when the forecasted thunderstorms came just a bit too close for comfort! Great timing.
Saturday was just brilliant. It is always a joy to spend the day with Dennis and today was no exception, especially as we were both trying a walk up the Val Minor to Lej Minor for the first time.
Of course, the Bernina Pass with its breathtaking views of Morteratsch are nothing new for us, but still just as captivating as they were 12 years ago!
Sadly, we were both convinced that the glacier had receeded quite a bit since last year.
Val Minor is an incredible v- shaped valley circling the Piz Lagalp ski area, just half way up the Bernina Pass. It was a relatively gentle climb up to Lej, lake Minor, and a couple of other smaller tarns. It was a spectacular walk with the steep sides of the valley descending to a small stream. We loved it because unlike many other walks in the area, there are few signs of civilisation apart from at the start. You get the feeling of wilderness and freedom, just like in NZ, and there were really very few people on the track. Surrounded by alpine flowers, particularly silver thistles at this point, it was really a fantastic experience.
Whether looking up the valley, as in the photo above, or looking down the valley, it was all breathtakingly beautiful.
Throughout the hike, we knew we were being watched! I occasionally spotted a marmot up in the hills, standing outside his burrow, whistling an alarm to the others! It is so frustrating to know they are there, but too shy to come out.
After a couple of hours climb, we reached our destination, Lej Minor. It was fabulous with its treeless slopes covered in alpine flowers, marmot burrows and lichen covered stones.
I love the grasses and these particularly pretty fluffy plants. Help! I don't know their name?
The path continues around Piz Lagalp to the top of the Bernina Pass, but as we needed to be back at Zuoz to pick up Guto, we decided to return the same route. Thanks Dennis for adding colour to this shot of Lej Minor. We had such a wonderful time there.
What magical landscape! I can't wait to go back next year despite being totally exhausted by the time we got down to the road.
The brilliant day was not yet over! The temperature was perfect for us to have dinner on the balcony of Chesa Arpiglia, our Zuoz home. I cannot understand why it has taken me twelve years to do this. I so enjoyed cooking a red curry in the little kitchen, and to be honest, you could never find a restaurant with a more spectacular view! It was also incredibly quiet because the 120 children were all inside doing a quiz😀
It was super to share this moment with Dennis and Guto, then later with all the team who had stayed here. Linguistically it was incredible - German, English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. For most of us, heaven on earth!
As the almost full moon rose over the hills on the far side of the valley, we enjoyed the company of Germans, swiss French, Brazilian, Kiwi and Welsh. Once again we only moved inside as the clouds opened.
With poor weather forecast for Sunday, we were thrilled to wake to blue skies, with clouds in the valley, such a common, yet magnificent sight in the mornings. Breakfast outside started off perfectly, but the forecasted rain and thunderstorm approached more quickly than anticipated and we ended up having a wonderful breakfast with our huge sun umbrella protecting us from the rain. It was quite surreal really.
After a couple of hours in St Moritz, once more sheltering under sun umbrellas from the rain, listening to a fantastic jazz quartet from Prague, we set off up the Bernina Pass. How different it looked today cloaked in low cloud, the glaciers virtually hidden! It was still really beautiful though, especially the descent towards Italy - really mystical. Fortunately as we turned off on to the narrow winding road to Livigno, the weather started to clear and we were really able to appreciate this amazing valley.
In all these years, I have never been to Livigno, prefering to enjoy the lovely Engadine Valley. Most of my team has been there and I got the picture of a crowded resort, packed with duty free shops and restaurants. The centre of it certainly is like this, but where we had lunch was still very pretty, with some very attractive older wooden homes, with themost incredibly colourful window boxes. How do they manage to produce such lush- looking flowers?
We didn't go to any bars, but this one caught my eye 😀
Now back on the balcony. Temperatures have dropped about 15 degrees, but it is still really pleasant here, watching the clouds enveloping the forest clad hills and the valley. As Dennis says, it has a hint of tropical rainforests about it, apart from the temperature!
What a wonderful place to work and enjoy.
Back to reality now and a busy week ahead.
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