Day 1

August 4, 2003

Lugano, Switzerland to Colico, Italy

48 Kilometres

On Monday morning we drove back to Martin's studio, and loaded up the bikes. We headed out at 9:00, and it was already getting hot. We rode out of Lugano, and along the lake. There were several short tunnels. We got to the Italian border, but they just waved us through. Now we had to climb a bit. It was scorchingly hot (the signs read 37 degrees), and Ursula doesn't handle heat well. We got into Menaggio, and found the ferry dock. Ursula sat in the shade while I bought groceries. After an hour the ferry arrived to take us across Lake Como. We landed in Varenna, where we stopped to eat. Then we rode along the lake, looking for a bathroom. We found an outdoor market, where we bought some biscotti.

Around 2:00 we got to some campgrounds just south of Colico, and picked one. Then we wanted to ride to the information booth in Colico to get info on campgrounds ahead. The woman at the campground gave us directions, and said it was open all day. We got lost trying to find the place. It was hard trying to distinguish what was a road; they're so narrow. After a second try we got to Colico, but the information place was closed. Ursula sat and waited, while I went for gelato. We got the information, and rode back to the campground, where we went for a swim. It was great to cool off.

That evening we wanted to go to a restaurant for dinner. We walked to one, but it was closed. Another also looked closed. We walked to the Pizzeria on the other side of the campground, but it was also closed. Ursula stopped an old woman on a bike, and an old man pulling a boat trailer, and they directed us to a place called Leone's, in town. We decided to try the other place again first. The guy there said they weren't open on Mondays. I guess none of them were open on Mondays. So we headed up to town. We found a pizzeria, although it wasn't Leone's, and had some great pasta. It was a couple of weeks later, when I looked at the receipt, that I saw that it actually was Leone's, even though the sign had said something else. While we were eating, there was lightning in the distance, but the rain never came our way.


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