I started the Easter holiday with dear friends who in response to my mounting indecision about where and what to do told me, "We don't plan our holidays anymore." Well, if you can relax in the midst of uncertainty and trust that all will work out (even when it's Easter and EVERYONE else is also going where you want to go) then I too would recommend this approach. For after setting out with no clear plan of where and what you will do, it is extremely satisfying to have found the place/experience you were looking for even though you didn't know where to start looking!
Commit to a Destination
So after some attempts at planning which only left me wallowing in indecision, I committed to go explore Lake Como. I'd never been there before and quick internet searches had only left me with a few names of some hotels that still had rooms available for the night at a decent price. I set my navigation app to one of these hotels and started driving.
Unexpected Success
The car radio informed me that there was a 2hr traffic jam to get through the Gotthard Tunnel (a one lane affair expected to accommodate far too many northerners seeking the sunny south for their Easter holiday), but my navigator showed only a 30min traffic jam. How could that be? Curious I continued onward. And indeed Google Maps sent me on a side road (the old thru road) which gave me occasional glimpses of a jam-packed-hardly-moving highway. Why wasn't everyone taking the same route as me? I really don't know, but I was glad they weren't! The road dropped me out on the highway close to the traffic light controlling entrance to the tunnel and I enjoyed a leisurely 30 minute crawl up to the tunnel and then a slow but thankfully steady drive through it. Thank you smart phone and Google Maps! However, while driving through the tunnel I didn't really enjoy the sudden announcements on my radio to stay tuned to that station in case emergency tunnel information was broadcasted and I was happy not to press my luck in avoiding traffic jams on the return journey a few days later by going over the Maloja Pass instead.
The car radio informed me that there was a 2hr traffic jam to get through the Gotthard Tunnel (a one lane affair expected to accommodate far too many northerners seeking the sunny south for their Easter holiday), but my navigator showed only a 30min traffic jam. How could that be? Curious I continued onward. And indeed Google Maps sent me on a side road (the old thru road) which gave me occasional glimpses of a jam-packed-hardly-moving highway. Why wasn't everyone taking the same route as me? I really don't know, but I was glad they weren't! The road dropped me out on the highway close to the traffic light controlling entrance to the tunnel and I enjoyed a leisurely 30 minute crawl up to the tunnel and then a slow but thankfully steady drive through it. Thank you smart phone and Google Maps! However, while driving through the tunnel I didn't really enjoy the sudden announcements on my radio to stay tuned to that station in case emergency tunnel information was broadcasted and I was happy not to press my luck in avoiding traffic jams on the return journey a few days later by going over the Maloja Pass instead.
Getting a Lay of the Land
(aka What's here? Where am I most interested in exploring? Where can I sleep cheaply?)
I made it to Lake Como in time for a late lunch and ice cream in sunny bustling Menaggio after circling the town twice to find parking. Patience and persistence paid off but already I wasn't enjoying the high volume of visitors.
(aka What's here? Where am I most interested in exploring? Where can I sleep cheaply?)
I made it to Lake Como in time for a late lunch and ice cream in sunny bustling Menaggio after circling the town twice to find parking. Patience and persistence paid off but already I wasn't enjoying the high volume of visitors.
Then I continued north along a very narrow road with too many impatient drivers. Finally I reached the hotel I'd set my navigation to. While it had had 3 available rooms that morning, this was no longer the case. I wasn't alone in last minute bookings! Luckily the hotel next door, Del Mera (Via Dascio 11, 22010 Sorico) did have a lovely room for an even better price. I got settled into my room and then in anticipation of several pasta/pizza meals to come, took my "empty the refrigerator" vegetables out to the beach to enjoy a picnic salad dinner. And I was all alone. Again I didn't understand why everyone was hanging out in the overcrowded towns further south when as far as I could tell, I'd found the best view, but I was glad they were!
I wonder who got to eat this Easter treat waiting in the hotel bar?
Communication Adventures
Unfortunately at breakfast when I inquired if I could stay another night I learned they were already booked (as was the next door hotel). Another 10min on booking.com and I'd found a reasonable room on the other side of the lake for one night. So at least I knew where I needed to end up that evening. Why had I waited until morning to figure this all out? Well the folks running the hotel the evening before hadn't spoken any English or German and hardly any French whereas the woman running breakfast did.
Unfortunately at breakfast when I inquired if I could stay another night I learned they were already booked (as was the next door hotel). Another 10min on booking.com and I'd found a reasonable room on the other side of the lake for one night. So at least I knew where I needed to end up that evening. Why had I waited until morning to figure this all out? Well the folks running the hotel the evening before hadn't spoken any English or German and hardly any French whereas the woman running breakfast did.
Exploring
I then set out to explore the nearby nature preserve. The reserve wasn't well signed and it was an adventure just to find the trail but luckily no one seemed bothered by my driving up and down their private roads. I saw a few birds but the highlight was this frog hanging out on a reed. Seemed a rather brazen spot to take a snooze and he wasn't even bothered by me pushing a bit through the reeds to get closer to him. Must have decided it was such a good spot he wasn't going to leave, regardless. Or he too knew not to be bothered by curious/lost tourists.
I then set out to explore the nearby nature preserve. The reserve wasn't well signed and it was an adventure just to find the trail but luckily no one seemed bothered by my driving up and down their private roads. I saw a few birds but the highlight was this frog hanging out on a reed. Seemed a rather brazen spot to take a snooze and he wasn't even bothered by me pushing a bit through the reeds to get closer to him. Must have decided it was such a good spot he wasn't going to leave, regardless. Or he too knew not to be bothered by curious/lost tourists.
And those mountains kept beckoning me. So I returned to my car and headed north. Could I find a hiking trail leading up into them?
Observing Details and Interacting with Strangers
Yes I could! And I convinced one of the many scouts hanging out in the parking lot next to the trail head that she did speak English well enough to describe the trail to me. Sounded good, so that night I called and found space at the hut La Locanda for the next two nights.
While walking around Novate Mezzola (the town that appeared to be closest to the mountains) in search of the trail head, I saw a woman encouraging her pet tortoise to eat a pile of lettuce and watched people bring bottles to fill up at the free water dispenser which provided either still or sparkling water. More fun communication challenges ensued when I tried to find a public toilet though I didn't have to resort to charades luckily. And I wondered about the yellow ribbons decorating all of the yard fences - preparation for Easter?
More Fun Interactions with Strangers and Good Food
Finding the hotel I stayed at the 2nd night, El Doorado (Dorio, Via Piave 26) involved some interesting turning maneuvers and apologetic smiles toward the "locals" who observed my confusion and consternation about where and how to park with good humor.
So if the stones are to keep the tiles from blowing away, what keeps the stones from blowing away?
The hotel consisted of a few lovely rooms above a comfortable bar. The friendly owners spoke English and were happy to give me tips including sending me down the road to La Taverna del Castello for a delicious dinner. Unfortunately though the walking instructions got a bit muddled in translation and I ended up walking more than I'd have preferred on the busy road which has cross walks but no shoulder or sidewalks for the most part.
At breakfast I was gifted with a traditional Easter cake, mini chocolate egg, and Happy Easter cheek kiss.
Been There, Done That
(aka A Bit of Doing What the Tourists Do with a Splash of Public Transportation Thrown into the Mix)
Based on the hotel owners' suggestions I spent the morning exploring Bellano and Varenna along with many other tourists, including a family from school that I happened to meet there. The highlight was taking the train from Bellano to Varenna to avoid having to park there (another insiders tip from the hotel owners). That the tickets had to be bought in the bar that was downstairs in the train station, that they had to be validated before entering the train, and that the women who told the elderly woman and I who were waiting for the train that there was a change of tracks had made a wrong assumption about where we wanted to go were all facts not immediately apparent which made the entire process an adventure.
I opted out of paying 4 euros to see a waterfall coming out of the cliff (the main tourist attraction in Bellano) as we have those here in Switzerland too. But I did take a picture of the narrow alleys in Varenna.
A common sight - wisteria covered walls.
A rare moment of little traffic.
Alley.
A moment of moderate traffic.
My favorite stand at the lakeside market in Bellano.
Physical Exertion and a Sense of Achievement
It was a relief to leave the crowded towns and return to my car to drive back to Novate Mezzola where I discovered a completely full parking lot at the trail head. Luckily there was one more "space" along the road leading to the parking lot that I squeezed into. And then began the 2 hour hike up many steps to the village of Codera.
Looking back down at Lake Como.
Ah ha!
There's Codera (not the other village I saw).
There are a lot of rocks up on that roof!
A small level spot with only stairs on either side of it. What's in the bushes to the right?
This! I really don't know how they used this to build steps. And if not steps, what did they use it for?
More Fun Interactions with Strangers and Good Food
The Locando rifugio was run by a wonderfully warm man, who was happy to practice English, and his wife (who I wished I could have spoken Italian with). He told me that he had first come to the valley as a 13 year old scout and upon returning home had told his mother he was going to live in the valley. It took him many years to make that a reality but he'd eventually had the opportunity to buy the rifugio which sits at the entrance to the village and is thus a social hub for the inhabitants of not just that village but the villages further up the valley as well. Their extended family, including two sons who spoke excellent English were visiting for the Easter weekend, which gave the evening meal an even greater feeling of familiarity and camaraderie than usual for hut meals. I learned about the history of the valley as a route for cigarette smugglers from Switzerland (buying cigarettes and other products in Switzerland and selling them in Italy) in the late 1800s and its importance for the Italian Scouts as the place where they and other groups had met to organize resistance efforts against the Fascists. The water I was told, was provided free for the valley inhabitants by the power company that had dammed the river running through the valley. The young woman I shared a room with bought me a minty pine tree tasting digestive after the amazing dinner of chestnut pasta with a cream sage walnut sauce (chestnuts are a staple in this area), polenta with young goat (typical Easter meal) and chestnut cake - alongside pitchers of wine. I noticed though that the family members did not take part in the 3 course meal but instead had a variety of smaller dishes in addition to the pasta, including salad for the two women. Good to know that the amounts I was being fed was not a typical meal!
Woman washing clothes in the communal washing tub.
Forgot to ask what these decorations were from (seen at several houses).
Where time is self determined (see wooden clock hanging on wall).
Easter decorations and birch log flower planters.
View from La Locanda
Helicopter taxi landing pad just below here helps keep this village inhabited.
View from La Locanda
Intimate Moments with Nature
The next day I hiked two hours to the end of the valley (Rifugio Brasca) for a delicious gnocchi and cake lunch. I couldn't choose one of the four cake options so got to have a little piece of all four. A place I'd like to visit again!
Unfortunately the hike from here (Rifugio Brasca) over the mountains to Switzerland requires advanced mountaineering skills or at least not being afraid of heights.
Along the way I stopped for a rest and became engrossed in watching the ants crawling around on the sapling next to me. There were aphids on the sapling as well and I thought the ants were there to eat them but as far as I could tell the ants were just feeling them and wandering around. So what were the ants doing there? Then out of the corner of my eye I sensed a movement. When I looked I saw a little brown weasel disappearing into the rock pile. I stood up and waited. Sure enough after a bit it returned, venturing as close as 6 feet, standing up on its hind feet and giving me a thorough looking/smelling before scampering away back into the brush. I was so enthralled with its curiosity, I forgot to take out my phone for a picture. Later on the hike I came across a resting butterfly that seemed to want to land on me. And that night after returning from dinner at the other rifugio in Codera, I came across a scorpion. According to my rifugio host, these scorpions' stings hurt but are not dangerous. Finally, Tuesday when I hiked down in the misty rain I came across a spotted salamander just as I expected. It was perfect salamander weather but I hope it had the good sense to stay off the trail.
Variation
The misty weather provided new views for the hike back down.
Humor
As I watched the village empty of most of its inhabitants Monday night, I wondered how my car was faring down in the parking lot where it would surely stand out once all the other cars were gone. Oops! So now you know when you see an odd paving job - just maybe someone was parked in the way.
Well, I wasn't the last one down but they were all parked IN the parking lot.
Gathering Souvenirs
I made it a mission to find and buy chestnut pasta before crossing the border and faced some obstacles along the way including incredibly offensive olfactory input in two small specialty cheese/butchery shops and a misleading supermarket sign that led me into a huge Asian import clothing warehouse. But I was successful in the end!
And there were some pretty views along the way to the border too.
Back in Switzerland - view down over the Julier Pass
(it looked different in October when I last was here!) 
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