RING OF ST. GOTTARDO
This year the sultriness is really oppressive and then we have thought to a beautiful trip "out door" that it brought us some coolness and refreshment!
We have taken advantage for spending the night in a beautiful bed and breakfast that we had found for the vacations of last year and also the approach in Switzerland up to Bellinzona it traces the road of the past year; after a pain passage for the lowland vercellese (let's intend us for the warm one!), that have faced for the going and the return the ring of the, St. Gottardo has been really inimitable!
As usual a small description pressing on the run, but I already tell you that not it makes worth, and also the photos don't make majesty of the panorama.
If it happens you do you him because the kms. they are amortized and they are not exaggerated and the places deserve it.
From Bagnolo to Beura and return
240 km.
With 40° to the shade to make the bypass road in Turin and the suspender up to Chivasso has been really a madness! You dress yourself as to go in beach and then of it of the protections and street, salt in motion!
However nothing to be signalled: warm, traffic and monotony of one road that cuts the lowland vercellese in the middle of expanses of corn and of rice, fearless we don't make standstills and up to Gozzano we don't think not even to stop us! finally reached the lake of Orta we relax there an instant and we stop there for a beautiful standstill to take back us from her work of the warm one and the road.
Left again with a lot of calm we take for Gravellona Toce and from here we enter Val of Ossola, reassured for the mountains that come us meeting bringing shade and coolness.
Arrivals to Ornavasso we grant us a small deviation with standstill: time back I had seen of escaped the end of a documentary that spoke of a Sanctuary (for the precision of the Madonna of the Boden) and I had interested me in how much it didn't speak of religion, on the contrary of the magnetic energy produced by the planet, that crossing some lines is crossed in various points one of which it is really the place where the Sanctuary rises.
Which best occasion for a deviation? The place is nice and you from a feeling of great serenity; religion? science? me surely I cannot answer but if it interests you I have found a dwarfish critique of a book, to you the judgment.
Push HERE for the printable version of the map
After the Sanctuary we are still entertained there for visiting a line of the old line of fortification Cadorna that follows all the slant of the valley and anchor today trenches and postings can be seen with old howitzers and mortars.
After these deviations we return on our road and in little time we consume him by now small km, that separates us from Beura.
This is the road apart the deviations that we have made later then two days to reenter.
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Here is the strong piece! a beautiful ring of 340 km.
We depart of good morning and from Domodossola after having done the full one we take the val Vigezzo, the road beautiful and wide salt quickly up to the characteristic country of Saint Maria Greater; we leave luckily here one beautiful part of traffic and we continue toward the pass of Bridge Ribellasca, her road becomes more tightened and tortuous, up to emerge in the narrow canyon of the Swiss Centovalli that quickly you hands in the splendid Locarno.
Trooped in the "loyal" Swiss traffic we continue up to Bellinzona where we turn following the course of the river Ticino on the road cantonale2, the traffic it is almost absent and he proceeds quietly in the town of Biasca where we take the val Leventina.
The valley quickly climbs and The vast lawns leave the place to small alpeggi and game precipices up to the really anxious throat what we find before Airolo, the country from which or they takes the 16,3 kms. of tunnel or him the 1000 meters of gradient that bring you to the pass climbs of St. Gottardo.
Push HERE for the printable version of the map
The road unties him in an endless series of curves that climb on the side of the mountain up to emerge with great amazement in a really beautiful and ample pass, recommends you to visit this page in how much it will give you of the information and explanations on this footstep what I could transcribe only.
After the customary break we take back the march beginning the descent of 10 kms that separates us from the center of Hospental, The curves they are ample and we go down in the middle of splendid bloomed alpeggi; the valley that we take now is ample and solar again up to the center of Realp from where we return to climb in narrow curves, but with amazement we realize that overcome the spur of the mountain the road it returns to be linear and with a long slope of 15 kms. of practically perfect asphalt we reach the few (according to me) valorized I pass Furka and the her 2400m.
After little road in descent we reach the belvedere where we can see to few meters from us the glacier of the Rhone from which the is born respective river from which the lake in Geneva is formed! and of forehead, on the other slope, the sinuous slope and the lake of the Grimselpass; later this splendid sight we start over going down and we reach Gletsch from where we go up again for a splendid road and we reach the stupendous one Grimselpass and his/her many colored little ponds.
We consume a fast lunch dipped in a pleasant breeze and then we reach again Gletsch and in 12 kms. of splendid curves in a rich and fragrant woods we emerge in the vast lawns of the country of Ulrichen from where we divert for the footstep of the Novena.
This footstep is on a secondary manager and therefore the traffic is smaller but not for this the road, that is always well asphalted and taken care of; reached the top with the inevitable little pond we see in front of us the layers of the Horn Gries or of the extreme point of the Piedmont; a panning on the tops that surround us and again down in the afternoon heat of the fund valley.
We try to quickly reach, traffic allowing, the center of he Intrigues from which will climb for the Sempione and therefore Italy, here a note: reached by now 300 kms. I decide to supply thinking me about being next to the border! but it is not so easy: I have found a plant what "magnanimously" accepts the Euro ones but alone eye the banknotes and giving the rest in franchi! imagine you the change!
And' really we say "strange" that a surrounded nation and in the full European zone you don't accept this currency if not behind prayers and smiles! it is opportune to change some money at least for the small expenses and then to submit him to the credit cards at least so the change is correct.
After having "quickly" made the height I climb the Sempione with her long galleries and his/her game bridges thin to reach the top where more possible coolness we take in how much we are by now arrived at the end of this beautiful ring and once you overcome the throats of Gondo and her precipices, we reenter in Italy in the town of Varzo and accordingly in val of Ossola.
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