Welcome to Switzerland and welcome to the rain. After a more or less rain-free walk for two weeks, and as soon as I enter Switzerland, it rains.
It was a 5 minute walk to the border withe Switzerland. Walking was quicker than driving with a long queue of Italian cars driving into Switzerland, probably for work. The first couple of kilometers we next to the lake on a main road, the cars still backed up. Then a couple more on a smaller roads and paths next to the railway line. The rain continued, not too heavy, but heavy enough to be too much for an umbrella alone. I sheltered under a carport and put my rain trousers and rain cape on, as well as the backpack cover.
I followed a track along the northern edge of the lake and arrived at the airport perimeter, I followed a path the length of the runway, seeing mostly small (private) planes lined up at the airport terminal, but didn’t see any take off or land. I was raining heavily now, so I didn’t even take a picture. After the airport I was tempted to follow a canal instead of the official route, but decided to follow the official route inland, passing through Bioggio, before starting a short climb and a path through a forest, 30-40m above the road below.
Back on the road, I passed through a number of small towns. the rain was letting up, and in Bedano I missed my turn and walked a some way before realising. Luckily it wasn’t too big a detour, but resulted in a fairly steep 200m climb. I visited Santi Maurizio e Blagio, a small church across the road from a large chateau, and an uninhabited house.
It stopped raining, but was very damp, with low lying cloud. Back in the forest, passing Mount Baro, before walking downhill on a small wet path towards the outskirts of more smaller towns – a mix of urban areas and countryside.
The steepest climb of the day came after the village of Vira where I followed a small path up a hill.
At the top there was an open plateau with grazing sheep and a ridge to walk along, and nice views of the valley below.
I continued to walk through a mixture of countryside, forest and the outskirts of small villages. In Soresina I made a “right turn” towards Rivera in the valley below. I passed under the motorway, and as it was sound proofed with a large glass wall, I had to open a door and down some stairs under the motorway.
Rivera is a small station town spread along a main road, with a bare minimum of facilities. The hotel was across from the station. It hadn’t rained since around lunch time, but my socks were wet and shoes surprisingly dry. I showered, took a walk along the main road and had dinner at the hotel. I had cordon bleau, if I had known how big it was, I would certainly have asked for a children’s portion.
It was a pleasant 25km walk with ca. 500m elevation. I would undoubtedly been better in sunshine. Tomorrow another rainy day is forecast.