I didn’t have any real plans today but hiking was definitely not part of the plans I didn’t have. So what did I do…?
I started the day with the funicular to the top of Monte San Salvatore and I bought a return ticket because my expectation was that I would come back down again. Which I guess I did, just not using the funicular and by heading in the opposite direction.
Monte San Salvatore stands at 912 m (a.s.l.) and offers great views of Lugano and Lake Ceresio as a whole. After taking in the views from several of the panoramic viewing platforms, I decided to follow one of the hiking trails a little way into the woods and thus began my 2h30 descent to the lake.
The trail begins with difficult terrain in that you have to pay attention to where you are putting your feet the whole time. There are big steps down (as long as my legs!) and lots of tree roots and rocks and other natural features actively trying to trip you up. Which I don’t need as I am fully capable of tripping and falling on a flat, even surface! But it was fun which is why I kept going.
The first village I reached was Ciona and there I had the choice of carrying on or catching a bus back down to Lugano (going back up the trail didn’t seem like a good option). I chose to carry on and I’m so glad I did.
The next part of the trail was a lovely wander through the woods. Plenty of shade and I was mostly on my own, apart from small creatures rustling in the undergrowth. Just to keep you on your toes, the end of the trail was an incline but that brought me to my next port-of-call Carona – a beautiful little village with an abundance of restaurants. I had a good poke around (and ice cream) and then decided to carry on.
The final part of the hike was tough because they have created steps using rocks and so the terrain was very uneven and covered with loose stones. It meant that I had to return to paying a lot of attention to where I was putting my feet but I made it to the bottom unscathed and arrived in Melide.
Melide is home to SwissMiniatur and, although that is one of my favorite things, it wasn’t in my plans today, plus I was due a sit down. So I checked the boat schedule to see if there was a boat I could catch back to Lugano. There wasn’t so I caught a boat in the opposite direction instead. As you do. Well, at least you do if you’re me!
I had time for a little wander round Morcote (which has won the prize for “the most beautiful village in Switzerland”) before hopping back on a boat, this time heading in the right direction. So I traveled from Paradiso back to Paradiso by means of funicular, my own two feet and two separate boats. I spend enough time in the sun for my freckles to reappear (quite late this year because of the weather we’ve been having) and had a lovely, lovely day!
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