The cows come back at exactly the right time. It’s actually 7am when the farmer returns in his old banger and the cows have perfectly timed their slow walk and are ready there at the bottom / right next to us. That’s what cows do.
The night has been so quiet with no cars, no motorbikes and no sound save for one moment when the dog in the barn was spooked by something but that didn’t last long.
Clouds came in so we had the advantage of some overnight warmth but the disadvantage of no early morning view.
We really enjoyed it and didn’t want to leave I don’t suppose we would have done except we needed to do some food shopping. We could have managed another 24hours but decided not to.
Still, we held out till the end of the morning. It was so nice up there.
Finally we headed downhill and past the possible Park4night spot which was nothing like as attractive as our Refugio.
The temperature steadily increased and by the time we got to Lidl it was in the mid twenties.
Here I had to do some Landy checks and the car park was perfect. The clunk we wasn’t cured by the new hub bearings (that definitely needed to be done) but instead had come from a mudflap that is slowly breaking, as it does its job of flapping (thanks Dawn). I’m afraid rubber is not the quality it used to be.
As we left Lidl we found that we were diverted along a smaller road and we saw why. To quote from AI,
During the severe weather events of August 2026, a violent flash flow carrying heavy mud, boulders, and debris swept down from the Val Rabbia. It spilled directly onto the SS42, impacting traffic flows through the region
It was a shocking sight, unfortunately we weren’t ready with the camera. It was such a jumble of huge rocks and massive mounds of pebbles above the height of the cars and trucks, that we were driving past wondering just what we were looking at. Maybe a dozen excavators were working at the side of the mounds or on the top. The debris was spread along the road for several hundred metres with the twisted road barriers tangled up in it.
The tracker didn’t know quite what to make of it and took the easy option.
The road passed through many tunnels, one was over 5,000m and several around 1,500 to 2,000. It’s a quick way to get through mountains.
Then we saw Lago d’Iseo and headed to the chosen campsite where the sign on the gate showed Full.
Not to be deterred, we drive in, full of confidence after our welcome at the Refugio. This site is highly organised and most people seem to book. We were given a spot for one night with an option for two more if we were willing to move. Well that’s not a problem and assuring the office that we are happy to pay the premium for the spare pitch which is directly in front of the lake, we then drive to it and walk to the others, to find that tomorrow’s pitch is even better. Result.
So we are here. The weather is warm but the clouds look foreboding and the various apps warn of impending doom.
The lake water is accessible directly from the campsite at various points. It’s a perfect temperature for swimming and there are plenty of buoys. It’s a beautiful, accessible lakeside.
True enough the storms sweep in. At 1am there’s distant lightning but a weird wind suddenly blows and it gets so strong and we have no idea for how long it will last, that I make the instant decision to drop the roof. Of course it’s raining now which isn’t a surprise and we sit with the roof down and all sorts happening outside, including the toilet block near us getting flooded.
After an hour the wind drops and the roof goes up. We enjoy bed until about 5am when a manageable thunderstorm hits us. The lightning strobes as it can only do in these intense continental storms and the thunder gets louder and shakes the Landy. Fortunately the rain comes straight down. So we lie listening, hiding ears in the pillows and let it run.
We enjoy the lake as the water is accessible directly from the campsite at various points. It’s a great temperature and there are several buoys that we can use as swimming markers.
The restaurant has the biggest parasol in the world which we first saw erected and couldn’t see how it could be lowered but it can.
Above the restaurant, on that hill behind, there’s a chapel and a fantastic view back down to here and the lake of course.
So we swim and we walk around the town and up the hill and chat to neighbours. It’s all very nice, Italian and increasingly sunny and warm.
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