August 26, 2016 to August 29, 2016
Camping at Cuneo
Cuneo, cuffias and the companionship of the campground.
August 26 Friday
August 27 Saturday
August 28 Sunday
August 29 Monday
Cuneo, cuffias and the companionship of the campground.
Leisurely breakfast, taking advantage of the picnic tables in the central shelter, and the coolness under the trees. Groups of children have made this their headquarters, they roar up on bikes and sprawl on the tables with their phones, or jump between them in the excitement of the latest game. They respond reasonably well to requests for less noise, and this couple are brave enough to engage in some English questions.
Night time revelry and chasing games in the dark are part of the deal.
We spend a few hours chatting to a German, Holger, who arrived on his bike having done a number of the local “cols”. His excellent English allows us to discuss a variety of topics, travel and social, and compare notes on education systems. ( He teaches English, Biology and Chemistry.) We are intrigued by a lilt in his English. He visited Ireland at age 18, loved the country picked up the brogue and returns there regularly. Discussing the influx of refugees into Germany and also their memories of reunification always provides interesting and thoughtful insights. We are a little envious of the fact that he can jump on a train here and be home in Stuttgart in a few hours.
When it is time for a swim, we are disappointed to find the “Cuffias ” that were available to borrow yesterday are not today, so we must hunt down some bathing caps ourselves. Ibercoop is not too far by bike and we buy supplies for the weekend as well as the required headgear, which, matched with a pair of budgie smugglers, would go down well on any Aussie beach.
It is all worthwhile when the pristine pool water has its cooling effect, and we even lounge in the shade. Most of the bronzed adults a soaking up the sun without a care.
We spend some time exploring the town and take a bike ride along the fluviale park as well as one that takes us deeper into the hills. On this trip we find a memorial to 300 Jewish refugees who escaped from France but were apprehended in Italy and returned. Most perished in Auswitz. The memorial takes the form of two rusty railwagons and the names of the refugees in large metal lettering.
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We share experiences with a friendly Berlin couple whose hiking luggage has gone awol when they flew with Blue Air, a Romanian cut price airline. It eventually turned up and was delivered to the campground, though they had already bought another tent. They plan to hike in the Piedmonte Alps which have many interesting trails- they are musicians and they describe themselves as relaxed hikers – since he smokes about 20 roll your owns, a day I hope he has enough puff left.
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From chatting to them and another German couple who had been walking with their 3 children, it sounds like hiking in the Piedmont alps has much to recommend it. We also have an interesting talk about the Syrian refugee situation - one of them works for Caritas and she has some first hand insights.
And so our camping days as exploration of Cuneo pass.
We decide that our final cycle days will be doing what we had often discussed- the coast of Liguria and especially the deluxe path along part of it. We are tempted to try the ‘train de Mervielles’ to Nice but forecasted bad weather means Ventimiglia is a better option. And so we buy our tickets. That night a thunderous storm and bright flashes of lightning accompany a tremendous downpour.
Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 3,341 km (2,075 miles)
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