Reflections
I woke to the sound of rain. Wonderful!
I checked the tent for leaks and was pleased to note only one breach where a bag had been leaning against the tent wall. It was also cold, which was a shock to the system. I had to dig out my jumper and brave the rain to go have a shower. The rain eased enough for me to have breakfast standing outside and then I went to the café for a real coffee. As I came out of the café, it was once again bucketing down.
The prediction was that it would be like this all day but tomorrow and the rest of the week would be fine weather. So - do I just hole up in a café somewhere and play on the net all day? Do I find a museum or other indoor attraction in town? Do I brave the rain and hope for clearer weather on the other side of a mountain?
I chose a break in the rain and went into town to find the Tourist Office. The lady there told me about a WWI museum - perfect I thought. Well, it's up a mountain. Not only that, it's up the same mountain I came down yesterday. And then it started raining again.
I went to the supermarket and when I came out it was bright blue sky again. Stoopid weather.
I headed up the mountain - the roads were wet but it was not actually raining - until I got to the first stop Cinque Torri. The WWI exhibit is further up the mountain on a chairlift. And then it started raining again.
I decided to skip Cinque Torri and opt instead for Lagazuoi which at least used a cable car to get to the peak.
[In WWI in this area, the fight was between Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies. The Italians were on one mountain and the A-H's were on the opposite peak lobbing shells at each other. They did this for 4 years without any real gain either way, and then in 1918, packed up and went home. All the Dolomites used to belong to Austria, but they lost all this territory after WWI but the culture still remains. All the houses are very much Germanic and dual languages are spoken in all the shops and museums.]
The cable car ride was terrific. 3 minutes straight up with barely a wobble. Oh and what a view from the top! There were hundreds of climbers and alpine walkers at the café and I just chilled on the balcony enjoying the scenery. I stayed about an hour - long enough for my face to get very sunburnt - and during that time the clouds and rain came and went 4 or 5 times.
I managed to wander down a very rocky path the visit the beginning of the tunnels but could not venture any further as the track was just too rough for my dodgy knee.
The cloud came in once again and completely engulfed us so I retreated down the mountain to the museum. It was small and interesting and warm and dry, so I spent the next hour there before once again heading down the mountain to Cortina. The rain hit just as I reached the bottom so I pulled in to a pretty little church I had passed in the morning and lit a birthday candle for Jazzie. When I'd finished chatting to the Benedictine Monk, the sun was once again out.
Amazingly enough I managed to stay dry the whole day.
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