It was all looking a bit gloomy outside this morning!
The pristine alpine panorama around the village of Bourg-St-Pierre was nowhere to be seen and the rain was coming down steadily by the time we left the Gite.
I'd spent a lot of time last night working through our options for the day - mixing together an assessment of the weather forecasts, the opinions of locals and then ultimately, using my judgement, experience and gut feelings... Given the conditions, it was a wise decision to resort to public transport for part of the final leg of our journey. There is still a great deal of snow up near the Col, which would have been arduous as well as potentially unsafe in the mists.
Up at the Col there is a monks hospice, a museum and a small gift shop. The temperature was only four degrees above freezing and the rain was pelting down! After meeting our first genuine St Bernard dogs, we took refuge in the museum to learn a bit of the history of the place.
Rucksacks and mountain boots have certainly come on a long way since the Romans were toiling over this high mountain pass..
Just before lunch, we set off into the mists to complete the aim of our expedition and cross over the border into Italy - our third country of the week! Sadly, the idea of celebratory ice creams, a swim in the lake and trimphant blue sky photos had to be shelved. We consoled ourselves with some fine Italian coffee and a bit of apple tart in the warmth of a cafe instead...
Hiking back upto the St Bernard Hospice, we got a glimpse of visability and the lake was certainly not swimable!
It's not a particularly pretty building to look at (see above), but inside (where the monks still live!), there is a beautiful chapel.
Having learnt a bit of history and adandoned any notions of bagging nearby peaks, we set off on the long journey home...
The bus from the Col, took us to Orsieres, where a train continued downwards to Martigny, via a change at Sembrancher. In Martigny, we grabbed some food and had the good fortune of being able to watch the second half of the Euro'16 '- England vs Wales', which provided some good entertainment as well as a nice break in the journey. (Last minute winner gave England a 2:1 win).
Eventually, Geneva Airport was reached, and after a bit of a delay we were in the air just after 23:00... After returning the team to their respective homes, I made it to The Cottage at 3:24am and was asleep in seconds...
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