Our glorious failure to find some place to camp on Lago d’Iseo yesterday led us to a quiet RV park on a mountain, which was cheap and in a nice place. This morning, we found out that the mountain village next to it, Borno, was a very pretty and vibrant village. It was as if people went from church, straight into the bars to get their aperitivo. We paid for a one and a half hour parking ticket, but somehow time flew by and I ended up extending the ticket. We had a good lunch with Italian paninis with local cured ham and cheese. God, they now how to treat food nicely here.
Our next stop was the next lake – Lago d’Idro. Only a few campsites there, but according to Google maps it easy only a short 90 minute drive. What Google maps did not take into account was the fact that we had to drive our Nugget over a mountain pass of roughly 2000m to get to the next valley. It probably took us three hours to get there. I drive slowly, because 1) I can’t go fast, and 2) because these roads were tricky and shared with hundreds of motorbikers. Understandable, because this pass – Passo Croce Domini – was pretty amazing. I’m not sure which way was better, up or down. They were quite different, and the views on the pass were fantastic. We were above the trees, and that’s where the rugged mountain landscapes almost remind me of Scotland or Iceland, two other scenic driving favorites of mine.
After a couple of hours but very few kilometers, and several – by now mandatory – stops for cafe doppio, we reached our destination. Lago d’Idro. We were a bit worried that we’d be without a spot for the night, but that was not needed. The places here were only half full. I don’t get this, because this is arguably the most stunning lake that we have seen (and I know from a previous trip that Garda isn’t better). Maybe all ways in include tricky mountain passes? Not sure. We’ll see it in the way out, I guess.
For now, we’ll stay here for two nights. I want to swim tomorrow, and Rafa has developed a great fondness for water this week. I’m pretty happy about this, as he had not seen any water or swimming pools for most of his life, because of the pandemic. Now we have a lot of catching up to do. And tomorrow, I hope we’ll do just that.
Robin Heinen 