San Vincent to Pont St. Martin 16 km Sunny, overcast later, cool, and quite windy in the afternoon.
Yesterday was a demanding day in terms of the terrain we walked through. Today, the day started with a marvelous, level walk all along the Dora Baltea River.
As a matter of fact, so delightful, we deviated from the prescribed route and stayed by the river, joining the via later, when it crossed the path we were on. This way we also avoided a major up/down-our second delight!
Some views of the walk….
Bridge over the River Dora Baltea.-our third delight.
We walked for a long time on a two track.
And then, the biggest delight of all….#4 Bard Fort. In the last 2 pics you can see a little red speck. We didn’t know that this huge structure was Bard Fort until we got closer. Then, we saw what turned out to be a panoramic glass lift, going 106 feet to the top of fort. From there, you could take 3 more lifts to different levels, ending with a glass elevator to the top. We couldn’t resist, especially when we realized it would eliminate the highest climb up on this stage. Bought tickets and flew to the top.
At the top…looking down…
Would have loved to spend the day going through all 6 museums. But….we also wanted to keep moving.
Next delight was discovering more ancient wagon tracks in the stone road as we walked into Pont St. Martin.
And the last delight…walking into the village and seeing the vineyards perched on the hillsides. Interesting fact: the concrete cones you see in the vineyards, are called “topies.” They function to store heat during the day which they release during the cold Alpine nights to keep the grapes warm.
We have arrived. The last pic is the view from our room this afternoon.
ENIGMAS 