What’s there to do in and around Geneva?
Lily suggested that I visit the Jungfrau National Park, but when I checked, it was 2.5 hours EACH WAY by train, assuming ideal connections. I would have been frustrated getting there and having to leave just a couple of hours later without hiking the place…So though it was better to skip.
I’ll stick to my original plan, get a sandwich for the day and visit Mont Saleve, which is a small mountain on the French side, overseeing Geneva. Cable car up and down, walk around the summit, relax, explore the surroundings and eventually Paraglide to the bottom. Sounds good.
Ask for directions at the local train station, and I’m informed that I need to catch bus no 8. Proceed to the bus station, get in the bus, and a woman in her 40s joins me in the next seat. We start talking, and guess what? She’s hiking up the Mont Saleve!!! Hiking up instead of taking the cable car was always the preferred option, but figured that week day, there was not going to be that many people walking up, so instead of trying to find my way there and get lost and die of hunger and cold… … … …
So change of plans!!! I now have a guide…and guess what? She had just hiked up on the eve, and sort of knows the way to the summit, via what she says, is the difficult route
Maria is originally from Cape Verde. Her parents moved to Holland when she was 5 yrs old, and she’s been a resident/citizen ever since. She works for a chain of department stores in her country of adoption, and literally needed to blow off some steam. So she booked a 4 day holiday in Switzerland at the last minute, and there she was.
She had always wanted to go hiking, but never had people around to bring her. She describes her life as being this narrow tunnel in which people and circumstances of life have forced her into, and she had never really tried to get out of the pre-determined path, UNTIL NOW..!!! On the eve, she set off for Mont Saleve with the intention of catching the cable car to the summit, but on her way, she bumped into a group of hikers going up, and she followed them. The rest is history. Enlightenment, revelation, religious experience; call it what you want, but she’s now hooked…:) Yesterday was her first time ever doing any form of hiking (Holland is all flat), and she loved it so much that she was back today, despite the sore legs and feet.
The ½ hour bus ride takes us to Verrier Douane, from which we set off looking for the entrance to the trails. The route seems to be well traced, with markings all along. At some point, we veer clear of the indicated path, but she reassures me, saying that was the route that they took on the eve. Surely enough, we get lost in the woods…!!! We had walked too far up to try to back track, so we try to force our way through, and eventually rejoin the main route. Steep switchbacks lead us to a sort of cave within the mountain, which you have to go through. Reach the summit 3 hours later and we have a quick lunch on the green pastures.
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| Ahhh...The Mont Blanc...!!!!!!! |
In the distance, the Alps with the Mont Blanc. We rejoin the main trail which leads to the other side of the mountain with views over Geneva, via a path that’s literally on some points, recessed on the side of the mountain, and to the other side, a big void that leads straight to the foot of the mountain!!! People prone to Vertigo, beware…:P
It’s already 4 pm, so too late to hike down, and no paragliding service in sight, so I catch the cable car down. Bus back to Geneva, where sushi dinner awaits me. Not enough, so I supplement it with a large bag of crisps…:P
Stats of the day:
About 6 hours of a gentle walk
Estimate distance 12 kms (had forgotten to recharge my GPS)
Elevation gain 660m
1650 kcal burnt
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