Days 5 & 6
Up and on the road early, the highlight of today was the Vršič Pass in Slovenia, which offered exhilarating views of the Julian Alps, as well as many nail-biting hairpin bends. The road threaded its way around the mountains and into the Soča Valley.
All of it was breathtakingly stunning.
We stopped to stretch our legs beside the Soča River, then travelled onward through Austria and finally into Italy.
Although geographically situated in Italy, Santa Maddalena is in South Tyrol, an autonomous province where German is the predominant language. Our campsite sat at the foot of the mighty Dolomites, which we could see bearing down on us from our roof tent.
What a view!
There were plenty of resident cats, but no dogs. So we began to hope for a peaceful night.
Until we heard the bells of the nearby St Magdalena church.
And they didn’t disappoint.
They insisted everyone must get up at 6am.
Fortunately, we’d planned to spend two nights at this campsite, purely to catch our breath and soak in the scenery. So a lazy second day was in order.
We went for a walk, nothing too strenuous, then enjoyed afternoon tapas in the sunshine, gazing across the valley and up at the Dolomites.
By late afternoon, black clouds began to gather around the mountains.
Soon, thunder rumbled in the distance. Then fork lightning began to illuminate the underbelly of the clouds. The wind picked up, and the campsite owner came over, waving her arms.
‘Quick, you must go inside. Storm is coming.’
So we packed away our side awning and jumped into the car, wine and snacks included, to watch the storm unfold.
And oh man, did it deliver.
As the sky grew black, it pulsed purple behind the Dolomites. Thunder crashed and reverberated around the valley in frightening bursts, reminding us just how wild and unpredictable nature can be.
Then the hailstones started.
Marble-sized hailstones.
As we marvelled at them glistening on the ground outside like huge diamonds, we also began to worry about the car’s bodywork.
The storm continued, unrelenting. And eventually, we had to make a break for it and get ready for bed.
Finally, lying in the roof tent, it felt almost dangerous.
Might lightning strike us?
The rain was deafening, but strangely soothing. And somehow, we ended up having the best night’s sleep of the trip so far. Even St Magdalena’s bells gave us a break and let us lie in until 7am the next morning.
R. H. DIXON 