When I think of the most breathtaking hikes of my life – 3 locations come to mind, the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera Coast, the Napali Coast on the Island of Kauai, and a hike in the forest area off of Hood River, Oregon. I now have a new jaw-dropping hike to add to the list – the one we embarked on Friday morning from Verbania to Mergozzo.
We had two options this morning – the more touristy option to take a ferry to Isola Bella – to go to an another island and tour the Borromeo (well known power Italian dynasty family) Estate and gardens, etc. Or to take an off the beaten path hike. We both agreed we wanted to do the hike. Half because we are eating so much (carbs galore) and wanted the exercise, and half because we wanted to do something less touristy. Although I must say, Stresa on Lake Maggiore is a town with more European tourists than any other kind. It seems to be a vacation destination for Europeans. Being on a lake, there is no access to Cruise ships so you don’t have the ship loads of people dropped off into town in the morning that you have on the coastal towns. This is very refreshing.
Dana had researched some options before we left (once again – I am so grateful for her advanced research on these details that I didn’t have time for before we left). She found us a hike that was just 2 stops away (about a 10 minute train ride and 1.90 Euro each). It’s amazing what you can find on the internet from generous travelers that share there experiences on blogs, etc.
We were at breakfast by 7am this morning so that we could catch a 7:40am train and get an early start. Not having to ‘get ready’ helped – it was like going to the gym first thing. Hair in a pony and workout clothes on and you are out the door. With temps in the mid-80’s with high humidity mid-day – we knew an early start would be important for us to make this hike enjoyable. While the blogger had said this was a moderate 2 hour hike. You never know how ‘fit’ the person writing is – especially when they are Italian and you see Italian grandmas scaling mountainsides in flat sandals with little effort.
We arrived at the Verbania train station before 8am and followed the directions of the blogger to get to the start of the hike. The beginning was basically a 25 minute uphill hike on a switchback asphalt road with lots of stops for breaks before you get to the first little charming Hamlet town of Montorfano. Along the way we stopped at an old small cemetery, impressed that so many old graves are still paid respects to with beautiful flowers planted and cared for there. We also enjoyed nature growing off of the side of the road that you typically don’t see on hikes in So CA – blackberry bushes everywhere, etc. After you reach Montorfano, you begin the most beautiful part of the hike that hugs the Lake Mergozzo edge and ends in the center of the town of Mergozzo. Along the way we passed so many beautiful scenes – rows of cornfields, stacked wood that looked like art, a ‘mini stonehedge’ side of the road marker set-up with granite.
Throughout the shaded hike in the woods with views of the lakes and little waterfalls, we did not see but one other person on the entire hike. An older gentleman walking his dog. This was unheard of, to be enjoying so much beauty and have it all to ourselves. When I mentioned my other top hikes at the beginning of this blog – this was enjoyable at a different level and I will now add to my top 5 because to have such beauty and to feel like you were the only two on the road less traveled was priceless.
We also ran into an old farmer and his helper along the way that tried to help us with directions. They both spoke no English – so that was fun. One look at Dana and he asked ‘Deutschland?’ – he thought maybe we were German. Okay, okay, I know it wasn’t me, but Dana that was giving that impression. Regardless, the communication was fun and friendly and he asked if we wanted to go to the town of the ‘Discotheque’ while he made dancing motions. We were like, no grandpa, no discotheque, for us, we are trying to get to Mergozzo. Then he was saying ‘Man and Woman’ with a thick accent. Like he was a man and we were women. Wasn’t sure if he was suggesting something or just taking the opportunity to practice his 10 words of English. We just laughed and went on our way – he really seemed harmless. He also wanted to make sure we had enough water, which was really nice.
When we finally landed in Mergozzo, we stopped lakeside for cappuccinos as it was still too early for lunch. We then walked around the little town to see locals lake side at a small park enjoying the day with their families. It was nice to see multi-generational groups all picnicking together and enjoying the beautiful summer day. We then headed back to our original lake-front spot to enjoy a delicious lunch of wine, pasta, and pizza (with lots of water to stay hydrated). It was breathtaking to sit at the waters edge, hear the lapping of the lake against the shore and look at the scene of the town on the water’s edge. Another ‘pinch me I must be dreaming’ moment of the trip.
Another great aspect of this hike was, we didn’t have to hike back the way we came. We could just take the train back. We found the Tobacco shop to buy our train tickets. In Italy a tobacco shop sells everything from tobacco, to lotto tickets, to train and bus tickets, to snacks, to stamps, etc.). You basically feel like you can solve most needs you may have in a tobacco shop.
Soon enough we were back in Stresa and headed back to our room, ready for well-deserved naps! Ironically we both tried to nap but just couldn’t relax. It’s similar to when you are a child and you are tired and your mom wants you to nap, but life is just too exciting outside so you can’t relax. That’s what it feels like to be in Italy and need a nap but you get hit with severe FMO (fear of missing out) and so you lay there for a while thinking about all you could be doing or seeing and just get right back up.
We had a big agenda that afternoon – Laundry and Blogging. See, all so exciting! Well, when you are in Italy…yes, it is ALL exciting and all an adventure.
As a funny post script to this day. While Dana was graciously doing our laundry so I could blog at local cafe, she caught a glimpse of the boat back from Isola Bella (the other option for the day that we didn’t take to see the Borromeo Estate. I laughed when I saw the photo as it looked so crowded and unappealing, we had definitely made the right choice for the day.
