Locarno log (3)

I didn't have any luck in finding a wifi connection. Whilst there were two networks which showed a strong connection (and weren't encrypted), they wouldn't assign me an IP address and so I couldn't connect.

Yesterday was a big trip: we took the Lake Maggiore Express: hydrofoil boat from Locarno to Stresa (in Italy), train from Stresa to Domodossola, and then special train ("100 valleys", or Centovalli) from Domodossola back to Locarno. What should have been an exciting day turned out to be a washout (literally). Our first days in Switzerland had been accompanied by very good weather; not as hot as Israel, but in the absence of air conditioning, the weather was subjectively hotter (and more humid). Yesterday morning was cooler, and as we left our hotel, there was actually a small amount of drizzle, sufficient to make me go back to the hotel and change my short trousers for longs. On the way down to the embarcadero (close to the train station), the drizzle came on and off, but was not a problem. Just after buying our tickets for the journey, the heavens opened and rain bucketed down. We (and many others) sheltered under the canopy of the ticket office and adjacent café, but it was clear that we would be soaked the minute we left our shelter in order to get to the jetty where our boat was waiting. Inspiration struck: we were standing outside a souvenir shop (one of the few in Locarno) and they were selling umbrellas… so I quickly bought a large umbrella and with its help made our way to the boat.

The boat sailed from Locarno to Ascona and to other places southern on Lake Maggiore. Fortunately the rain ceased the further south we went, so we could see quite well. After an hour and a half (the trip as such was shorter but we made about six stops, each time to take on new passengers or to let them off), we arrived at the Italian town of Stresa. Again, there was on and off drizzle. After walking about a little, looking for a cash dispenser (the Italian name is 'Bancomat', the same 'word' as in Hebrew), I spied a bank at the end of an alleyway. Walking down the alley, I became aware that it was very beautiful, with flowers and trees on the sides of the narrow road, souvenir shops and everything which seemed to be missing in Locarno. After about fifty metres, the alley led in into a piazza filled with shops and restaurants. Between the on and off rain, we decided to eat, dining on a lovely trout ("trota"). I learnt the Italian for hot (calda), allowing me to say Vorrei aqua calda (I would like hot water). After the meal, we headed for the train station in Stresa, about ten minutes away; as soon as we had left the piazza, we also left touristy Stresa and entered a commonplace town. The piazza was full of people which made me wonder what they were doing there, as the town didn't seem to offer very much. It may well be used as a staging post for trips to Isola Bella, a very pretty island nearby (we visited this on our previous journey to Italy in 2000).

The rail trip from Stresa to Domodossola was uneventful, although again rain continued to fall on and off. We couldn't see very much anyway because the train had peculiar windows which narrowed the field of vision. Domodossola too was a non-entity as far as we could see and we waiting the 30 minutes for our connecting train quietly. It seems strange to me that the Italians build huge train stations, although I should point out that Domodossola is a connecting point for many trains – we could have travelled to Milan in the south or Brig in the west, but instead we travelled to Locarno in the east. The tour brochure had said to bring passports as we would be crossing the border from Switzerland to Italy and back again, but no one gave us a second look. No one even checked our ticket from Stresa to Domodossola!

The Centovalli train was an exercise in frustration; the rain, clouds and late hour conspired to lower visibility, but even without these poor conditions, we wouldn't have seen that much (at least on the side of the train that we travelled) because there was always foliage growing next to the tracks which prevented seeing the rivers, gulleys and waterfalls which accompany this scenic route.

Once we got back to Locarno, we had a small meal in the self-service restaurant, whose name fails to stick in my memory, even though it's very close to a word in Hebrew – and that serves as the mnemonic, for its name is Manora. Highly recommended for the weary traveler. On our way back to the hotel, we bought a mountain anorak (expensive, but it should last for years); I don't know what we are going to do about my leather shoes with a tear in the sole which causes my foot to get wet in the rain.

Overnight, there were thunder, lightning and relentless rain. It's now 7:40 in the morning and still no respite. It's never fun when it rains on holiday!