How Many Disasters Do You Want ???

Another nice start to the day in Tende…little did I know how the day would end  ?

Firstly I packed up, and left the Municipal camping in Tende, and drove the short distance, to La Brigue, a smaller mountain village, up another valley, and higher..very quiet, and quaint, with groups of people chatting around the market square, having presumably just come in for their bread !

I had come to climb the Via ferrata de la Chiappa http://www.labrigue.fr/index.php?id=4563, more difficult than I’d done before, but, as I was in the area, and it had the longest Tyrolean traverse of any via Feratta (120 mts)…so if I could get up to it…whew ! I found the access gate locked, barring my way across a bridge, and had to go to the tourist office and pay $5 ..cheek of it ! - and was given the access key, which didn’t look all that well used !

So, with all my gear, I set out crossing the river by a rickety bridge  before I’d even got to the climbing .. then as I got beneath the rocks I was to climb, I was rather apprehensive…it looked decidedly hard, but, I’d come here now (and paid my money!) so I got my stuff on, ready for the adventure (do I look nervous ?), then I was off, climbing straight up the rock wall, and quickly coming to an overhanging traverse, which seemed to go off around the corner, above a large cave, and on upwards… it looked far too hard for me, should I continue to the really tricky bit and hope for the best, or should I start to act my age ?…well, I hung on for dear life for a while working out my options… I’d paid good money, and only had 20 minutes climbing… and I may be able to make it… but, I decided that I was never going to make it like this, and so, reluctantly I headed back down to the ground, giving it up….phew, still alive ! It had started to rain, and thunder was rolling around, so it may have been a good move anyway (the new me ?).. do I look relieved ?

Then it was a trudge back down the hillside, across the bridge, to see them driving the sheep and goats along the main street !.. and then face the ignominy of giving the key back at the tourist office, ‘Finished already ?’ I think she said ‘ Yes,given up !’ I replied (in stuttering French, and she took the key with a knowing look, I don’t think it’s the first it’s happened to ,nor the last !

I then had a quick look around this nice village http://www.labrigue.fr/  , got some bread, and then I was off, driving to my next destination, although I wasn’t exactly sure where I would end up…

Across more mountain passes, I drove along, stopping along the way for lunch, just as 3 older cars, with ‘Monte Carlo Rally’ badges on them passed me, driving down the road… I was feeling quite mellow, all was well with the world, when ….disaster struck ! Firstly I heard a terrible scraping sound from the back of Wally, briefly stopping, as I was on an uphill twisty hairpin  road, and found a bracket hanging down , and unsure what it was , placed it where I thought it should go, and drove on, intending to get to a piece of safe ground to check it out properly..when I noticed a trail of fluid coming from the back of me,and another scraping sound, I then saw a patch of land, just off the road, which I pulled onto safely off the road, to examine what had happened..

Oh, dear, the bracket that had come loose, was holding up my fresh water tank, which had then dropped to the ground, and been ripped open on the road surface (all my precious water gone!). I could feel where the bracket had connected, which seemed to be broken, but couldn’t actually see it, as I couldn’t get underneath where it was. I was able to prop the tank back up, and I tried to re-connect the clamp, but, to no avail, and had to ring the ‘AA’, who I must say did a great job, re-assuring me that all my money was well spent, and everything could be done, Hotels, hire cars,repatriation .. all I wanted was the clamp fixing, and I would sort it in England ! The man with the big truck, eventually got to me, having had to drive from Nice, an hour away, and although he couldn’t speak English, was quite calm, and fairly quickly started some action to lift the rear of Wally up, by using his tow trucks huge lift… and was then able to get underneath.. and identified that the bracket had broken (or come apart, I’m not sure which), and then with some judicial use of a lump hammer… re-formed the bracket, and connected it back up for me…Voila !there we were, ready for being back on the road, no fresh water, but still a home for me to use… and after much handshaking, and smiles (along with a tip), we were back on the road, Merci Beaucoup !

I carried on up the road, clattering up, and down several more mountain passes, eventually briefly ending up in a village called Lantosque, where I had seen a via Ferrata along the River gorge, Les Canyons des Lantosque  http://www.laviaferrata.net/topo-via-ferrata-lantosqu.html advertised . I did manage to track it down, and had a look at the (barred) gate, down into the river gorge, and it only looked like several wire bridges across the river, although there was a wall climbed, and a Tyrolean Traverse – but it mainly seemed to be almost made into something it wasn’t… and I couldn’t find anywhere to stay, and so I carried on to my destination of La Colmiane http://www.colmiane.com/, a ski resort, and I drove straight through the closed resort, up a rough road/track, and eventually ended up at the via Feratta car park, which I was going to stay on overnight..luxury !

1750 metres up (higher than Ben Nevis), nothing occupied in sight, and a clear sky … if I had more water, then I could have stayed longer, however I did have 2 litres of water, beer,wine,orange juice and milk for some fluids, and settled in for some grub, star gazing, and a worn out sleep, listening to a cuckoo in the trees somewhere, Goodnight !