Lake Garda from Riva to Gardone

Monday 5 July 2003. Our last full day in Italy dawned with the prospect of a trip around Lake Garda.

Early morning in Riva del Garda and already the sun was up, out, and shouting for us to come and get ourselves burnt to a crisp!

The ferry boats had yet to start, although most of our ride around the lake today would be on the coach. Lake Garda is 30 miles long. To take one of the slow ferries down to the bottom of the lake and back is an all day adventure with not much chance of getting off at all. The ferries criss-cross the lake from side to side in a zig-zag and apart from a couple of hydrofoils are not the quickest things on the water. Neither are some of them particularly well-furnished for comfort. So it would be a full day of breathing in diesel fumes on an open deck to do this by boat.

So we pile onto the coach and find that Christina and her party are already onboard with us. Christina, you may remember, was our Leger guide from a trip to Amsterdam a couple of years previously. I don't know whether there were no "characters" in her party, but anyway she came to sit with us most of the time as our own guide was doing most of the spiel on the coach's microphone. At the northern end of the lake a lot of the road is burrowed into the cliff face with windows opening to the view. They are featured in the second of Daniel Craig's James Bond films: A Quantum of Solace. Here we are overlooking Limone.

This is Gardone. This far down the lake (about two thirds of the way from top to bottom) the mountains have been tamed and are rolling hills of green grass or tree covering rather than sheer walls of rock.

Gardone, also called Gardone Riviera, is aimed well and truly at the tourist. There was a beautiful aspect of the lake from a well kept promenade that had plenty of colour from flower beds and more importantly lots of benches to sit upon.

There was the smallest of harbours, scarce the width of two boats with a harbour wall to protect the boats just in case of a storm out on the water. Poles painted in blue and white barbers' stripe spirals provided mooring points and the sleek motor boat at the entrance to the harbour was, though we didn't realise it at the time, waiting for us!

Mid morning drinkies. The temps are up in the high 30s. Fran opts for the delicious latte machiatto but I've gone for an ice cold cola.

Whilst we were sat having the drinks I sketched the curve of the coast - well, lakeside but it seemed like a coast! Christina said "I didn't know you were an artist!" but I said "Well you took us through the Red Light District too fast... "

Then it was time to get on the boat. We were heading for Sirmione at the southern end of the lake. We sat at the front of the boat with Christina who had made our Amsterdam trip so much fun.

The boat took us close up to one of Garda's islands where the millionaires have their playground. If I were ever to become a millionaire (not likely so please don't hold your breath...) this is definitely a place where I would like one of my mansions to be...

We reach Sirmione and will save the sights of that town for the next article!

Lake Garda and Northern Italy, 2003 Index