Cascade del Varone

Today was a free day on our schedule, so we "did our own thing". The weather was superb so we decided that a walk was in order: happily there were several walks to choose from going directly from our hotel. In the morning we walked along an off-road cycle/pedestrian track up to the "Cascade del Varone" waterfalls, which were really rather fabulous. The nearest similar waterfalls I've seen in the past were the Trummelbach Falls in the Lauterbrunnen valley in Switzerland - both are dramatic falls descending through a sort of cave, but these were illuminated in changing colours as can be seen in the main blip and the first extra. Taking the photos was tricky as the spray was incredible -  I guess the falls were particularly full of water after all the recent rain here: I had to wipe the lens then take the next photos asap. We were glad that we'd taken cagoules otherwise we'd have been soaked to the skin after 30 seconds!

After fortifying ourselves with a slice of pizza and a Coke we then set off to walk to the "Bastione" - an old fortification on the hillside above Riva del Garda. It was a steep 20-minute climb but was worth it for the views over the town, which as you can see in the second extra lies at the head of the lake. We considered but declined to spend another hour climbing further up the steep mountainside to the tiny isolated Chapel of Santa Barbara - we didn't want to be late for dinner, and I hadn't brought my hiking poles with me which nowadays I find essential to relieve the stress on my creaky knees from long return walks downhill.

Altogether another fabulous day - we're so lucky to have the chance for a holiday like this.