Day 14 – Verbier to Chamonix

So I had planned to cycle to Sion today, all down the hill and flat but had the idea to go to Chamonix and onto Lake Annecy. The forecast was good, but it was certainly quite a climb to the top. Around midday I said my goodbyes, picked up the bike and headed down the hill the sun was shining brightly, as soon as I got into Martigney I decided to take the shorter route, but the hills were so steep that I ended up walking a bit of it, dragging my bike. Suddenly out of nowhere, there was a rumble over the top of the mountain; grey clouds were flying over it and then out of nowhere rain rushed down. With thunder and lighting, there was no cover, and I was getting soaked, I saw ahead a JCB and prayed it was open which it was. I hid in there and ate some lunch that Milly and Josh had made for me and waited, and waited.

Once the rain passed, I finally got onto the main road where after an hour another storm rode in, again stranded on the highway I saw a cafe or restaurant in the distance and went there for shelter, it was closed, but I hid underneath the porch. Then the owner came out and asked me to come it, I accepted of course. She offered me a drink, but I declined and told her about my trip she said it was in the house, so kind to open up just for me and then give me a hot chocolate, then before you know it a pie came out, this was fantastic. Her English was as good as my French which is not saying much, but we seemed to understand each other and the few words we knew in each other’s language, also google translate was always there when neither had a clue! We chatted away for an hour or two before the storm passed and got moving again. I was blown away by her generosity, we met with a wave and were leaving with a hug and three kisses!

I got over the pass and down the valley before another small climb. As I was heading down towards Chamonix, I got a message from Josh saying that someone could have me that night, I was short of Chamonix but not by much, but it was getting dark and yet another rumble of thunder stirred in the distance rather than wait and hope I decided to camp. I quickly set up and had the left overs for my lunch, then when I got my sleeping bag out, it was soaked from the storm earlier, so I piled on every piece of clothing I had in the hope it would keep me warm. At altitude, I wasn’t sure.