Tuesday, July 27, 1982
This morning we walked to the small village Arolla. It is very beautiful
here and we enjoyed the walk in the fresh mountain air.
Beautiful nature, close to our tents
In Arolla we did some shopping and went to the postoffice to send some
postcards home, I made a phonecall to my aunt and uncle in Geneva and
I bought a good roadmap of Switzerland.
With our groceries, we walked back to the campsite and after storing
the groceries in our tent, Paul, Erika and I got on our bikes for a ride
to Evoléne.
That is me, walking on the campsite
In Evoléne, we bought some souvenirs and did some sightseeing before
getting on the bikes again for a ride to Mase.
The weather in Mase was fine but when we returned at the campsite, it was
cloudy.
After dinner at our tents, we went to the hotel again and bought a bottle
of wine for the five of us and played cards all evening. After the bottle
of wine and an evening playing cards, I had no problem sleeping although
it was getting cold at night.
Wednesday, July 28, 1982
Today when we left our tent we were welcomed by a bright sunny sky. Only
today, the camping manager came for the camping fee so we have been here
for free for two days.
Paul went hiking to a hut in the mountains with Gert and Lydia and Erika
and I went for a ride on our BMW's.We went to the Grande Dixence, a dam
for a hydroelectric power station. The dam is on the end of the Val
D' Hérens but before we went to the dam we had a coffee in Motôt.
Erika on her BMW R60/5
That is me
We had the coffee on a terrace with a view on the dam. very impressive,
that big dam, between two mountains.
The dam in the distance
Then we got on the bikes again and rode the narrow road with a lot of
hairpins and through a dark tunnel, to the parking near a hotel on the
foot of to the dam.
Our plan was to go to the top of the dam using the cableway but there
was a long queue of people so we decided to walk to the top of the dam.
It was a little longer and more difficult than we anticipated and
exhausted we arrived at the top but we were rewarded with a beautiful
view.
Down below, we could see our bikes in the valley, next to the hotel
and on the other side of the dam was the big reservoir between the
mountains.
The view into the Val D' Hérens
We walked on the path on top of the dam and saw the big tunnel in the
mountainside that transports the water from a glacier on the other
side of the mountain into the reservoir.
Here am I on top of the dam
From the dam, it was possible to hike further into the mountains but
we had had enough exercise for today so we did not go very far.
The view on the reservoir
We did not wanted to walk all the way back to our bikes so for our
return we used the cableway. There was no queue for the cableway down
so soon we were back at the parking with our bikes.
the cableway to the hotel in the valley
Back at the parking, we went to the souvenir shop at the hotel and
bought some presents for the people back home, some stickers to
stick on the bikes and ice and chocolat.
On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at a beautiful lake near
Les Hauères and made some pictures. It is really beautiful here.
On the road near Les Hauères
Back in Arolla we buy some bread at the "boulangerie" and then we
ride a little up on the mountainroad that goes through Arolla.
on the way back, I want to take a picture of Erika riding in the
hairpins. When I am waiting for Erika to arrive in the hairpin, a
French lady made a mistake with her car in the same hairpin and
ends up upside down a few meter lower. Nobody is hurt but the lady
is in panic and runs back to the hotel she came from......
Back in Arolla, we go to the postoffice to make some phonecalls
to some people back home. The we go back to our tents and meet
another Dutch biker, Sienes, who rides an Yamaha SR500 on the
campsite.
The campsite in Arolla
Paul has arrived on the campsite too and after dinner we go to the
hotel to drink some hot chocolat and play "space invaders" on the
game machine of the hotel until it is very late and the bar is
closed.
Hot chocolat drinks in the hotel bar
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