Pete's Blog - Week 4(d)
We were now in a much warmer, drier climate with few mountain streams and no sign of snow. The refuge provided some well deserved beers but there were building works ( with warnings about helicopters around the site! ) and our beds were three mattresses up a precarious 4m ladder in the roof space. At least we weren't cold.
In good weather we crossed the watershed between the Northern and Southern Alps at the Col de la Vallée Étroite ( 2434m ) and entered the lovely Valle Stretta where 'bonjour' was replaced by 'buon giorno'. The valley was annexed by the French after the war but is still really Italian and can only be driven to through Italy. We stopped for lunch ( with lots of Italian families ) at the strange and beautiful Lago Verde, which really was very green! The welcome, food and atmosphere at the Rifugio Tre Alpini under the watchful eyes of I Re Magi ( Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspard, three great mountains opposite ) was very Italian. We drank Birra Moretti and the evening meal started with a shot of vermouth - a great way to celebrate the half way point of our walk!