Camp 1 Zuoz

As expected, my Blog- writing days ground to a halt as the camp started, with 180 children, 6 to 16 years of age, and with 35 nationalities. Despite having Marco to assist me with the coordination, we were still kept unbelievably busy, with only occasional afternoons free to explore this gorgeous valley.

My first walk was only to the next village, but it afforded wonderful views of our home and workplace for four weeks. The Lyceum Alpinum. What a majestic building, and our accommodation is in the brand new rooms in the building closest to me! They have done such a good job adding on to the old school.. 

The spring flowers in the meadows are spectacular, as is the Maloja Snake, the fog early in the morning which winds its wispy way through the valley from the Maloja Pass.

The first three days of camp were chilly, but it was fabulous to open tge curtains in the morning to see the snow- covered peaks. This view from my bedroom was simply breathtaking!

Summertime is festival and market time. Schanf had a mini market, with vey few stalls, but it was still lovely to visit.

The weekend meant two free days and a chance to walk and enjoy travelling a bit further from home. I have not been to the Bergell valley for years, so 

I was thrilled to reach Soglio, high up in the mountains and to sit and take in this view of this phenomenally picturesque village.

I meandered through the narrow, cobbled streets feeling like Alice in Wonderland, because each corner was just so lovely. I even made friends with a cat, which looked very much like my ' grandcat' Stormy!

When you are not rushing, you stumble across some rather unusual things - an outdoor  piano tucked under the eaves. It must be amazing to sit and play in these little alleyways.

About two minutes of rain turned the already beautiful garden of the hotel where I sat and enjoyed an Aperol Spritz, into a marvelous place for close up photography. These flowers were already so pretty, but the patterns the rain droplets made on the leaves were even more stunning.

Oops, on the way back to the bus I met my furry friend again, who was doing a good job of outstaring a too inquisitive retriever!

Although I had planned to do one of my favourite walks around the Maloja Lake, I opted to hop on and off the bus to visit this fabulous valley. What a great decision that was, especially as the sky had cleared and the mountains on each side of this deep valley became visible..

First stop, the tiny village of Borgonova. I guess the population was only a few hundred at most, all of whom live in 300 - 500-year-old houses. I so enjoyed my hour there, wandering around, talking to locals and wnjoying being in such a historic place. These old bridges across the river are also so pretty.

This has to be one of the loveliest bus stops I have ever seen. It is incredible that the buses can even squeeze through the narrow gap between the houses!

The wonderful thing here is that although the old houses have been renovated, they retain their charm and fit in with the other buildings around them. I fell in love with this one, with its crooked stone steps, with plants growing in the cracks. 

The people must have been so much smaller 500 years ago,  judging from the door of this home!

I think I would like to steal this idea of creating beautiful patterns on the wall with stones! How gorgeous!

Next stop Vicosoprano, one of the larger villages in the Bergell, yet still a picture postcard place.
Here the Town Hall, former law courts and prison.

As a cat lover, the cat ladders really catch my eye. This one was so steep and I had no idea how a cat could get on to it?

It was very hot in the afternoon so it was quite an effort to walk uphill to the church. The churches in this area are beautiful, simple, smell divine thanks to the Arven wood they use for the pews, and have some little secret gems, like this 14 th century, hand- painted organ.

Next day, Sunday, was Jazz day in St Moritz. It has become a bit of a tradition for my fantastic colleagues and I to spend several hours listening and dancing to the jazz. It was a great band and superb atmosphere as always.

The afternoon was great too. I took off alone, needing a little time for myself, and decided spontaneously to walk from Sils to Silvaplana. I haven't done this for years and had forgotten how spectacular it is.

The wild flowers, the vibrant and diverse colours of the lake, sky, clouds, forest and flora, all made this two-hour walk very memorable.

Taking time to stop and appreciate even the smallest flowers is one of the pleasures of walking alone!

As the afternoon went on, so the clouds and their reflections became all the more breathtakingly beautiful.

Alongside the track were some tiny orchids. Most people miss these because the scenery is so spectacular that one doesn't look down!

Spider's web plants grow in the grass and cracks in the  rocks. So pretty.

Approaching Silvaplana, the lake and its backdrop of mountains are fantastic. Luckily, the track was really quite quiet, despite the great weather and it being high season.

The final glimpse up the valley towards Maloja left me with no doubt that I would be doing that walk again some time soon.

Two weeks have just flown by. My team of teachers, the kids and the camp were fantastic. Of course, there are always challenges, but it is still sad to think that half of my time in this unbelievably beautiful area is over.