The stuffed animal display of carnage looks permanent though so fill yer boots.
Weather looked much better today. Certainly over Canazei. After breakfast, and a quick chat to the old Italian gent who takes his dog Lacky for a few laps of the site every morning on his little disability scooter, I headed out for the hills.
I rode Marmalada west to east for a change. There's a dam near the Fedaia pass which you can ride over. There's a couple of restaurants at the other side, one of which also houses a small bookshop and war museum. This area saw some pretty intense action in WW1. Entry to what must be the worlds smallest museum was €8 so I passed.
From Caprile I crossed Passo di Giau into Cortina. All pretty damn good so far.
North of Cortina the skies were black with huge forks lightning in the distance. It looked biblical. Figured I'd come this far I might as well risk it. I was keen to check out the roads north of Cortina and if I got a little wet then at least it was blazing back at base and I'd soon dry out.
Over Passo di Tre Croci all was good. As soon as I picked up the S51 though, the bad weather caught me. It pretty much stayed with me until Innichen, a few miles from the Austrian border. Considered crossing over for a quick coffee but knew it wouldn't beat any coffee in Italy so took the S52 south east. The weather cleared and the road opened up. There's a few sections reminiscent of the good roads in northern Spain. Fast sweeping highway. The Austrian influence is really obvious around these parts, especially in the bars and restaurants.
Looking back I could see the bad weather behind me. It was an epic sight, especially with the huge mountains and lightning.
As I descended into Auronzo di Cadore, from Passo del Zovo, I needed a coffee. There was a hotel and restaurant on the right, first one as you come into the town. The receipt says Albergo Elina so assume that's what it's called.
Looked pretty unassuming so didn't expect anything fancy. It was empty apart from an old couple playing cards at one of the tables.
Dear lord, I've found coffee nirvana! Definitely the best coffee I've ever had in my life. The old lady presented me with an absolutely perfect doppio espresso.
I like a coffee to kick me in the nuts. A double espresso should be a double size espresso, not gone in one hit. It should be so bitter that it shocks. It should have a silky smooth crema that covers the liquid right to the end.
This one ticked all the right boxes. It looked chocolatey and it was absolutely magical. It was also €1.80 which meant I could drop a couple of golden nuggets and the change covered the tip, rather than having to dig around for loose shrapnel.
Thoroughly satisfied I left town. There's a hydro electric dam on the way out of town, at one end of Lago di Santa Caterina. There's a couple of huge stone lions guarding the walkway over the dam. Very imposing and very impressive.
Took the S51b south to Pieve di Cadore then the S51 back to Cortina. The bad weather closed in again but nothing too bad. There was a huge diesel spill on one bend but thankfully managed to avoid it and it was a one off incident.
The entire loop was superb. Very entertaining and one to mark on the map.
Quick stop for provisions in Cortina then main road back to Canazai. Although it's not actually a main road as you'd picture one. Still got a couple of great passes and some monstrous climbs and descents. It is known as the main Dolomite highway though.
Back at the campsite I had some new neighbours. Gordon and Lucy, a British couple over to do some climbing. Really, really nice couple. We sat together under my basha drinking wine and Gordons stash of Old Speckled Hen all night. The bread and cheese came out after tea and we had a showdown of local cheeses. The one I picked up in Cortina with the black wax rind definitely came out on top. No idea what it's called but it was great. Something Nero, funnily enough.
Gordon said there's a great campsite up near Drei Zinnen if I ever fancy camping up there. It's not particularly good in terms of facilities but the views are second to none and it's by an amazing lake, Misurina. They also sell excellent local wine for peanuts.
We spoke about Venice. They said it's the done thing in Venice to take an empty jug or coke bottle to one of the back street wine vendors and they'll fill it up with top notch wine. Again, it costs next to nothing. The locals do it so don't feel cheap.
A great piece of advice, one I wish I'd know years ago, then followed. When paying a bill in Germany, 'danke' means keep the change. If you want your change back then use 'bitte' instead.
He then told me of a campsite on the outskirts of Venice with water taxi links right into the city. Bit of a back packers paradise so he warned me that it's full of 18 year old Aussies. They pile into the campsite bar every night, where they serve huge quantities of great beer, and those naughty young ladies get free shots for flashing their pert breasts.
Sounds awful, but I definitely feel a change of plan coming on!
155 miles
Update - the winning cheese was Pecorino Nero. Absolutely delicious.
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