Last afternoon I arrived to my overheated room at the Piccolo Pocal Hotel, high on the flanks of the valley of Cortina d'Ampezzo, and after chatting with the gentleman in charge chose an easy walk through the bottom of the valley along the Fanes river. My informant told me that if I was going that way I should push all the way to the waterfall and I foolishly fell for his description of a beautiful cascade of water tumbling down the Fanes gorge. I was also considering doing a high elevation circuit, but he checked on the internet and the funicular or funivia that I would need to use to get up high was closed until July 11. Lástima.
I parked at the south end of the town, thinking that walking through the town early in the morning would give me a good feel of the vibe of this city, famous for being the host of the last Winter Olympics, in February 2026. The truth was less exciting than I had imagined, because the walk through soon sent me to busy streets that had no particular esthetic value. Once I got out of the town the landscape became amazing. The valley where Cortina is located is something between Yosemite and the Jasper Valley in the Canadian Rockies. Everywhere you turn your eyes to there is a fabulous glaciated peak formed by white dolostone, which would be the dream of any rock climber in the world.
The walk along the riverside was relaxing and beautiful. I met many couples and families who were taking advantage of a perfect sunny day. There were also many bicyclists, but most of them were cheating by riding e-bikes. I was feeling very good by the time I finished the stretch of the river I had chosen to begin with, but then got goaded by the suggestion form my buddy at the hotel and continued going up looking for "la cascata". The slope was gentle but long, and I kept thinking that I would have to go downhill on the way back. Maybe I will walk to the next bend in the road ... OK, I will go to the next bend ... I am almost there and cannot give up down ... oh, there is a sign showing "Via ferrata a la cascata del Fanes". I wonder what a via ferrata is?
Oh mio dio! A via ferrata is a very narrow ledge that drops a hundred meters to the bottom of the gorge, where the visitor is helped by a steel cable bolted unto the road. Knowledgeable visitors have a climbing harness and two lengths of cable attached by two carabineers that they hook one at a time to the different sections of the steel cable. I was not prepared and had to balance on the narrow path holding by a sweaty hand to the steel cable. It was only s stretch of 30 m, and the final view of the waterfall was definitely worth it (but I thought going behind the waterfall was tempting my good luck and bypassed the chance of looking at the backside of water).
By the time I got down I was
getting pretty tired, but I had noticed that the urban bus could carry me back
for the last half of the way. So I went into the local bar, bought myself a
beer, and waited for 45 minutes for the next bus. There were three of us when
the bus came in, and much to my dismay I learnt that you could not buy a ticket
at the bus but had to order it online. All three of us reached for our cell
phones, but we were out of range of a cell tower. Finally, the driver was kind
and waved us in, but I reflected that this was the most stupid thing I have
seen. I could see putting a credit card reader, but having to reach a website,
register as a user, and then buy the ticket online sounds really stupid to me.
Welcome to the world of AI.
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