Zinal and the sound of running water

As it was another wonderful sunny day, we decided to head up the Cabane du Petit Mountet for lunch. We had only a few hours before Andy was due to depart, so a local hike amidst wonderful scenery would fit the bill nicely. We set off along the Navisense, which gets a lot more lively as we begin the ascent.

It's a fairly easy hike and we were soon within sight of our destination, just hiding in the trees on top of the next rise. Once we reach the terrace, it's time to soak up the view, slap on yet more sunscreen, and decipher the Menu! The Zinal Glacier is below us, as the Cabane is on the side of the hill.

I wonder what it all means!

We've agreed to return to this area, as we want to hike over on the side of the mountain where we saw the waterfall. I expect that will be next year, as summer is drawing to a close.

The Swiss Pudding Testers on Tour

After a fairly heroic yomp to the Cabane Becs des Bossons, it seemed sensible to have an easier day taking in the sights above St Luc. We drove to Chandolin and took the Tsape chairlift, then set off for St Luc which was round the ridge. It's a fairly level walk giving good opportunities for taking photos.

Looking up towards the Moiry branch of the Anniviers. Becs des Bossons is the peak far right.

Looking right across the Rhone Valley to the Plein Morte Glacier above Crans Montana.

This is the top of Cret du Midi in Vercorin, another Anniviers ski station which is open in summer.

After an hour or so, we were feeling the need for Tarte au Myrtille, so consulted the nearest signpost and headed for the Cabane Bella Tola.

It's a very pleasant venue, and I was eyeing up the potential of spending the afternoon in a deckchair. They even have a portable swimming pool set up. The Tarte was well up to expectations, and fully refreshed we set off to find a pleasant place for a picnic. With some surprise we found a purpose built picnic table with roof. Okay, it seemed to have been built for tall people, but it was a lovely spot, on a beautiful sunny day.

Swiss Critters

Perhaps it was all down to me hiking later in the summer, but this year I have seen rather a lot of the local wildlife, close up. Yes, there was a bit of string between us, but not for long, as that's the way I'm headed! Some of the wildlife was a lot smaller and care was needed to avoid stepping on them. I suppose Frogs find enough to do in the mountains? Perhaps it was on vacation?

I came across a whole gang of butterflies on a path in St Luc. I have no idea what the collective term is, but they were apparently very busy doing stuff!

The local Herens cows fight quite naturally, it's rather like Sumo for cows. They like to push each other, and like most cows seem to be naturally quite inquisitive. The young cows, do seem to want to practice their fighting skills. So when I saw this, there seemed to be only one of two outcomes possible!

Over in Zinal, a plump cat was definitely in charge of photo opportunities, though a local Marmotte put in a strong showing.

 Up on Tsarva in Grimentz, some animals have to work for a living. This was a surprising sight at the Buvette Orzival. I believe this is a proper Mule, loaded down with baggage. Looks quite like a horse, but the head shape is different. The owners of the bags were about 200 metres behind, looking tired and hot.

I'd wondered which way up the party had come, and when hiking up to Bendolla a couple of days later, I saw hoof prints of an animal wearing metal shoes on the "Chemin Rapide" which is the steepest route!

Market Day in Grimentz

Throughout the summer months Grimentz has many themed Markets. It's mostly traditional crafts and local produce, though you can't buy a St Bernard!

Local schoolboys making Hanging Baskets for the Geraniums which adorn the village.

The local Baker always has a Stall, and the produce is pretty tempting. Business seemed quite brisk with tourists and locals stopping by. Perhaps the Baker was specially busy as the Mill was grinding the wheat for the A.O.C flour. My photos don't do the little mill justice, but it's the first time I've seen this running.

There was also a display of traditional Wool spinning, and a pair of sheep in a pen in the old village.

I got the feeling that the sheep had done this before, as they quite liked having their ears tickled! As there was no price tag, I guess that the sheep were not for sale either. I imagine it would be a bit tough getting them through Customs!

The building on the right, directly behind the tiered seating is where the wheat is being milled, it's a water driven mill.

Sunshine and Cow Pats

I've been hiking again, in and around Grimentz. Made my journey a little later this year, to avoid too much mud and snow on the paths. When the snows melt, the cows move in, to get the tasty grass. They bring their own portable milking parlour. The resort is really busy, but as usual, it's easy to avoid the crowds.

It was a very warm 1st day, and I was really surprised that my boots rubbed my heels. Compeed to the rescue!. I have no idea why this happened, and it's not happened since.

Andy arrives on an early flight the next day, so we take a gentle hike around the Naviscence in Zinal. I put a hand in the water to test the temperature, incredibly cold. The cows in Zinal seem much bigger, what do you think?

We walked past the remains of a small avalanche. Andy decides to poke a stick into it, and fails, as it's rock solid.

The cloud is starting to drop, so we head for a coffee and cake!
The next morning is fine and sunny, so we set off for the Cabane Becs des Bossons from Grimentz.

This is a walk that I failed to complete last summer, when there was just too much snow on the path. Soon we reached the snowline, and headed up to the Col.

After we cleared to Col, we spied our lunch stop, and on arrival the clouds descended!

Lunch over, we set off to return to Grimentz, stopping to observe that it's hours to everywhere from here!
The terrain in this area is quite different to what we experience in Grimentz. Far more rolling hills with more gentle paths.


As soon as we are back among the rocks heading for the Pas de Lona we see that we are being watched!

Looking back up to where we crossed the Col, at the end of a fairly long hike.

We Finally Made It

After 2 years and 2 months, we finally got our permit to purchase, so we were able to complete and pay for our apartment. I have to say it felt quite stressful as an experience as the Canton went through several regulation changes whilst we waited. With the last and biggest change, we wondered if we would ever complete.

We had a 3 year cancellation clause in our contract, and we spent plenty of time discussing, just how long we would be prepared to wait. With nothing to lose, we emailed the Canton administration directly and were quite surprised to receive a response advising of the issue of our permit the next week.

So, now we have a large bunch of keys, some dodgy worn out furniture to replace and some bills from the Commune, which was when the realisation finally hit, hey we seem to be the er...owners.

An end of season ski trip gave us chance to decide which furniture to throw out immediately, though I was whacked on the head by a shelving unit which we were dismantling. I had an lump on my head for a week. Undeterred, I headed down to the valley and set my credit card on fire in the department store, buying electrical goods and replacing some of the kitchenwares. Also I've organised internet connection starting in the winter season, so I won't be spending too much more time and money in the Tourist Office in their web corner.

Of course, once the lifts closed, the weather turned really snowy, which was a bit galling, still, it gave me time to sew together the main mattress zip on our click-clack in the lounge. Note to IKEA, plastic zips joining separate mattresses, just don't last. The mattress is fine, the base is great, just ditch the plastic zips.

So, after meeting with a tiler, a carpenter, the Tourist Office (give us money) and a couple of local agencies, we've agreed some alterations. This will leave us penniless for the rest of the year, and some.

As it's a Swiss warm bed, we've also experienced our first cancellation for next winter. This is quite annoying as we re-arranged our stay to accommodate the folks who have now cancelled. I'm just hoping that this is an unusual occurence, we shall wait and see. The learning curve continues to climb steeper and steeper.

Tricky Little Gnomes

After my recent success with the bank account challenge, I may have been a little too smug. As we are on a long list waiting for a permit, we have to be quite patient, but we had been assured that we would eventually float to the top of the pile, and be able to complete.

Last weekend the Valais cantonal authorities changed their legislation regarding the permits. This year, they applied all 330 permits to the waiting list, which currently stands at 1290. Next year, they will give most of the permits to builders, and "Canton Approved Projects", and the list gets...wait for it...66 permits.

This means, that if you are at the bottom of the pile, then you could look forward to completion and legal ownership in....19.5 years. Whilst you wait on the sidelines, you will be able to observe foreigners view a newbuild being offered by a builder, and be given a permit...straightaway.

We await the release of next years' permit allocation. If we fail to be able to complete next time round, then we wait another year, and will have the option of cancelling our contract if either our Estate Agent or the canton are unwilling or unable to tell us when (if) we will be able to complete. We paid 50% of the purchase price 2 years ago, so our worst case scenario is, it's been a free loan to Valais canton for 3 years. So, a bit like the Swiss banking system really.

Unless, of course the canton changes the rules again.