Lake Annecy, Haute Savoie, France
We woke early to another beautiful day and left the almost deserted campsite to head down to a park closer to the cycle track. This track is around 47km long and runs adjacent to the western side of the lake to the valley at the southern end. We easily found a park next to the track and set off south on the bikes.
Cycleway, Lake Annecy, France
The track is wide and well maintained with a “carriageway” in each direction designated by a centre line. The people using it range from the “pro” cyclists to the very slow amblers. It’s also shared by rollerbladers. The further we moved away from Annecy the fewer people were on the track. The track leaves the lake at Doussard and continues along the valley following the route of the Albertville Road. It picks up and follows the course of La Chaise river at Marlens and ends at Ugine.
Parapenting, Marlens, Haute Savoie
The valley beyond the lake is very beautiful and there are a number of small bars and restaurants along the route if you need a pitstop. It’s also a popular parapenting spot and there are a number of schools along the way. We saw several groups parapenting from the mountains that rise up on either side of the valley. We didn’t quite make it to the end of the track but by the time we’d got back to the campervan we’d done 43km and were fairly saddle sore.
Cycleway, Lake Annecy, France
We then moved the camper to a campsite nearer the lake called Les Rives du Lac that, as a “Stop Accueil” site, offered a reduced rate available for one night only, as long as you arrive after 6pm and leave before 10.00am the next morning.
Wild Poppies, Haute Savoie, France
When we turned on the 12volt power supply that night there was a disturbing whirring sound coming from an enclosure at the back of the van that we thought housed the battery. We tried to call the emergency Fiat assistance number but with no luck as all we got was a woman reading a list of numbers to press depending on which language you spoke. No combination of numbers would move it on from this menu and so we fired off an email to the rental company in Germany and spent the night in the dark.
Nr Annecy, Haute Savoie, France
This morning we got a prompt reply from the rental company saying it was the waterpump that was housed in the back of the van and that usually the problem was that a tap had been left on. Problem solved and now we know what’s in that big wooden case at the back of the van!
