Month: June 2025

Sommacampagna, a small town 30k or so from Cisano Lake Garda and 6k from Verona airport, was a good place to spend a couple of hours having a larger supermarket and nice cafe on the central square, waiting for the midday landing of 1st mate number 1. The results of the usual research for short-term parking of high-sided vehicles at an airport proved reliable. The pickup was mostly straightforward apart from ending up mistakenly re-entering the airport complex, and incurring another ticket having paid for the first.  Their system obligingly accommodated my confusion and enabled us to exit without having to go back into the terminal to pay again. I became an old hand for the return of guest no 1 and pickup of no 2 a week later, including where to drop off without entering the complex at all.

One further night had to be spent at Cisano, as the campsite at Torbole at the head of the lake could only be booked for the following 6 nights. My guest confirmed that she had stayed with her family at this very site decades ago. On the Sunday, choosing to drive alongside the lake rather than zip up the toll motorway was a mistake, with nose to tail traffic for large parts of the route. Alot of this increased journey length resulted from a later departure caused by my failure to register my guest for the one night when she arrived.  Incurring initial significant shock and disapproval from Reception as I tried to pay for her stay at sign-out, I had to get passports etc again for a new registration so that their systems could process it. Queueing both times in the melee of people coming and going. The consequent later tired and hot arrival at the next campsite was not the best when the pitch which had been allocated to us was still occupied.  We were then offered what seemed like a last resort of a space which we rejected (happily settled into by later arrivees 🙂 and I’m at that point wishing we had stayed put in the previous campsite and contemplating driving back. We were finally given an option for what turned out to be a lovely private, but long, narrow and entrance-constrained pitch.  If it had not been for a pitch neighbour and 1st mate indicating that the van could be got onto it, I would have declined. It was indeed the hardest pitch to reverse-manoeuvre into, and then a minor compartment of my mind held the stress for the next 6 days as to whether I’d be able to get the van off it again, this time with the added pressure of a peace-disturbing departure around 8am to get friend to the airport. Pitch navigation can definitely be a problem on tighter continental campsites, as I have found to my cost in the past. In the end, and much to my relief, the forward exit was easy.

Camping Al Porto thankfully really grew on us – it would definitely have been the wrong decision to abandon. Small, and as being in a somewhat tropical garden, almost at the lakeside, and lovely facilities.  We loved the contrast of the mountainous setting of the lake to that further south.

The lakeside cycling provision to the adjacent elegant small town of Riva was great so we spent alot of time backwards and forwards.  Our week included a ferry to Malcesine, and as part of that day trip, a cable car up Monte Baldo – approx 1700m – which unfortunately was covered in cloud and nippy; a bike ride for me on part of the route Strada del Ponale to Lake Ledro, of which I only did about half  due to it being more of a mountain bike route than my trusty e-bike, in need of a service, was up for; a bike ride to the town of Arco and being caught in an absolute downpour on the way back; pizzas, pasta and gelato, relaxing at lakeside cafes for morning coffee; even got the paddleboard out again.  Due to the wind getting up in the afternoons, this area is popular with the very committed windsurf, and a new one on me, wingfoil set, so had a more energetic, younger, and definitely fitter dare I say, vibe. We were outliers.

The guest accommodation was appreciated and for the princess and the pea, the doubled over foam playmat, plus a 5cm mattress topper, and then an airbed which had surfaced after many years from under the bed in the van provided the ultimate comfort.  It also gave abit of elevation above the ants which subsequently got transferred to my bed when doing the ‘transition’ arrangements.  It is fair to say that the ‘2 seconds up tent’ does prove somewhat of a challenge at the demontage, but is nevertheless an improvement on the previous incarnation.

I loved our stay – the guest had to say she did, but I hope it was genuine.