PADDLER 32
PADDLER 32
CANALE
While visiting Tenno, we took the opportunity to walk down to the medieval village of Canale, famous for its narrow lanes and overhanging balconies full of drying corn cobs. It’ s beautifully remote and has many traces of a fascinating past, including a museum of ancient wooden farm tools.
Over the week, we sampled many places to visit and eat locally, and a particular pizzeria with a lively chef and staff became a firm favourite. We also regularly took advantage of the Italian tradition of Spritz o’ clock.
We borrowed old bikes from the hotel and visited local villages, becoming aware that a Giro d’ Italia stage was coming through Arco, a village located approximately 7 km from Torbole. Knowing Antony’ s love of road cycling, we really couldn’ t miss it, so we pedalled our way to Arco, locked the bikes to some railings and found a great viewing spot. There is nothing more exciting than watching an entourage of cars, camera bikes, and police pass through just before the peloton! Blink and you’ ll miss them; they are incredibly fast. What an experience – we had to celebrate with tiramisu!
Every day, we tried to connect with Nicola, and finally we did, but not on the water. We met him in a bar one evening and chatted about all things Italian, from the local area to the paddling, of which he is a real expert, the local food tours, and the best kind of Spritz to drink! It was a fun evening, and as we knew Nicola was travelling to the race in Austria, we would hook up again.
We spent seven days at Lake Garda, enjoying some beautiful paddling and exploring on the lake, as well as taking in some great bike rides – everything felt easy and comfortable, with just ourselves to think about. For me, having no work or event to cover just made the trip feel like a proper holiday and like many others, I have a real passion for Italy.