Having returned 
to Dongo as our
base-camp, we ventured out late in the morning to the pier terminal
to catch a boat, managed by the national department of transportation
as a public service and not just for the benefit of tourists, towards
the so-called Golden Triangle in the middle of the lake where it
branches off into two legs, girded by Menaggio on the western shore,
Valenna and Bellano in the East and Bellagio in the center. We took
a high speed boat (as opposed to the slow retro-fitted steamers that
stopped at every port of call) with a quite a few other passengers
towards the south, criss-crossing the lake and arrived in the town of
Tremezzo, just past Menaggio to visit Villa Carlotta. The royal
family bought this spralling summer residence in the mid-1800s and
presented it to their daughter, Charlotte, on the occasion of her
marriage into the family of Saxony-Meinungen. Although sadly, the
new owners did not have many opportunities to enjoy this stately
manor on the lake, it was the 
Saxon duke's hobby of puttering in the
gardens that transformed them into a very impressive botantical
collection. The interior was a spectacle in itself, but outside we
explored exotic landscapes, a bamboo forest, a fern gully and
tropical jungles of not so exotic (nowadays, I suppose) plants grown
to amazing proportions.
Afterwards, we crossed the again to explore
Bellagio, visiting the tenth century church that dominates the
skyline and the narrow, terraced alleyways that made up this
luxurious and elite place with five-star accomodations and exclusive
addresses. We took the time to relax and soak up the diverse
atmosphere, punctuated by vacationers and normal people, before
returning to the camp.
We had good luck with the weather, just
spoilt a bit by a passing shower but the prognosis looks good for
tomorrow and the chance to take another boat all the way to the
southern tip and the city of Como.
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