The forest was nice but prevented any view on the surrounding mountains until I reached the final summit, the Col de Vergio on 1,477 meters altitude. Here I stopped for a break and was immediately greeted by more pigs.
That summit lay just above the timber line and therefor offered an unhindered view on the surrounding mountain ranges. The grey of the granite contrasted wonderful with the colourful woods below. I took some time for a little walk and a snack plus the inevitable coffee. Despite the altitude and the season, it was very agreeable sitting in the sun as long as there was shelter from the wind.
I had reached the highest point of today´s journey and from here on it was a long descent to the west coast. The road seemingly endlessly wound through narrow valleys in between steep mountain flanks, all covered with the typical macchia.
This almost impenetrable thicket of thornily bushes and trees is the perfect territory for the semi-wild pigs. They are virtually everywhere in the macchia and besides the road and on the road. Up here they probably outnumber humans by a factor of hundred. Houses or even villages are a very rare occurrence here and the few larger settlements – I am talking about more than ten buildings – often sit on the steep mountain flanks like aeries.
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