Dolomites 2

Majano - Mansuè (TV) – Belluno

After eating and drinking well, while the others were chatting, I took a nap until 16, then on the move for an itinerary recommended by the group of relatives, first destination: Belluno, on arrival, toward evening, a sign "Camper parking with escalator to the center" directs us, after a bridge to the right, to a beautiful place to stop, at the entrance you press a button that will release a token for payment on departure, there are other campers stopped for the night.

Belluno – Alleghe

In the morning, after taking the escalator, a visit to the historic center of Belluno with its ancient buildings and beautiful squares, shopping at a fruit and vegetable market and return to the parking lot, at a machine near the departure point of the escalator, having inserted the token, it displays how much to pay, amazed, we pay € 1.80, there is no distinction between cars and campers, we thank the municipality of Belluno for this inexpensive hospitality, many other mayors should imitate such an ordinance. Exiting to the right you find a place for free water loading and unloading.

Along the way we stop at Rivamonte Agordino, to visit a mining center of the Imperina Valley, now disused, but transformed into a museum, where you can sense how hard the life of the miners was in those times, where men and boys, naked because of the heat, worked and died still with antiquated means and tools. At noon we stop along a river on the outskirts of Agordo, on arrival you see a dirt clearing on the left after a bridge, then in a parking lot in the center we make a brief visit to the town, very beautiful because it is surrounded by spectacular mountains.

We continue to Alleghe, on arrival, a sign indicates no camper parking throughout the area, but another sign indicates a stopping point at the end of the town, it is a dirt area where there are already other campers, a small road along the lake will take us back to the center, the town is beautiful and characteristic like all lakeside municipalities, besides the various characteristic spots I also photograph the surrounding mountains, unfortunately not being a connoisseur I don't know their names. We notice a certain flurry of blockades on the access roads, a traffic warden explains that there will be a festival and at 22.30 it will culminate with fireworks, which we will watch from the edge of the lake near the camper parking lot.

Alleghe – Canazei

Quiet night, in the morning we set off not too early, the parking is free. Before noon we arrive at Arabba, a sign indicates the camper parking area, where, before stopping, we take care of loading and unloading water, meanwhile Tina inquires about how much it costs: one day costs € 12.00, only C/S, with a short stop, € 5.00, we have lunch and visit the town. We set off again and at about 10 km we do the Pordoi pass under pouring rain, given the futility of a stop, due to the bad weather, we descend to Canazei, unfortunately this town has no camper stopping point, we must, of necessity, go to the Marmolada campsite, very expensive € 28.00 and since there is a large influx of vehicles, we are crammed next to one another.

The weather clears and we decide before dinner to make a visit to the town, one hotel after another, each nicer than the last, almost all, in their construction have made much use of wood, a characteristic of the place.

Canazei – Anterselva

We wanted to take the cable car and go up to see the panorama of the neighboring mountains, but the weather is uncertain, so we gave up. Shortly after departure we arrive at Campitello, the weather has cleared, we stop, the cable car parking lot is forbidden to campers, but at the back, through a raised barrier, there is room where there are other campers and there is no prohibition, we stop and given the nice weather we decide to go up by cable car, round trip € 12.50 per person, many people are equipped for mountain walking with boots and backpacks and take the one-way ticket, presumably they will return on foot, we set off, the cable car is crammed with people. At the top the spectacle is stunning, unfortunately the clouds hide much of the mountains, I take some photos, but they won't be the best.

On the way back we are only four, the others, as expected, will descend on foot and others by paraglider. A tip for campers, don't stop at Canazei, but continue to Campitello, the place is more beautiful, less chaotic and there is a place to stop, without getting stuck in the campsite. After the Campolongo pass we stop at Lake Carezza, already seen in the past, but we gladly see it again. A phone call from Achille, one of the relatives at lunch, advises us to visit the Novacella Abbey, right after Bressanone. We accept and thank him for the advice and stop to visit this place, very beautiful and evocative.

Along the road at a crossroads we decide to go back and stop for the night at Anterselva, a small village already visited in the past, we stop at Anterselva di Mezzo, in a parking lot at the beginning of the village, after dinner we decide on a short visit, after visiting the beautiful church we continue toward the upper village, in a square we see people in costume, men and women heading in a single direction, we follow them and discover that they are part of a musical band that, at 22.30, will give a concert, with a few minutes to spare we settle into the front row, we are the only ones, they start playing and little by little other spectators arrive, all band music: marches, polkas and local songs, one of the players who acts as presenter, first speaks in German and then in Italian and greets the ITALIAN guests, maybe he doesn't know.... But we are in Italy.

At midnight it starts getting cold, we leave the band still playing, in the camper we will turn on the heater.

Anterselva – Majano

The weather is bad and we decide to return home, it's pointless to travel without being able to see anything. Along the return road we stopped to see Lake Braies once again, there are three parking lots, for campers stopping is allowed at the first and second, at the last one, the one near the lake, it is prohibited.