What a day!!

We did a 14 km. (4 hours with picnic lunch) 'bisse' walk today in the alps. A 'bisse' is a man-made water course that catches the snow melt from the high mountain tops, and directs the water 'around' the mountain rather than 'down'. The water courses are either made of wood, steel, or are trenches dug in the ground, with small gates at various points which are opened when the farmer needs to water his fields.

What is so great about a Bisse walk, is that they are gentle walks, as they go around the mountain on a gentle slope rather than severe up or down. And alongside every bisse is a path. There are thousands of kilometres of 'bisses' in the canton of Valais where we have our apartment.

Well the 'Bisse de Claveaux' goes through forests, fields, vineyards... goes slightly up, down, and along. It goes through caves and alongside the mountain canyons. Vistas of the alps are magnificent. And best of all, it has picnic tables along the way, and a café/restaurant near one of the ends. Twelve of us set out at the higher end of the bisse and walked for 1 1/2 hrs, then had a picnic, and then walked another 2 hours to the café for coffee, then another 1/2 hour down to the road where we caught a bus to take us back up the mountain. Weather was a perfect 20° C.

We had a wonderful day!