Mont Blanc update

So, it is now day 5 of our Mont Blanc hike. Tomorrow is the last full day of walking which ends back in Chamonix.

Here are a few not very good pics of my trip which ended up being very different to everyone elses.

As I was being driven by a rather hunky young Englishman, in a van with our bags to the accommodation for each night, I did get to see some incredible mountain scenery, including the desolate, dramatic St Bernards Pass which is where Saint Bernard started training the St Bernard dogs to rescue people, and I was driven through the 11.5km long tunnel  beneath the mountain range, under Mont Blanc, connecting France and Italy.

I saw views of the Swiss valley where Martigny is situated on the wide valley floor with many vineyards on the slopes that we drove down and up.

I sat outside the Hotel Lavachey, in Lavachey, Italy. The river and pine clad mountains reminded me of Canada.

Our first Swiss hotel in Champex - so cute.

This is part of the view from the hotel. I can almost see Heidi on the meadows down there!

Champex Lake, 100m from the hotel - aqua coloured in the sunlight. (Thanks for the photo, Sheryl)

 Reflections on the lake early in the morning.

 The second Swiss hotel in Trient, was rather ordinary, but the view was pretty.

This is what happens when thunderstorms are predicted and your guide, very wisely, won't take you on the planned walk. This is waiting for a taxi to go from Trient to Argentiere, tonight's accommodation.

Sheryl and I have views of two glaciers from one window, and... 

 ...one glacier from another window! This is the Argentiere Glacier, the one I sat beside last week and listened to. (See previous post "Listening to glaciers."

The others have shown me photos from their days of walking. I missed out on high mountain passes and lakes, pack mules, more cows with musical bells, pine forests with fungi and lichens, and great weather, up until today.

Now, I am in our hotel while some of the others are hiking to the Argentiere Glacier. In a few minutes, I will meet Pete, Loretta, Sheryl, Mick and Marie at the lovely cafe we found here last week.

Tomorrow, while the others hike to Chamonix, I am going to the hospital to see a doctor about my leg.