DAY 80 - BOSSEY to GENEVA (Wednesday 5 July)

On the final day of our walk, we followed the Chemin de St Jacques south to Geneva, then went on to the water jet for the traditional end-of-trip photos.

Three Australian long-distance walkers in Geneva at the end of a long walk

We set out this morning under a cloudy sky. 

This is the cloudy sky under which we set out this morning

The path gave us a taste of many of the features of our walk through Switzerland. There was an early walk through the picturesque village of Founex.

Founex has a street library and several attractive lampposts

We walked through a vineyard, by an orchard, next to a train line, through a forest, and through more villages. 

We walked by an orchard 

We walked past some horses

We walked past a crop field

We walked through a village where the locals had made a bit of an effort with the flowers

We were guided by well-placed, informative walking path signs

We walked through a vineyard

We walked past some wildflowers

We walked through a forest 

We walked up some stairs

We walked alongside a train line

We walked over a bridge

We walked in the rain

We took a photo of a puddle

We negotiated whatever obstacles were in our path 

We found a picnic lunch spot with a nice view

After a few hours we arrived in Geneva. We followed the path down to the lake, and treated ourselves to a hot chocolate in a lakeside café.

An hourglass reminded us that our time was almost up

We were still following the Chemin de St Jacques as we worked our way down to the lake

Australian long-distance walkers enjoying a hot chocolate at a lakeside café in Geneva

We took our time going through Geneva. We were among many tourists enjoying the lakeside promenade this afternoon. 

Australian long-distance walkers heading for the water jet,  and the symbolic end of their long-distance walk

And then we were there. We lingered at the water jet, taking a series of celebratory photos to mark the conclusion of our walk. 

Celebratory selfie - Australian long-distance walkers at the Jet D'Eau in Geneva to mark the conclusion of their 663 Kilometre walk across Switzerland from Kreuzlingen to Geneva 

Celebratory selfie - Australian long-distance walkers at the Jet D'Eau in Geneva, marking the end of their 1,743 kilometre walk across France, Germany and Switzerland, from Dieppe to Geneva.

And just like that, the walk was over.  We have really enjoyed travelling slowly through such a range of places, engaging with different history, language and culture as we went, and learning so many new things every day.  We would like to thank all those who have been following this blog - family, friends, and those who have joined us on the way. We have had a fantastic journey and have enjoyed sharing it with you.

Day 80 - Birds (yes, there's room in there for one final photo of the great crested grebe)

Day 80 - Elevation Profile 

Day 80 -  Route 

Day: 80

Distance: 26.28 km

Walking time: 5 hrs 46 mins

Elevation gain: 344 metres

Cumulative distance:  1,743.24

Switzerland distance: 663.44

Switzerland chocolate consumption: 44 blocks

Poem of the Day:

A SONNET?

Dad encouraged me to write a sonnet

Sonnets have structural rules to follow

I said "yeah no worries, I am on it"

Would this promise turn out to be

hollow?

Yes.

Bonus photo - Switzerland chocolate consumption - a wrap-up

DAY 79 - ETOY to BOSSEY (Tuesday 4 July)

The penultimate day of our walk involved another long section on the Chemin de St Jacques. Today we were mostly inland,  instead of skirting the lake as we had done yesterday. 

Another long day's walk

We set out from our accommodation and quickly picked up the Chemin de St Jacques. We followed it through Allaman and Perroy to Rolle, where the path stayed by the lake for a while. 

The Chemin de St Jacques - through Perroy and on to Rolle

We stocked up on supplies in Rolle (yes, chocolate was involved) before moving on. The path now headed away from the lake, through food crops and vineyards to Gland. 

Lake Geneva at Rolle

Rolle

From Rolle to Gland 

There was a scenic industrial area to pass through in Gland, followed by a series of Toblerone-shaped tank traps which once formed part of the country's defences. 

The path took us on a scenic route through Gland

The toblerones near Gland

We had our picnic lunch at the toblerones, then followed the path down to a lakeside beach. 

Down to the beach

A short walk further on we came to Nyon. From there, the path took us all the way to our accommodation in Bossey.

Through Prangins to Nyon

And on towards Bossey

Day 79 - Birds

Day 79 - Elevation Profile 

Day 79 - Route 

Day: 79

Distance: 34.39 km

Walking time: 7 hrs 01 mins

Elevation gain: 535 metres

Cumulative distance:  1,716.96

Switzerland distance: 637.16

Switzerland chocolate consumption: 42 blocks

Poem of the Day:

FELLOW WANDERERS

There are many fellow wanders that

you see on walking tracks

There are locals on a day trip wearing

babies on their backs

There are cyclists - some in Lycra

others with no shirt

Some have streamlined bicycles, with

others made for dirt

There are tourists proudly posing with

their money belts on display

Some are out for weeks or more,

others just the day

There are people of all ages who have

popped out for a jog

But my favourite type of fellow trail

wanderer? The dog

There are big dogs, there are small

dogs, there are fluffy ones and thin

No matter what sort of dog I see, I

count it as a win.

DAY 78 - LAUSANNE to ETOY (Monday 3 July)

We continued our trek across the northern shore of Lake Geneva, ending up walking a bit more than we had planned. 

Another day walking by Lake Geneva 

We started by picking up the Chemin de St Jacques next to Lausanne Cathedral, and following it down through Lausanne to the lake. 

We headed up to Lausanne Cathedral, took in the view from the lookout, and found the walking path signs to take us out of town

Down through Lausanne towards the lake

At Vidy, we wandered briefly around the ruins of the Roman site of Lousonna. 

Australian long-distance walkers wandering through the ruins of Lousonna

At Vidy, we reached the lake, and walked along it for most of the remainder of the day. 

The path reaches the lake at Vidy

Following the lake westwards from Lausanne

L'île aux Oiseaux, a bird sanctuary, was a highlight along the way

L'île aux Oiseaux, near Morges

Before long, we arrived at Morges, which markets itself as a slow tourism destination. This seemed to fit nicely with our preferred method of travel, and we proceeded slowly through the town. 

Travelling slowly through Morges, where signs encourage you to slow down

Another couple of hours along the lake took us to St Prex, where we strolled through the medieval old town. 

The harbour at Morges

Moving slowly on from Morges

Lake Geneva at Taillecou

St Prex

Shortly after St Prex, the path left the lake and followed a road into Buchillon.

On from St Prex

The path turned inland, and we passed the first sunflower field of the trip

Buchillon

We had been following the Chemin de St Jacques all day. There were various signs along the way to remind us. 

We left the path shortly after Buchillon to navigate our way to our accommodation in Allaman. Unfortunately, for the first time in our trip, we suffered a setback - the place was locked up and there was noone on site to check us in. We hastily made arrangements to stay in a (relatively) nearby hotel instead. 

We found our way to the accommodation we had booked, only to find ourselves locked out

So we found our way to another hotel instead

Day 78 - Birds

Day 78 - Elevation Profile 

Day 78 - Route 

Day: 78

Distance: 33.57 km

Walking time: 7 hrs 18 mins

Elevation gain: 454 metres

Cumulative distance:  1,681.57

Switzerland distance: 602.77

Switzerland chocolate consumption: 41 blocks

Poem of the Day:

ACCOMMODATION ADVENTURES

When you book a place to stay sometimes things go to plan

The breakfast is included or the room contains a fan

Other times the booking's got some features unexpected

Like traffic noise, uneven floors, or wifi code rejected

Today's accommodation takes the unexpected cup

The room was booked and paid for, but the host didn't show up

The hotel was deserted and the contact number old

Essentially, we realised we'd been left out in the cold

But fear not, we're resourceful and we had the Internet

We found another place to stay, and towards it off we set

So today we wound up walking a little further than first thought

But what's life without adventure? Some experiences can't be bought.