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