Down in the Valley

I escape down to the valley pretty much any day I can, but most especially on the sunny blue days that remind me of home. No matter how the week has gone, the water is my happiest of places. Freddy, more a skin-baker that sun-basker, tends to meet Obi and I for a lake-side picnic following a long run in the mountains or around the perimeter of the lake (he beat his own half-marathon time while running to meet us this past Saturday!).

Obi and I are slowly but surely discovering all the best swim spots between Villeneuve and Vevey, walking the long stretches between towns and delighting in the quaint architecture, lush gardens and spectacular sunshine as we walk the meandering promenade. He walks the lake walls beside me, feet nearly at my waist, until he sets his sights on the next best place for a dip. When he wants to jump in, he sits, lets out a small yap, and waits to be released in to the crystal clear waters. Typically, we search together for a suitable stick in the nooks and crannies of the rocks, and he jumps without hesitation into the lake as soon as he sees a new toy in my grasp. Again and again, he swims — splashing me frequently on retrieval — and I sit in the sunshine.

Here along Lake Geneva, there are bountiful Hugos, sweet chai tea lattes, fresh herbs, towering palm trees, baskets of freshly plucked raspberries, antique markets and neighborhood book-shares, secret nooks and crannies illuminated in just the right time of day, and a sense of ease I’ve yet to find up on the mountain. Life is so full down in the valley, this little pocket paradise I already adore so much.

Love from Leysin,
sbmc