Isle of Brissago

20.09.05

Today I decided to visit the botanical gardens on the Isle of Brissago I went early, catching a bus to Brissago with an hour to spare before the next boat. I found out that my Swiss Pass wasn’t accepted for ships on Lake Maggiore, so I dutifully paid the 13,40 CHF. Then I wandered around Brissago, took some photos, and sat on the grass to finish reading the book of Hebrews.

“Ciao” was the only Italian word I knew, but today I learned grazie — meaning “thank you.” In 10 minutes the small boat made its way to the island.

There are plants from all over the world, all on a single island. As you look at around, it inspires thoughts of unity and harmony. The island was mostly green, with many types of trees and vegetation. Some plants were already feeling the effects of Autumn, while a few areas had flowers in bloom.

There were some animals as well, mostly just the same little lizards I’ve seen in Montreux, and a few oversized bees and bugs. A family of peacocks seemed stranded there — one of the young ones must’ve gotten lost, it was wandering around alone, squawking for Mommy.

On the return trip, I met a young girl named Sandra, who didn’t speak much English… and since I don’t speak much else, it was a conversation of few words. The ship docked at Ascona first, where I decided to get off. By the lake there was a little fare with people selling their wares — after looking around a bit and feeding some birds, I picked a direction and went wandering.

I ended up at what might have been a church, but despite the signs leading to it, it didn’t look very welcoming. So I headed back along another path, stopping at a little grocery store on what turned out to be Piazza, or the old-town plaza. Combined with some food in my bag, that completed my lunch, and because I had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the bus back to Moscia, I stopped in for an ice cream cone too. There was a little shop selling kids clothes and TinTin memorabilia. I remember watching the cartoons, and reading books from the library — but I had no idea that TinTin went back as far as 1929. After browsing around there, and looking at some art across the street, I figured I had killed enough time to return to the bus stop.

Met a man from Argentina on the bus, and spoke briefly — he’s been here in Switzerland for 12 years now. I certainly get the image that a number of people move here. Back at Casa Moscia, I downloaded my 101 photos — showing them to Sylvia and some of the other staff hanging around outside. I cut it down to 72 photos, after deleting signs (used for labeling other photos) and photos I didn’t care for.