Paddling into the Lavaux

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The view toward the Dents du Midi and the upper Rhône River, flowing out of canton Valais. swissinfo.ch

Larry and Martine Ware were planning to paddle Lake Geneva with me, but knee surgery got in the way. Here we are by the harbor in Vevey. swissinfo.ch

World headquarters for Nestlé, the world's largest food company, on the shore of Lake Geneva in Vevey. swissinfo.ch

The giant fork at Vevey, planted for the founding of the food museum some 25 years ago. swissinfo.ch

The castle in La Tour-de-Peilz. swissinfo.ch

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This morning I woke to clouds and haze, leading me to think that the last two days would be a disappointingly grey finale to a glorious trip. But once again I was fooled, as the haze gradually lifted and the sun returned yet again to splash the golden vines with its brilliance.

The shoreline here in the Lavaux country is amazingly beautiful and just the way I like it: steeply plunging into the lake, with white-crusted peaks rising high on the far shore, and wine grapes painting the hillside.

The wines produced here are famed throughout Switzerland and would be well known around the world if the Swiss didn’t consume almost all of it in-country. The combination of beauty, cultural importance, and careful protection has placed this region on the list of World Heritage sites.

In Vevey I stopped to see my friend Larry Ware in the hospital following his knee operation. Larry and Martine were to paddle the lake with me, as they both have considerable experience here. Larry has paddled from the lake to the Mediterranean twice. He says it used to be a good journey, but now the dams have taken all the fun out it.

Now we’re pulling into La Tour-de-Peilz for the night. It’s hard to stop when the water is so perfect in every way and there is still time in the day. But I have a other friend to visit, and besides, I don’t want this to end! Only one more day, I’m sorry to say.