While shopping Tim and Ray last night check the bus times at the bus stop by the Co-op, a great supermarket. It appears that there is no bus back to the station in Baumes to get us back to St Croix to walk back to the campsite in Orbes, because it’s Saturday. Confused you will be! Tony and Betsy go on the net. Fortunately a good signal and with help of Monsieur the campsite work out an alternative route back to St Croix. This involves going via Yverdons Les Bains where a yodelling festival is taking place. So extra buses scheduled. We start early. The bus arrives we get to the railway station and find platform B3 and wait, a train arrives and sits with doors closed. On another platform a train departs. IT IS OURS!! There are two platform B3s how does that make sense?
We only loose an hour and see some early yodelers out for a walk. Sadly they do not perform. Eventually we get on the right train and arrive a little late for our descent into the Gorges de Covatanne.
This is a deep cleft in the limestone escarpment that we descend from. Above this during the day we see multiple parapeintes soaring with red kites and other raptors over the fields. As well as the post office with more knobs that a chest of drawers. This is a beautiful valley reaching down to Lausanne and it is easy to see why a high end Roman Villa was built here nearly 2000 years ago.
The mosaics that testify this are in a site that can be visited for a few Swiss Francs and are better value than the beer.
When we get back to our campsite we are hot and wanting to wash and shower. After a significant regrouping Tim and Ray set off to shop for food for today and Sunday tomorrow. IT IS CLOSED! They learn that most supermarkets in Switzerland close at 5pm on Saturday. They cannot be beaten, Tony and Betsy solved their problems, they can do no less. Google maps is their friend. It shows no open supermarkets in Orbe. Except a Co-op petrol station on the other side of town. It is, maybe the best stocked petrol station in Switzerland seems to be frequented by those who had not got to the supermarket. After a round trip of 4km or so and a visit to the main wine shop in town they return triumphant to “Where have you been.”
More walking tomorrow. It’s late again.