The Swiss 'Grand Canyon'

On Sunday we set off to hike to the Swiss 'Grand Canyon'. The weather forecast was for rain, but we have wanted to do this hike for a long time, and one thing I have learnt is if you wait for the 'perfect' day, you will never do anything. So we packed the waterproofs and set off.

Our first view of the canyon was actually pretty impressive. Even the girls said the view was good, and coming from kids raised in Switzerland (the land of stunning views) this is high praise indeed. We hiked on further to a viewing platform, to get a better view of the gorge, and learn more about the history of the area, which was all very interesting, but not as 'wow' as I had envisioned.

On the way back we made a spur of the moment decision to go via 'the lake'. We didn't really know what to expect, but we did the detour anyway, and it turned out to be the best decision of the day. The lake was breath taking.

After hanging out at the lake long enough to eat ice creams and paddle, we caught a small funicular up the hill, and enjoyed a gentle stroll back to the car. By the time we got back to the car we had hiked almost 10kms - the girls longest hike so far!

And as we were playing in the park next to the car park, it finally started to rain. And by then it didn't even matter. We put on our jackets, and enjoyed having the park to ourselves. We played in the rain, and planned our next trip back to 'Blue Lake'.

And today I learnt that even when a trip you wanted to make doesn't turn out as wonderfully as you hoped, there is usually a silver lining. The Grand Canyon was ok, but 'blue lake' is amazing. I learnt that waiting for 'good' weather means you will miss out on the chance to have some great adventures. And sometimes you need to hike miles to find the good stuff, and sometimes it really is only 10 minutes from the car!

And for anyone interested in visiting 'blue lake', its official name is The Caumasee in Flims-Wildhaus. www.caumasee-flims.ch