Day 346 – EU – Switzerland [Ascona to Lugano]

16/03/21

35km

  From Ascona (Switzerland) to Lugano (Switzerland)

Europe

From Lake Maggiore to Lake Lugano via Monte Ceneri, a run cut short by a Covid test

Lake Maggiore, out of Locarno

A beautiful start, sunny and bright, this morning along Lake Maggiore. Running on the lake shore’s paths, out of Locarno, to the northern point of the lake. Loads of runners, dog walkers, cyclists. It was very peaceful. I looked back a few times over my shoulder, to see if I could see my grandmother’s villa from a distance. I could indeed! It stood out as it is perched up on a hill (and it helps that it’s a yellow bright color).

Past the north tip of the lake, I headed towards Monte Ceneri. The main road goes to a tunnel underneath the mountain but I was heading to the Pass: 360m positive ascent within 3kms, on a medieval road made of protruding pieces of rocks. Quite an effort with BoB the stroller, an epic uphill struggle! That’s also when the bitterly cold northerly wind started to pick up, it certainly cooled me down.

Heading out on the countryside towards Mount Ceneri

Once on the other side, I spent a lot of time on the phone. I needed to do another Covid Test for my Italian crossing tomorrow. Yet all the pharmacies I passed on my way were fully booked with appointments. I spend the best of the next hour calling all the pharmacies in the region. Having wasted so much time and being so late compared to normal days, I suddenly had to rush. There was very little time to make it on time to the only available spot in Lugano. I cut my itinerary to the shortest possible route and ended up running just short of 35km. And I made it just on time for the test.

Lugano downtown

I must be approaching 20 tests already as of today. The more I do, the more painful it is. It is as if the inside of the nose, up as far as the giant cotton bud reaches, gets irritated each time and does not really heal. I am literally crying my eyes out for a good 5mn after the test is done. And my nose hurts. Or am I just a crybaby…!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: