Out-foxing autumn

This is the seventh autumn in succession that at some point in September we have loaded the moho and headed south. Travelling as we do at no more than 150 miles a day, with extra 'rest days' inserted into the schedule, we make steady rather than rapid progress. For example, in 2015 it took us around 15 days to get from the UK to the Peloponnese; the odd effect of this was to make time stand still, it was early autumn when we left home, still quite mild, the leaves tinged with yellow rather than a riot of colour, a week later, in the upper Tiber valley it was the same. Five days on the weather was identical though by now we were overlooking the Ionian Sea from a flower decked pitch watching the Mediterranean sparkle  as evening fell, wispy clouds gathering on the hills of Kefalonia across the water.  The news from  back home was of October gales stripping  leaves from the trees and the first frosty morning in the Pennines. We felt smug, it was as if we had out-foxed autumn.

This year has not been the same even though we left a fortnight earlier. Right up until we arrived in Italy we watched th BBC weather app plant a row of plump suns across our intended destinations. As we sped across Switzerland that changed to occasional sunny spells with thundery showers. And that is how the past two weeks have been, nights especially punctuated with brief, but violent thunderstorms. It has not stopped us ticking off the essentials - 

All the while we kept one eye on the sky and the other on Accu Weather's rain radar which tracked the westward progress of the pocket-sized storms that appeared to bubble up in the mountains of Corsica then sprint towards the Italian mainland as if running a meteorological relay race.

 The site we are on at Laguna is basic, but adaquate and we almost have the place to ourselves, it does not look that way, it's just all the 7m vans have clustered together onto the few pitches long enough to accommodate them, then there is a few smaller campers scattered about elsewhere.

We supposed the other site next door must be busier because the beach cafés were doing a lively trade, mainly with German families and couples, indeed we heard more German spoken than Italian.

As Gill looked along the shore she decided that we have been here before, recalling that we parked in the field behind the beach when we visited Elba in 2004. It was only later when I passed the actual car park on the way to a beach restaurant that I had any recollection of this. 

As well as being an attractive small beach resort Lacona seemed to have some interesting walks along the big headland that divides the settlement. We walked up the metalled track to the point where the footpath headed off through pinewoods. It was very steep and the surface too eroded and loose for Gill to continue, her dodgy knee, and worsening eyesight has exacerbated the vertigo she has always has suffered from Going up is fine, getting back down really problematic. 

Later in the afternoon I decided to do the walk on my own. It was steep and hard going at times but definitely worth it. You got a bird's-eye view if the whole Tuscan Archipelago, four islands:

Elba itself

Pianosa

Montecristo

The mountains of Corsica hidden in cloud. 

The footpath rejoined an unmetalled road which takes you back to Lacona. It's not too steep and well surfaced so maybe Gill might manage this part more easily, I wondered. You get some great views across the bay towards Monte Capanne, Elba's highest peak.

It was much clearer this evening The weather seems to be on the up, no thunder forecast, sunshine and 23° over the next few days. We might yet out-fox autumn.