Author’s note: This post is a continuation on my travel series hiking the Tour de la Vanoise. Somehow or another I had started this post and forgot to finish it! How dare it! This post should have occurred the afternoon before we arrived at our last refuge, Refuge Peclet-Polset, and should have been placed after my post titled “Into the Mystic”.
Have you ever been in a place that felt like it was out of a fairytale? A place that brought back memories of being a child lost inside some fictitious fantasy land? Well that is how I felt when I climbed over the low-lying hill and descended upon our picnic place for the afternoon.
As I walked over this hill….
This is what I saw….
The most breathtaking, mystical pool of water set high up in the top of the mountains. It was truly serene.
The clouds began to play tricks of hide and seek on us. One moment the rocky mountains completely disappeared.
And the next moment the sun burst through the low-lying clouds and cast brilliant, gleaming light across the aquamarine lake, making everything sparkle like a million diamonds.
The lake ebbed and flowed each year after the early June glaciers melted and retreated high up into the Alps. The water was frigid, icy cold. But that didn’t stop a few brave souls, including our guide Mark and our fourteen-year-old companion Jonty from taking a swim.
After the swim, it was time for our picnic lunch in paradise. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to be than here.
The water mesmerized me. It was so pure, so real and so delightful. When the clouds would lift, a gorgeous tapestry of the mountains would reflect against the glass-like, crystal clear water.
Just as it was time to pack up and leave, the clouds returned leaving the place blanketed once again in mystery of the beauty that was hidden behind the clouds.
“See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence…we need silence to be able to touch souls”. – Mother Teresa
Beautiful photos, Nicole. And I really like the quote from Mother Teresa.
Thank you Angeline! I thought that quote was just perfect too!
Paradise, indeed. Beautiful Mother Teresa’ quote!
Thank you! 🙂
What a wonderful place. The changing light and cloud cover make it even more magical.
Thanks! Yes I thought it was so incredibly beautiful! I really love nature!
You really do love mountains, don’t you Nicole? They’re glorious shots of a wonderful place, a ‘beaut’ picnic spot on your adventure hike in the mountains. But give me forests … a picnic spread out on the rocks over/in/beside a stream in the forest, now that’s a dream location for me 🙂
Hmmm….I love that too! I love hiking in the forests of New Zealand and even here in MN. So I guess it isn’t only mountains but I do have some sort of obsession with them, don’t I?
Yeah, Nicole – it’s mountains for you I think 🙂
Yes that does seem dreamlike. Nice!
THanks!
Glorious landscapes! Can imagine why you felt the way you did 🙂
Thanks Madhu! 🙂
Magical place for a picnic, Nicole. Love the quote; very apt indeed. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂