Roaming the Rhone

OK so there has not been anything on here for a couple of weeks so how come someone who is enjoying a career break cannot find time to keep a simple blog updated? A fair question and one that I cannot defend, other than to say its been a busy couple of weeks with job applications, preparing for interviews (!) and so on. Not to mention the trials and tribulations of shopping, cleaning and preparing meals.

In between all the fun described above, I have been making the occasional midweek escape. Last Thursday (20 September) it was a nice sunny day so I took a ride on the bus, a tram and another bus through the communes of Carouge and Lancy, and ended up at the 'Pont Butin', a road bridge that crosses the Rhone on the western side of Geneva. This was the starting point for a path which follows the Rhone as it winds north and south towards the countryside and France.

Finding the path was another matter. I walked 300 metres from the last road crossing point down the west side of the approach to the bridge only to find the steps down were on the east side and separated by a dual carriageway and central reservation. So after adding nearly 1km to my walk without getting started I finally made it down under the bridge and start the walk. I must say though it was worth it. The light that morning (as per every sunny morning here) was fantastically pure - the sky is a crystal clear blue. I was able to get right alongside the river which was flowing quietly but purposefully and was its usual opaque emerald green hue. To add to the spectacle, the trees had started to turn into their autumn colours, probably courtesy of some colder nights and I can imagine that in a week or two from now they would be even more resplendent.

The path itself was a pleasure - shaded for the most part and not too undulating. There were occasional openings where you could step out and admire yet more beautiful autumn colours, bordered by the deep green waters and the perfect blue skies, and also spot some wildlife such as grebes, cormorants, swans and ducks, as well as a few kingfishers (or fast moving blue/green dots).




So I wound my way through Onex and then Loex, encountering numerous joggers on the way, especially around lunchtime. A lot of them seem to come from the other, more built up side of the river over two footbridges or 'passarelles'. The one pictured here connects Loex with Lignon. The terrain became more and more rural and peaceful apart from the occasional roar of yet another plane taking off from the nearby airport at Cointrin.

After cutting underneath the Autoroute at Chevres, I walked about another km to a lookout by a small inlet, which had a great view towards the last few Swiss villages and the mountains of France beyond.


From here I cut 'inland' through some very rural areas to the town of Bernex, which although was on the edge of Geneva , had a nice quiet country village feel (except for the main road part). Here I jumped on a bus and then another bus (the network is fantastic) back home to Champel and the hustle and bustle of the city...