Ironically this stage quickly turned into one of the most pleasant yet. After gathering lunch supplies at the supermarket we locked into the Swiss cycle network and followed a quiet path alongside the Rhone. It led us away from Martigny down a wide valley, lined with the dwindling remains of the Alps.
As lunch time approached a flash of bright turquoise appeared on the horizon which soon revealed itself as Lake Geneva. We found a nice lakeside spot for lunch and Tom and Greg quickly took the opportunity for a 'scenic wee'.
Refuelled, we continued a long cruise around the edge of the lake until unexpectedly we entered Monte Carlo! Accusing glances were cast at Dad who was frantically studying maps to try to account for this navigational cock-up, and eventually we worked out that these Motor-yacht strewn stretches of boulevard actually belonged to Montreaux.
The path was now lined with make shift bars, merchandise stalls and pounding soundsystems, our pace dropped to a crawl as we fought our way through a thick throng of tourists: Montreaux Jazz Festival was in full swing. Unfortunately, the town was too packed to stop and enjoy that night's performances by Sting, Friendly Fires and others, so we pressed on and continued around the lake.
The road soared up into vineyard covered hills then dropped down again into our target for the day: Lausanne. Again, we could almost see the money dripping from the opulent architecture of the town, but in Probert Challenge style we shunned the 5-star waterfront hotel and set off in search of the local camp site. Our first night in the tent was a good excuse for Tom to finally buy a Swiss Army Knife, which would be indispensable for lunch preparation.
With camp site located and tent set up, we headed into the baking heat of the afternoon to explore the town centre. A not-unpleasant stroll along the lake through hundreds of bikini-clad locals took us to the metro stop where we used our free transport cards (for anyone stating in the town) to ride into the old heart of Lausanne. Our stay coincided with the world youth gymnastic contest, and the train was full of excitedly giggling groups of kids all in national team colour uniforms.
Our mission, apart from marvelling at the impressive architecture was to find some food but once again the Swiss Economy priced us out of the game. Reconnaissance discovered €20 pizzas and €80 steaks and we soon found ourselves defeatedly back in McDonalds, along with the entire Portugese youth gymnastics squad.
As the sun went down we returned to our tent to attempt to pack the three of us and all our kit into what is essentially a 2 nab tent. A brutal round of 'Shotgun' later and Tom found himself wedged between the team's panniers out in the muddy porch.
Shotgun rules.
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