Swimming Tour to Italy s Lake Orta

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1 1 Swimming Tour to Italy s Lake Orta 27 th August to 2 nd September 2018 Information Brochure and Program (v1) This really is one of the most magical places in the world where one can swim Experience some of the world s most spectacular scenery View magnificent ancient architecture and artworks Stay in a beautiful, small, 12 th Century village Swim in idyllic Lake Orta, the most romantic of Italy s lakes. In the late European summer of 2018 Otter Aquatics will again be leading a week-long swimming-based holiday to one of northern Italy s most scenic and history-rich lakes. Our location will be Lago d Orta (Lake Orta), a relatively small lake with all the advantages of nearby and better-known lakes, such as Lake Maggiore and Lake Como, but so much prettier and without the crowds. We will be staying in a very comfortable 200 year old hotel in the lovely 12 th Century village of Orta San Giulio, right on the shore of Lake Orta, and we will immerse ourselves, literally and figuratively, in the amazing architectural and artistic history and beauty of the town, the lake and the region.

2 2 The place Lago d Orta and the village of Orta San Giulio lay more-or-less mid way between Milan and Turin in the Italian province of Piedmont. Orta San Giulio (or just Orta) with its narrow cobbled streets is a traffic-free medieval walled village and the home of culture, art, handcrafts, gastronomic tradition and, of course, water sports. The London Telegraph s travel editor, who fell in love with Lago d Orta when she first saw it 40 years ago, compares Orta to an opera set. She says it is one of the country s most beautiful lakes, yet it remains off the tourist track... even Italians haven t heard of it! If you want an unspoiled Italian lakes experience on an intimate scale, go for Orta. I can attest to those comments and could add many more. I went first there by myself in 2014 and found it so wonderful, I took my first party of swimmers there the following year. One of our group in 2015 reported that his heart missed a beat when our minibus coming from Milan airport rounded a corner and the village and the lake with its stunning offshore island Isola San Giulio were laid out before him. Everyone in our group said that the experience was so much more than they were expecting and even better than the superlatives I had used to describe it to them beforehand. So... expect to be amazed! Check out this amazing video of the village, the lake and the island: The swimming As open water swimmers around the world know, what better way to become thoroughly saturated with the essence of a place than to swim in it. We will swim to and around the lovely island of Isola di San Giulio, just 400 metres offshore of Orta San Giulio, with its 15 th century Benedictine monastery and with a built history dating back to the 5 th Century We will also undertake more adventurous cross-lake swims for those interested, including to the village of Pella, one kilometre away on the other side of Lago d Orta and a swim of about two kilometres in Lake Mergozzo We will do day trips to nearby Lago Maggiore and other places of interest. While we expect the days to be fine and warm with daily air temperatures in the high 20s or low 30s, the weather everywhere being a fickle beast means that we will include in our program a number of alternatives and we may swap some days activities around to suit conditions. So what will the water be like? First of all, there are no sharks, crocs, stingers, rips, currents or surf in the lakes altogether a bit of a bore we Australians might say but, like a lot of things that Australians say, we are not always serious. But the lakes are sparklingly clear

3 and clean because they get their water off the snow-clad surrounding mountains. Don t worry about the temperature; when I led the trip at the same time in 2015, the water temperature was about 24 degrees much the same as a heated lap swimming pool. But, if you are concerned about the temperature, you are welcome to bring your wetsuit (they will be available for hire too). All swims will be supervised by a qualified swimming coach, former surf lifesaver and pool lifeguard (i.e. me). They will all be non-competitive, they will cater for all swimming abilities and they will all be optional. You do whatever swims you feel like doing on the day or none at all if that is what you want. Non-swimming partners are welcome too we always need people to take the photos and hold our towels and clothes! A safety boat will accompany all swims in Lake Orta beyond 100 metres from the shore. The boat can also carry the non-swimmers in our party, those who choose not to swim on a particular day or those who want to be picked up along the route. Our boat will also carry our clothes and towels, etc. If there are more non-swimmers than the boat can accommodate, there are regular ferries to our destinations. Italian law requires swimmers who go beyond 100 metres from the shore to wear a red bathing cap (we will supply you with an Otter Aquatics cap) and to tow a red safety buoy to ensure that they can be seen by boat traffic on the lake. This may seem a little strange to Australian swimmers, but they are not an encumbrance and it just adds to the exotic nature of our special holiday. We will be especially visible to boats as we will also swim in one or two groups. 3 One of our swims will be from the village of Orta San Giulio to Isola San Giulio (in the distance here), where there is a 15 th Century Benedictine monastery a short 400 metres off the coast. Just fantastic!

4 4 Non-swimming activities There will be swimming opportunities every day, but only for an hour or so each day. The rest of the time will be divided between expert English-speaking guided tours of the history, architecture and art of this wonderful part of the world or you can just do your own thing. There will be plenty of opportunities for souvenir shopping in Orta San Giulio and for walks in the town and its vicinity. There are quaint restaurants, cafes, pizzerias and gelatarias galore (we will provide you with a list of recommended ones). Guided tours will include: public, private and religious buildings and shrines in the village of Orta San Giulio, including the 12 th century town square, Piazza Maria Motta, and the old town hall, the Palazzotto the 15 th Century basilica and Benedictine monastery on Isola di San Guilio nearby Sacro Monte di San Francesco, a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Francis of Assisi. Sacro Monte and its surrounding nature reserve received World Heritage listing from UNESCO in There will be some optional extras if there is a demand, such as a shopping day at a factory outlet near Milan (I think Italians invented factory outlets), a day s trekking in the mountains and possibly Italian language and cooking lessons if you want (we will ask you for your wishes early in the tour). Beautiful Orta San Giulio

5 5 Price The basic price per person will be A$2,000. This assumes twin or double share accommodation. Single accommodation will attract a supplement of A$500. Confirmation and payment Please confirm your participation to me no later than 31 st December 2017 (you are more than welcome to do so at any time beforehand). I will then issue you with a registration/indemnity form and an invoice for a 50% deposit. The balance will be invoiced by mid April and payable by 31 May Registration and indemnity Your registration form will include a section for you to provide contact details of someone back home should there be an emergency. Also, while Otter Aquatics has adequate insurance, on your registration form I will ask you to certify that you undertake the activities at your own risk and that you accept responsibility for any injuries you may suffer in the course of the tour. Cancellation policy Unfortunately, the hotel has a non-refund policy in the event of a cancellation so, as the hotel cost is by far the greatest component of the price, we are also not able to offer refunds. Substitutes, on the other hand, are acceptable right up to our arrival. Smart Traveller I recommend that Australian travellers complete the information asked for at so that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can provide you with up-to-date travel advisories on the countries you will be visiting as well as facilitating Australian diplomatic missions to provide consular assistance if required. What will be provided I will meet you at Milan s Malpensa airport on the first day of the tour (which will be Monday 27 th August) in an air-conditioned minibus and dropped off on the last day, Sunday 2 nd September six nights accommodation at Hotel Albergo Leon d Oro, a superior standard hotel right on Lake Orta and right adjacent to the town s piazza. The hotel has wifi and an excellent restaurant (see breakfasts every morning supervised swims in Lakes Orta, Maggiore and Mergozzo safety boat and swimming safety buoys

6 6 coaching and stroke correction tips if required guided tours in Orta San Giulio, Sacro Monte and Isola di San Giulio welcome drinks on the night of our arrival to meet your fellow swim-tourers a farewell dinner on the last night of our tour in a local restaurant featuring specially selected local produce Otter Aquatics peaked cap, swimming cap, t-shirt and back pack/dilly bag a list of recommended places you may wish to visit by yourself, a list of recommended eateries and a guide to local food. What you will need to provide for yourselves swimming togs, goggles (but the lake is very clear and clean and you may not need goggles) and towel fins/flippers (if you want them) wetsuit if you need one but they will also be available for hire funds to cover the cost of all lunches and dinners (except for the final farewell dinner) and beverages. As a general guide, 25 should be more than enough to cover each meal per person funds to cover souvenirs and other purchases if you wish to take part in the optional factory outlet shopping or trekking trips, funds to cover the hire of a minibus and guide as well as any purchases you may wish to make clothing and personal items including medications. It will be late summer/early autumn in Europe. It will likely be warm to hot, so shorts, t-shirts and sandals will be all the go. But the weather being what it is, it would be a good idea to bring a light jumper or jacket, perhaps a rain jacket or umbrella and a pair of jeans, just in case bring a good pair of walking shoes/joggers, sunnies, sunscreen, a hat, a water bottle and a camera. Some of our non-swimming activities will involve some walking. Orta San Giulio has plenty of hilly streets just what you need to get the heart pumping Italy s power supply is 220V /50Hz which is fine for most appliances, but you will need a standard European two-point (a Type F) power adaptor ensure that you have global roaming on your mobile phone. International calls can be expensive but the occasional short phone call or text message will not break the bank. But be careful, data charges are very high when overseas and you should turn off data on your phone. And keep in mind that the hotel has wifi. You may wish to purchase a global SIM before leaving home or an Italian SIM on arrival. But it is even better to turn your phone off and enjoy a technologyfree holiday decent dollops of senses of adventure, fun and humour, a willingness to enjoy the heck out of the experience and a preparedness to brag about it all once you get home. Residents of the UK and other European countries know that a week-long holiday in Europe involves just a few days of their annual leave and a short flight. For Australians and

7 New Zealanders on the other hand, a European holiday is not something to be undertaken on a whim. On our last trip, our Australian participants spent anything from an extra two weeks to three months doing other things in Europe such as visiting Rome, Florence, Venice, Bologna and other places in Italy while others went further afield to the UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Croatia and Slovenia. Some people may wish to take part in one or more of Otter Aquatics other swimming holidays in 2018: the Cycling and Swimming Tour of Lake Constance (5 th to 12 th September) and the Greek Island Swimming Adventure: Rhodes and Symi Islands (15 th to 23 rd September). All our European tours are scheduled to run consecutively with sometimes a couple of days in between. A little about me and Otter Aquatics 7 I retired from my serial careerist occupations of naval officer, diplomat, academic and international environmentalist in 2010 and decided to stay in one place for a while and do something that I enjoy doing. So I took my lifelong interest in swimming and became a swimming instructor, coach and surf lifesaver. I set up Otter Aquatics in 2012 to concentrate on teaching adults, especially adults with a fear of the water. I encourage my students, once they become confident in the pool, to get into real swimming, i.e. the open water. It then seemed logical to organise tours to wonderful parts of the world and to see these places from the vantage of the water. Having taken part in international swimming tours myself (especially the Hellespont, aka the Dardanelles, in Turkey in 2014), I decided to organise international swimming tours of my own. Lake Orta in 2015 was the first one and Lake Constance in 2016 was the second. Also, through our counterpart, Strel Swimming Adventures, I organised ocean swimming tours of the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia in 2015, the Fjords and Coves of Montenegro in 2016 and Slovenian Lakes and Rivers in You will meet our local partner, Dr Stefano Falciola, another retired academic and a native of Orta San Giulio, who will be with us the whole time and who seems to know and be known by everyone in town. He runs the active tourism company ASD Lago D Orta Sports & Events. See over for a draft program. Non vedo l'ora di vedervi a Orta Mark Otter mark@otteraquatics.com.au

8 Swimming Tour to Italy 27 th August to 2 nd September 2018 Draft Program Welcome to Italy, in particular Orta San Giulio. I hope you are as excited as we are about the wonderful week ahead. 8 The Città di Orta San Giulio (the city of Orta San Giulio, or simply Orta) is a little village of no more than 1,100 inhabitants in the province of Novara in the region of Piedmont. Monday 27 th August 11am Pick-up from Milan Malpensa airport. Transfer to Orta San Giulio by minibus and check into Hotel Albergo Leon d Oro, right in the centre of Orta. In the afternoon, check out what will be your extraordinary new home for the next week. 6pm Gather in the lakeside garden of the hotel for a welcoming drink, meet the rest of the tour party, get last minute information on the week s program and receive your red swimming buoys. The bar will be open for about 30 minutes, after which you may wish to dine in one of Orta s many restaurants. Remember that the restaurant in Hotel Albergo Leon D Oro offers us a 10% discount. Tuesday 28 th August 9am Introduction to swimming in Lake Orta and receive any coaching tips you may require. We will enter from right outside the hotel s front doore and swim within 100 metres of

9 9 the shore and away from boating traffic. While we do not really need our red buoys for this swim, it would be a good opportunity to get used to using them. 2 pm We will gather in the hotel lobby to meet our expert tour guide, Cosetta Dal Cin. We will spend the next couple of hours with her taking us to the places of historical, architectural and artistic interest in and around Orta and including the famous Sacro Monte di San Francesco. Sacro Monte is part of the group of nine holy mounts in Italy classified by UNESCO as World Heritage sites. Wednesday 29 th August 9am We will swim from just in front of our hotel in Orta to Isola San Giulio, a distance of about 400 metres. We will have our safety boat and we will swim in one group with our red Otter Aquatics caps and our safety buoys. The boat will be able to take at least some of our non-swimming members as well as our clothes and valuables such as cameras and wallets. On landing at a quiet beach, we will change under our towels and be taken by Cosetta for a guided tour of this enchanting island. After lunch at the restaurant on the island, we will get back into our togs for our return swim to Orta (or you can take the ferry if you have eaten too much at lunch!). Technically speaking, the island is a silent place. It certainly is for the eighty or so nuns in residence in the monastery but, for the rest of us, I guess it just means that we not be too raucous.

10 10 Thursday 30 th August 9am We will travel by minibus to Mottarone, a mountain of 1910m to enjoy a fantastic view of seven lakes (d Orta, Maggiore, Monate, Mergozzo, Varese, Comabbio and Biandronno) if the weather is favourable. Then we will go Lake Maggiore, where we will have lunch followed by an out-and-back swim from a quiet beach and returning when we are ready to Orta. Friday 31 st August 9am We will travel by minibus to Lake Mergozzo to swim and visit the little village. We will have the choice of two swims: The Traversata di Mergozzo (The Crossing of Mergozzo), a distance of 2.,3k, as shown below.

11 11 For the others, a swim from centre of Mergozzo town to La Quartina beach (the public beach of Mergozzo) or we can swim out from Mergozzo town to join up with those doing the Traversata, with all of us coming back to Mergozzo together. We will have lunch there or afterwards in Cannobio (first photo) or Cannero (second photo). It is the day of choices!

12 12 Saturday 1 st September 9am We will swim departing from just in front of our hotel in Orta to the town of Pella on the opposite shore of Lake Orta, a distance of about one kilometre (sort of). We will land at a quiet beach about 15 minutes walk into the town which we can explore for a couple of hours before having lunch. After lunch, we will swim back to Orta or return by ferry. 7pm Farewell dinner at Ristorante Olina, a short walk from the hotel featuring typical local dishes. Sunday 2 nd September 8am Check out of the hotel. Return our safety buoys. Tears and hugs optional. 9am Transfer to Milan Malpensa Airport by minibus (arriving about 10am).