Departure 06h44 · Arrival 17h56. 20.2 km, +1,130 m, -2,021 m, 9h04 moving and 11h11 in total. A very long, grinding stage. The hotel Benjamin booked clearly worked as a carrot for the mind.
After the very long day up to Petra Piana, waking up has a particular feel to it. We've been moving for a week now. And Vizzavona is far more than a point on the map: it's the symbolic break between north and south, the moment when you believe you've left the toughest part behind you.
The idea in our heads is simple: reach Vizzavona, take a real shower, eat properly, sleep in a real bed. With hindsight, that belief was too optimistic. But that morning, it helps us keep going.
« It's not very glorious to recount — but on a trek like this one, it's sometimes the simplest things that leave the deepest mark. »
The stage starts with no favours. The terrain stays demanding, the climbing keeps coming, and the legs quickly understand that the transition won't be a stroll. After several days of rock, refuges and nights of patchy rest, every climb feels heavier than it should.
And the further we descend, the more the thought of arriving takes over everything. It's no longer just a stage to finish: it's the promise of real comfort. At that point, a hot shower becomes almost a fantasy. A bed, an absolute luxury.
During the descent, Benjamin gets out his phone and books a room on Booking at the hotel Monte d'Oro. The gesture seems almost trivial. But mentally, it changes everything. All at once, the arrival has an address, a shower, a mattress, a door we'll be able to close. After a week on the GR20, that kind of prospect is worth its weight in gold.
The descent stays long, draining, repetitive at times. More than 2,000 metres of negative elevation over the day. The Cascade des Anglais could have made for a lovely break; on a normal day, we'd have stopped. But the fatigue, the length, the crowds and above all the call of the hotel get the upper hand. We leave it behind without much regret.
Arriving in Vizzavona has a strange effect. After a week in the mountains, finding a road, buildings, a signal, a restaurant, a room: everything feels almost luxurious. It's not a final arrival, of course, but it's a real break. The north is behind us. A chapter closes.
At the hotel Monte d'Oro, the shower becomes one of the great moments of the day. It's not very glorious to recount — but on a trek like this one, it's sometimes the simplest things that leave the deepest mark. Stripping off the dust, the sweat, the salt. Not pitching the tent. Not hunting for a spot. It feels like a gift.
This isn't the stage I remember as the most beautiful. It's above all the one of transition, of fatigue and the need for comfort. And a reminder that the GR20 doesn't split as neatly as a tough first half and an easy second half. The south is waiting for us — and we don't quite know it yet, but it isn't going to hand us an easy walk.
