This morning I participated for the second time to the 19th TRAVERSATA of the Lake Maggiore!! Every year Proloco Arona organizes a non-competitive swimming contest at the Lago Maggiore. You start in Angera and finish in Arona, 1.2 km in total. I also participated last year (see my post Swimming across the lake) and promised myself I would again this year. And so I did!
For the last 2 months it has been really hot in Italy. We have had weeks of 37 °C but 2 days ago the weather decided that enough was enough and so it started raining with a temperature of no more than 20°C. And that’s when I began to have some doubts on my participation today. I mean, I wasn’t really looking forward to dive into a lake when raining outside… Until yesterday evening late the forecast predicted rain and no more than 18°C and so I can say I was actually nervous about the whole thing. When I woke up this morning it was pretty cold but it didn’t rain and so off I went to Arona. Still not very sure I got my “safety balloon” and hopped on the boat to bring me to the other side of the lake to Angera. And I can tell you that it was sooooo cold!! To make it worse I only then noticed that my swimming goggles were still in my bag that I gave to Luca who was waiting for me in Arona where I finished. Really nervous and cold at this point ( I really can’t swim without goggles and definitely not in a lake!!) I was lucky that a man besides me had two and gave me one. Then luck started to be on my side because at 11am the sun even started to shine and my goose bumps (that covered my whole body for over an hour) started to disappear. I got to the point that I was glad to participate and was even looking forward to get into the lake! Finally at 11.30am we could and after (only) 31 minutes I got out of it again in Arona. Wow, I did it again!!! And I’ll promise to participate again next year!!
Getting on the boat to go to Angera:
Finish in Arona:
View on Angera:
Off I go (with almost 800 other participants!!):
This time all photos were made by Luca!
Find out where Arona/Angera is located:
See my post Swimming across the lake
Great photos and good for you
Thanks so much!!
Congratulations on braving the cooler temperature and completing the swim, you must feel extremely satisfied. It looks like a great location for a swim, I’m a recreational swimmer only and even though I live not far from the beach I rarely ever swim there
Thanks so much!! Yes I’m pretty satisfied I did it in spite of the weather…that eventually turned out to be ok
That’s too bad you never swim in the sea…I love it 
Gefeliciteerd, geweldige prestatie!
groetjes, Francina
Dank je wel Francina! Erg leuk je berichtje
Well done….good for you!
Thanks
The weather can be so unpredictable! But you did a great job and it sounds like fun too
Oh it was!! It’s so much fun
Thanks Meg!
Well done…Fantastic to swim that distance!!
Grazie!!
I’m impressed! I don’t go much past a doggy paddle. Glad to see Luca took the photos. I wasn’t sure how you’d achieved that.
Hahaha, yeah that would be difficult to swim and take photos
Thanks Johanna! 
Well done!
(It’s turned cool here too – a real shock after all that heat!)
Thanks Cathy… I know, here as well…but I saw that the temperature is going up again this coming week
Congrats! Do you think about the wonderful view while you’re swimming, or is that not possible?
Hahaha, no I didn’t. I was mostly busy with my goggles that weren’t mine and didn’t fit that well, but mine I left in my bag at the other side of the lake. They continuesly got blurry so it was difficult to even see the finish….not the most relaxing swim!
Job well done and you should rightly be proud of your achievement. How warm was the water?
Thankd so much John! They told us it was 24°C but to be honest I think it was colder…because it was really cold! Thank god that just before the start the sun came out!
You should be proud! That’s a great achievement!
Thanks Jen!!
Congratulations! Good way of getting some exercise, and cooling off! How many km is the crossing? I would love to do something like that but have only done 750m in triathlons, swimming isn’t my strongest point….
Hi! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!! If you’re able to do triathlons and swim 750m then this is so easy for you. It’s only 1.2km….and no running or cycling before or afterwards
Where do you live?? I’m going to check out your blog…
Barcelona, but I go to Porlezza alot because my best friend lives there…which is around the corner in between Lago di Lugano and Lago di Como. I live in Barcelona by the way…..
O wow, we would love to visit Barcelona once…was just saying that to Luca. Well, if we ever do (which I’m sure we will) I will ask you for some tips, ok?!
Absolutely! Always happy to help people visit fabulous places that are off the beaten tourist track….that is a problem here, you get a lot of crappy places that cater to touritsts, like in Italy.
Yeah I know…..that’s one of the reason I started my blog
Wow! Congratulations! Well done! Sharon
Thanks Sharon…I must admit I’m pretty proud of myself as I haven’t been in a swimming pool for over a year!
oops…