DESTINATION The ends of the ear th URBANDRIVER 21 Otherwise, I would be spending up to $100 for a single return trip on some of the higher mountain peaks. And my free bus pass even took me as far as Chiavenna, just across the Italian border. For such a tiny village, Sils plus the surrounding area offered a surprising number of activities. For example, when it was time to increase my heart rate a little, I put on my helmet and climbed on to my ‘trotti’ – trotinette, a heavy-duty scooter with mountain bike wheels and brakes. Standing tall with knees slightly bent, I headed down the hiking path/trail from the Marguns gondola top station at 2,273m – leaning back to put more weight on the rear wheel to reduce the chance of skidding when I had to brake on the steepest sections, or negotiate a curve. Past the brown cows with their chorus of bells, through the shady forest, I made it to the bottom and finally relaxed as I cruised down the gentle slope of a paved section going into the town of Celerina. Past the brown cows with their chorus of bells, through the shady forest, I made it to the bottom and finally relaxed as I cruised down the gentle slope of a paved section going into the town of Celerina. I breathed in the fragrance of the alpine flowers, only to hear guide John Webster say: “OK, now you have the hang of it, let’s go back up and do it again.” And he was right; the second run was far more relaxing and enjoyable than the first. Then it was time to check out the beautifying milk bath on offer at the Alp-Schaukaserei, just down from the Morteratsch glacier. It was the by-product of the cheese-making process – now as in the past using a giant cauldron over a wood fire to heat the milk and then the curd. “Your skin will be so smooth after the bath – like Cleopatra and her famous milk bath,” said Peter Maurer, who holds a diploma as a “kasermeister” (cheesemaker). I declined, but a modern-day Cleopatra stripped off and climbed into the wooden tub, only to find the milk wasn’t deep enough to cover her completely. Maurer was happy to help out by adding a couple of buckets of warm water. “Just lie in the grass and dry off in the sun afterward,” he said. “Don’t wipe off the milk.” Indeed, today’s Cleopatra found her skin remained especially smooth and silky. Finally, that visit to Eggishorn, in the nearby Bernese alps, where I lucked upon a group of alphorn players rehearsing for an upcoming concert. They stood on the snow with a backdrop of spectacular snow-covered peaks. They even finished off with an impromptu yodel. It couldn’t have been any more Swiss than that. Swimming with humpback whales in Tonga in the winter, hiking on the snowy peaks of Switzerland in the summer – how fortunate I was to have experienced such disparate yet equally amazing encounters with these wonders of nature. Mike Grenby teaches travel writing journalism and public speaking at Bond University on the Gold Coast. He has been writing travel articles and taking photos since he was 24. mgrenby@bond.edu.au