Day 2: Inverness to Chamonix

Day 2 – Getting to Chamonix

The alarm went off at 3.30am and we were out the door by 3.50am. The £2 Ember bus got us to Inverness, followed by a short mystery tour of the city centre while trying to work out where the airport bus actually stopped.

The Stagecoach app insisted the bus only served the airport railway station. The driver laughed and advised us not to trust technology before dropping us directly outside the terminal.

Breakfast was salami sandwiches, no doubt the first of many over the coming weeks.

I managed to sleep through most of the flight south. After a connection at Heathrow, we arrived in Geneva and joined the queue for the new EES entry system. It took around an hour to clear passport control, after which we passed the time in McDonald's waiting for our FlixBus to Chamonix.

On the coach we had aisle seats while two Irish ladies had the window seats. They were travelling together but had been separated by the booking system, so I suggested a swap. They were delighted. The wife was less enthusiastic about now being stuck beside me for the journey, although spending the next week sharing a tent with me probably wasn't going to improve matters.

We arrived in Chamonix with just three minutes to spare before the local bus to Les Houches. We jumped aboard and tapped our debit cards on the ticket machine without the slightest idea what fare we were agreeing to. Fortunately it turned out to be only €1 for the 7km journey.

A quick stop at the mini-market provided dinner supplies: Frosted Corn Flakes for me and soup for Gaby.

From the bus stop it was a short walk to our Airbnb. We ate on the balcony while the evening sun disappeared behind the ridge and took in our first views of the mountains.