Day 20 – Lake St Leonard and Barryland

We had a pretty easy day today—no hiking, by design. Started with a trip to Lake St. Leonard—supposedly Europe’s largest underground lake. Neat atmosphere, but honestly, after Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns, this was a bit underwhelming.

Next we drove to Barryland, which was unique and fascinating. This is the home base of the foundation that assumed responsibility for maintaining the St. Bernards of the Grand St. Bernard Hospice that has been operative for nearly 1,000 years. The foundation is named for Barry, the St. Bernard that supposedly saved over 40 lives during his relatively short life. We got to see the huge, 150 pound dogs and also the puppies. They are incredibly well trained and well cared-for. Apparently they can sniff out humans under several feet of snow, and were at one point sent out in teams: one to distribute wine, food and care for the stranded traveler; the other to blaze the trail back to the hospice for help. Leo desperately wanted us to pay the extra francs for the opportunity to walk one of these remarkable dogs, but we passed. We’re used to the cash exchange running in the opposite direction when paying for walking dogs.