Lake With A View

The Benefits Of Bobbing Around On, And Bathing In, Italy’s Largest Lake Garda

- Vaishali Dinakaran

I’m hanging on for dear life with one hand, and frantically waving with my other hand, as the boat that we’re travelling in goes at warp speed over the waters of the 370-square-kilometre Lake Garda. It seems like forever before my travelling companion catches sight of me and slows the boat down, and I am finally able to stand up, looking very cross indeed. Being flung about like a rag doll in the bow of a motor boat, speeding over the placid waters of the largest lake in Italy wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I signed up for a lake trip. So it was with some grumbling, and a certain desire for revenge, that I found myself trading places with my fellow traveller, taking the wheel of the boat, motoring us over to a secluded portion of the lake. There we dropped anchor, and chose to while away our time, surrounded by azure waters as far as one could see. Garda didn’t seem so much like a lake as it seemed like an ocean—an endless stretch of beautiful blue all the way to the horizon.

The decision to rent a boat at Lake Garda had been a spontaneous one. My travelling companion was very keen on bobbing about the waters, and made some rather good arguments in favour of the idea. Certainly, there were several points along the banks of the lake with clear views. And yes, it was all very well to peer at it from Sirmione, the little peninsula that protrudes into Garda. But wouldn’t it be better, he argued, to actually set forth into the waters. After all, there were boats that could be rented without needing a licence, and the waterways were open and inviting.