Tagliamento Inflatable Boat Tour
Day 2 | Peonis – Codroipo
Distance 42 km
Our second day started with a fantastic sunrise over the Julian Pre Alps. We took it slow because we still had two days and just 60km left, even without paddling it would only take about 10 hours to complete the Tagliamento.
We heated up our camping stove and started the day with some ravioli. I don’t know why, maybe because of some childhood memories, but ravioli taste better if you aren’t at home and even more delicious if cooked on a camping stove.
After breakfast, it was time for some coffee. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the sieve for our espresso machine. We had to improvise a bit and brew the coffee directly in the pod, turned the Bialetti upside down and used it as a sieve for the freshly brewed coffee.
The scenery was breathtaking, the Tagliamento looked like a desert, sheer endless white powdery sand, while the air was shimmering in the morning heat.
Back on the river, the kilometers flew by; we passed the road bridge SP84. On both sides of the river, we saw people sunbathing on the rocky beaches of the Tagliamento. They were so busy catching every sunbeam that they didn’t notice us at all.
Since we have enough time, we decide it’s already time for a lunch break: we settled on a sandbank close to the castle of Ragogna. The castle was built in San Pietro in the sixth century AD, on the left banks of the river. Initially, it was supposed to overlook the road heading to the Norico a Celtic kingdom in this region of Italy. Despite limited and controversial history records, it’s known that the building became later part of the feudal system.
Beneath the historic site is the Ponte Pinzano a beautiful bridge crossing the Tagliamento. A devastating flood in 1966 demolished the initially constructed bridge in such a severe way that it had to be blown up a year later.
Shortly after the Ponte Pinzano, the alps step back, and the valley of the Tagliamento widens. The landscape of the river changes completely.
We followed a small sidearm; trees were hanging into the river from both sides while the sun created mesmerizing patterns on our raft. A welcoming change to the vast riverbed of the Tagliamento. At the confluence of the side arm and the main river, a huge tree blocked the passage. Luckily Bella and I were alerted and just grazed the obstacle with the tip of the sheer.
From here, the Tagliamento begins to trickle, and the stream velocity decreases rapidly.
We stopped on a riverbank close to Carpacco, it would have been a perfect campsite, but we wanted to continue our adventure for a couple of hours.
Countless side arms, islands, small forests, and ponds were creating a fantastic scenery. While wandering around for a little while, we noticed that water was emerging from underneath the river bed, forming new islands, shaping the ever-changing typography of the stream.
Some board games and a lunch break later we joined the river again…
After the next bridge, we started looking for a campsite which shouldn’t be a problem. But we were spoiled rotten form the night before. After an hour of observing every spot, we were rewarded with an excellent place – nicely elevated to be protected against a spring flood during the night and with a perfect view of the Tagliamento.
We pitched up our tent and ignited a campfire. It was time for a well-deserved self-made hamburger – once more. We even had some stick bread while waiting for the main course. The flickering flames illuminated the quickly approaching night sky; as soon as it got dark, we became dozy and went to bed.
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