Present perfect

This time I have a whole 4 days in between trips. Last night I returned from Italy, a grueling 15.5 hour trip from door to door, but I wanted to get home in one day - and I made it. I felt really excited when I got on the bus to travel across the San Bernadino Pass, from the Ticino to my area. It was a perfect late afternoon, and on the drive we were treated to gorgeous light, dramatic clouds, and even alpenglow (the pink sunset color on snowfields). It very much felt like coming home. The joy of being back in the mountains was tainted with the knowledge that now my days here are counted. One of the advantages of traveling is that I am entirely focused on the present and forget about the precarious situation of my life. For all I knew I might just as well have been on a little European vacation, coming from the US... all the more so since I am "going home" to Portland this coming Wednesday. I really do feel like I am going home, and then I remember that I actually don't have a home there now, that I'll be just visiting, living off my friends' hospitality.

My trip to Italy was almost perfect. I spent the first part with Aldo and Silvia. Aldo was my first boss, from 1973 to 1975. We were doing research on diabetes at the University of Geneva. And paradoxically, the context of this visit was again diabetes. Aldo moved from research to education and the purpose of the trip was to teach diabetes patients that they can lead active lives despite their illness and how to manage their blood sugar while being physically active. We were a small group of 6 people.




We started in the city of Tivoli, a short drive to the NE of Rome and hiked in the Monti Lucretili. They are not dramatic mountains, but it was very beautiful, not at all touristy, and we hardly met other hikers. Everything was in bloom, wild roses and scotch broom - except that there it was native and not the invasive weed we know it as in Oregon. The forest floor was carpeted with cyclamen. We hiked through a grove of cork oak. The nights were spent in B&Bs, the first one being the perfect Italian experience. If anyone is interested in the real Italian deal off the tourist track, let me know, and I'll send you the information. The B&B was next to the town's castle, which actually belonged to the same owner. He gave us a tour of the castle and shared his passion for its history, the art, his efforts at restoring it. The owner's wife is an excellent cook and together they prepared and served a meal worthy of the best restaurants.

Unfortunately the 3 day trek had a tragic ending: on the trail, shortly before we got back to town Aldo's spirited little dog ate something laced with strychnine and died a horrible death a few hours later. My memories of the trip will forever be tainted by the pain of seeing this small creature suffer immensely. And I also cried for the deep sadness that Aldo and Silvia were experiencing. Our return to their home in Rome and our last night together were understandably very subdued.



The next morning I took the train to the Adriatic coast, to the town of Lanciano, to visit my Portland friends Tom and Cathey. Cathey's family is from the area and they own a small house in the old part of the city. Lanciano is in the Abruzzo region, where I had already spent a week hiking with Silvia in 2005. This was an opportunity to get to know a new part of the country. Like the Monti Lucretili, it is not at all touristy - yet very beautiful country. Lanciano is a relatively big town, a little bigger than Neuchatel, with a huge old section. It is perched on a ridge and offers great views over the countryside, all the way down to the sea and to the Majella mountains, a National Park. Tom and Cathey gave me a taste of all: tour of the old city, long walk in the country around Lanciano in between vineyards and olive groves, drive to the beach, and on the next day, an excursion to the Majella with short hikes into a couple of the impressive canyons draining the mountains. On the day I traveled to Lanciano the weather was horrible, and fresh snow was sticking half way down the mountains. Like last year in May when I traveled to Salzburg I spent a substantial part of my time in Lanciano being cold. Fortunately, because of the trek I had many warm layers with me.

I enjoyed getting to better know Cathey and Tom. Coming off the trek and being cold, I ate enormous amounts - and in addition to being great guides, they graciously kept feeding me! Thank you for your kind hospitality, including the drive to the train station at 6am!

Thank you also to Aldo and Silvia for inviting me on the trek. My heart goes out to you as you are dealing with the loss of Macchia.

Pictures:

1. Late afternoon on Pontemilvio, Rome.
2. Villa D'Este, Tivoli.
3. Antonella, Silvia and Aldo in San Polo dei Cavalieri, and Macchia. According to Aldo, she was so beautiful that on a scale from 1 to 10 she was a 12.
4. Hiking in the Majella National Park.