Twist

My sisters have gone for a walk, primarily to get warm. The weather has been horrible for the last week, with the temperature generally hovering in the 50s. It's July - yet it hasn't been warm enough for shorts since the day I returned from the US. I feel sorry for the vacationers but I am actually glad for us, because there's no temptation to go off hiking instead of packing. I opted to stay home this afternoon, to give myself an opportunity to put up my feet - and ice the twisted ankle. Yes, I did it again. Those who have visited in the summer know about the dangerous depressions on the sides of the roads, where I have already twisted my ankle numerous times. I have been so good about avoiding those, but last Sunday, a fist-sized rock rolled under my foot, and it happened - some 1000 feet above Maloja, where I had to get to catch my bus, on a bad trail, in pouring rain. The incident confirmed my notion that it's not a good idea to go off hiking by myself on unknown and/or remote trails. This was supposed to be a quick and easy hike, from Sils Maria to Maloja, on the Via Engiadina, a trail leading through the whole valley. It's a popular trail, good on the sections I had already hiked, and I decided not to take my hiking stick. I did wear my knee brace as well as my high hiking boots - primarily to keep my feet dry in case of rain. The idea was to make it to Maloja before it started to rain, but within half an hour of getting off the bus it already started pouring. The next 90' were challenging, as the Via Engiadina was a miserable trail, rocky, steep, uneven in places. Since it was raining, in turn it was marshy, or I had to step from one semi-submerged rock to the next, or it was a trap of mud mixed up with cow pies. On one section the cows were on the trail, unwilling to move, and I had to get into the wet high grass on the steep slope... and then the stupid rock rolled under my foot!

Fortunately much of the work I had to do last week was on the phone rather than on my feet: getting bids for a new dishwasher, for cleaning the apartment after our departure, dealing with taxes, etc. etc., the phone was ringing off the hook. I did start to pack up some of my personal items. I was so careful not to buy anything... and I still have so much more than the 3 suitcases I had arrived with. Again, it being July I already packed my turtle necks, but I might have to reopen that box to retrieve some warm items.

My sisters arrived on Wednesday night and the next day we went to work, to sort out the contents of the apartment and pack them up. This morning we did the cleaning products and the Christmas decorations. Yesterday we packed up 10 boxes of books and brought them to the Salvation Army (this after the 26 boxes of books we packed up in Dad's Neuchatel apartment). I am having a difficult time going to sleep, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, thinking about things, and wake up early in the morning, unable to fall asleep again. One of the major worries is that I misplaced my American passport! It's eating me up. I have never lost a passport, I am always very careful with them. I had to take it to the post office to make a photocopy to send to my travel agent - and I haven't seen it since, despite all the searching and inquiring. I don't have much hope left for finding it again and I'll probably have to travel to Bern to have a new one made. What a pain. The only silver lining is that I have plenty time - I hope! Actually, I am not surprised that I managed to lose something precious. I don't sleep well, I am upset, I am scatterbrained, often unable to focus on anything... I put it down in some odd place, or perhaps threw it out with the paper recycling... I wish I knew!

As to why I need a travel agent: I decided it was time to make another old dream come true and that I needed something to look forward to, as these are rather sad and difficult times. As a child I had been saving and studying for years a catalog from the Cunard Shipping Company, dreaming about the excitement and romance of sailing to America across the Atlantic ocean in one of these elegant liners and to glide into New York harbor, past the Statue of Liberty. My return flight ticket was acquired with miles, i.e. it didn't cost me a fortune and I don't mind losing it. I am still under the shock from that horrible flight to Portland in May... The stars were lining up... and after thinking about it for a few days I made the decision: I will grant myself both a dream and a great transition between my European life and my return to the US: on September 20 I will board the Queen Mary 2 in South Hampton and arrive in New York on September 27. Eric will be picking me up at the harbor and I'll spend a few days with him before flying home to Portland, probably on September 30 - to take possession of my house on October 1. This is the tentative closing date for the Lemonade Project!


My beloved valley. From a viewpoint near Zuoz, looking west towards St. Moritz.















Last Sunday's hike, between Sils Maria and Maloja. This is Lake Sils.















Blaunca, a hamlet on the Via Engiadina, between Sils Maria and Maloja. I love the construction technique of the stairs.














Dad loved these aluminum army water bottles. It hurts having to throw them out, but what else to do with them?