Near Lucca, Italy
Weather can be a powerful factor when living on a bike. After my planned 3 nights in Cinque Terre, I checked the weather forecast and it was heavy rains and thunderstorms. Dire warnings about possible flooding. I was warm and dry in my hostel so I decided to stay put and see how the weather played out. The next day, nothing. Not a drop of rain all day. WTF! I'm sitting around and it's not raining? After midnight there was heavy rain and T storms for about 15 min. Next day. Still bad forecast. I decide there's a bad storm out there somewhere. Maybe it's stalled. Sit tight another day. Dry morning. Rain, but not bad in the afternoon. I'm the only guest in the hostel. Stay another night. The next morning I'm beginning to pack. It's raining lightly but suppose to stop. Then a hostel person shows me the news. Bad flooding from torrential rains last night up in the mountains have caused a state of emergency on the exact road I would have been on if I'd left. Guess it was a good thing I didn't leave that week. What a vegetable I became that week. Talk about doing NOTHING. I did hike to nearby towns and eat.
And captured some of the old photos around town.
But I love the best the boat parking along the main street.
Then Friday, a week after arriving, I finally cycled up the hill...the very steep hill..and got out of town.
And when I got to the beach where the rains had caused such devastation by washing tons if timber down the river, flooding it's banks, this is what I saw.
The beach for a good kilometer was piled high and deep with wood washed ashore. I've never seen anything like it! People were scavenging the lumber, the good big straight stuff. What a mess to clean up before next summer. That sure made me glad I wasn't out on that road during the storm.
Continuing south, I thought I could find a campground open or a piece of land to camp on for the night. The area became the Myrtle Beach of Italy. Lots of beachy businesses. Any land, even parks and playgrounds were fenced and locked. It's after the season. As the day got later, I was getting a bit worried about where I could camp. I was stopped outside a fenced playground/park where the gate was ajar, contemplating about whether I might get locked in if I camped there, when Valter comes over to me and starts asking me about my tour. After answering a few questions, I pipe in that I'm looking for a place to camp tonight. He asks if I know about Warmshowers. He's a host. Can I camp in your yard tonight? Yes. Are you serious? Yes. I live just up the street. OMG! I'm always amazed by these miracle moments even as frequently as they happen on the road.
He and his partner, Maria, I think, fixed me a delicious supper. The conversation was of course about bike touring. He was translating for her because she didn't feel comfortable with her English. And then they told me about Via Francigena, a pilgrim route to Rome. And there are cheap albergues along the way, too. It's like the Camino. I'm going to follow it by bike. What fun! Thanks, you guys, for everything! Truly Trail Angels!!
Then, the last thing to share was coming across the Guiness Book of Records Longest Pink Ribbon in support of breast cancer research.
I didn't hear the exact length but it went 6 times around a park monument with folks holding bunches in their hands. It took my asking a few people before someone could speak English and explain it to me.
So tonight I'm camped in woods , sorta. A muddy, leafy trail with litter scattered about. But out of the way. Should be a quiet night. Long one too with the sun setting at 5:30. I'll be ready for the longer days by the time I get to NZ.
Oh yes, and the thing I most notice while cycling through Italy is the smell of food! Wonderful scents of garlic and olive oil and sauces fill the air. Truly an aromatic sensation.
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
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