"On the Trail"

The Journals from the Road

Wednesday, July 11, 2001: Only Three Kilometers To Go - La Mezia Terme to Paolo, Italy – 58 km

Frank here...

Today as many of the days before was still very hot but at least the majority of the ride was flat and kilometer after kilometer had inviting beaches on my left as I rode along the coastline of Mar Tirreno (Tyrrhenian Sea) on the western shores of Calabria.

On my stop for a swim and cool down, I met Vincenzo and his wife and younger relatives. We started a conversation in Italian while agreeing with each other on how wonderful the sea felt on our bodies. He then asked if I spoke English. He did! He and his wife are from Montreal! We had a great visit and I was invited to visit them when I pass Montreal.

Not too far down the road I stopped off in an internet cafe in the city of Amantea and made a great connection with Giulio who let me use the computer free. He also took me for a little tour to a friend’s place who was converting a building into a lovely bed and breakfast. It was not yet ready but they offered me quite a discount to stay. It had a wonderful view of the sea and sometimes on a clear day of the island of Stromboli (if I remember correctly). I decided to decline the offer and continue on my journey.

So I continued north and decided to pull in at a campeggio near the town of Paolo. It was not very easy to find a campsite however. I was always told that there was a campsite only three kilometers ahead. This lasted for 25 kilometers!

I had a great time at this campsite. I was greeted by Mimo (short for Dominic) a wiry and very sprite man who lived at the camp during the summer and worked there with his wife Pia. He showed me around, then I went for my self-obligatory swim in the sheltered coarse sand beach which was just on the other side of the train tracks. I always was sure to have at least one swim per day. When I got to the beach, most of the people were gone. The sheltered coves made the swimming a lot smoother with absolutely no waves. There were also some people fishing at the points.

I chatted with a great group of people who came from north of Roma. One man, I think he was of the cloth, gave me a book on forgiving, and he told me of a place near Roma (I think he said Siena), that has a special place for healing. I considered his suggestion but never did get there.

There are many shortened names that I have come across in Italy and many of the shortened names come from the end of the name. For instance Enza and Enzo are short for Vincenza and Vincenzo; Pina and Pino are short for Giuseppina and Giuseppino. Francesca and Francesco are a bit different. They are Cicia and Cicio.

When I told Mimo about my night vision difficulties, he was very eager to guide me around after sundown. But first I shared a half glass of wine and ate some nuts as we sat at his table and watched an Italian variety show on his television. Then he helped me to the restaurant where I had a great meal. They had me taste salami from Napoli. I liked it but not nearly as much as the salami from Milano. They gave me a bigger portion of pasta upon my request and also had me try a Napolitano specialty called Zupulella (or something like that) which was battered sea weed. I liked it! Also at the restaurant, I felt great that I was able to help a couple who spoke no Italian arrange for their dinner.

There were many people who were interested in my journey. I sat with them and talked as much as they asked even after everyone stopped doing that line dancing stuff. I had a difficult time pulling myself away from the common area, but eventually sleep time told me to hit the sack.

-Is it good to hold things in, always act immediately, or find a balance somewhere in the middle?

-Frank Pollari

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