"On the Trail"
Monday, July 30, 2001: 10,000 Kilometres - Scauri to Sabaudia, Italy - 86 km
Frank here… Today I hit the 10,000km mark near San Felice de Circeo. Yahoo! 1000 km/month is not really that far, but I still did it! I met a Polish girl named Marta as I was climbing a very steep hill in the heat and on the very difficult route. Realizing that I was not on the best route north, I decided to take a break and have a refreshment with Marta. We shared a couple of drinks and chatted about life with each other and with the servers and patrons. The bartender told me that he would have given my drink to me for free if he knew that I was cycling around the world. Well, I felt that they overcharged me for that first drink so I then said to him, "Well, I will be glad to accept another one from you." And another came. It was good fate for Marta that we met because she wanted to change her flight plans but could not buy a scheda telefonica (phone card) until 4:00pm. I lent her mine and she changed her flight plans, which would have cost her an additional $300.00 if she made the call after 4:00pm We said goodbye then I took the flatter route around the beautiful mountain overlooking San Felice de Circeo which has a sanctuary dedicated to the famous Shroud of Turin. The town has also become well known due to the "Odyssey" (written by Homer) where Ulysses was enchanted by the captivating Circe and fell under her legendary spell. It seems that this area of western Italy has a number of legends written about men getting caught in the spell of love. I was riding by sea on the other side of the mountain (known to be surfable), when I got caught in a darkening sky which turned to rain. The first campsite turned me away (just minutes before the rain), but I found shelter near a beach access under one of those green screen things that they use to partially shade things. It was the first time in over a month that I had to bring out my rain top. It was the yellow poncho that I bought in China and it served me well. When the rain stopped I continued for a few more kilometres and found Campeggio Sabaudia. Sildi, who worked at the reception desk, was very, very helpful. I was trying to figure out how to get to Rome with my bike. One of the patrons suggested that I leave the bike at the camp and take a train to and from Rome. Great idea! And the camp officials were glad to hold my bike for me. Sildi's friends, Anna Claudia and Sonya, invited me out for a snack that evening. I could not refuse and drove into San Felice de Circeo with them and went to this real neat restaurant. There I met many of their friends. I told them many of my stories and also played some tunes on my harmonica. I was intrigued while listening to an English teacher from England. He got me all excited about returning to Italy to teach English. Who knows what the future will bring. -"You are only as good as the shoulders you stand on" (I do not know the author) -Frank Pollari<---previous journal | journal list | next journal --->