After two to three times’ waking up in the midnight with untouchable pain behind my lower back, i guessed it was the rocky land’s fault. The watch on my right wrist finally showed it was 8:00am. Was little bit cool in the midnight so I dug my sleeping bag out instead of putting it under my head. About 20 European styled ducks were clucking around my tent woke me up.
I stepped outside my tent, blue sky with pieces of clouds and river at front, rainfall under an arch bridge that not high and close enough to spray you though. An old woman walking by with a puppy and a plastic bag of duck food in hand. She fed them and the scene almost made me sob. We couldn’t chat as I couldn’t understand what she said though, I could still give her a “Ciao” and a global facial language. Brushed near the river, took a small box of salad mixed with bean and chicken cubes that I bought yesterday and played stone skipping over the river for half an hour. Packed and left two hours later.
Now I’m at the Wi-Fi cafe I came yesterday having espresso. While I’m reading “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, a lady asked me where I am from, and where to go. Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing but I told my friends on WhatsApp I’m heading to Slovenia. I pick Kobarid as my next stop which is 27km away, I’m sure it will take me a whole day.
After two hours of walk, I paused at the midway. Here is a park with an God blessed. I saw a nice man on a truck paused at the joint of the road just after 10 minutes’ walk after I greeted at Baralborgo. I could barely remember his kind face few ten meters away from me and it was like asking me if I need any help. So I ran to him with the paper “Please drive me to Slovenia!” in hand. I got on his truck with his nod and I showed him again my paper. I was surprised and relieved that he could speak English quite well. Carlo left me in his workshop for an hour waiting for his work and lunch outside. He let me cook pasta with tuna, handed me a decent lemonade beer and we cheered. I took a warm-then-cool shower and washed my socks and boxer. I settle down and surprisingly I’m feeling super safe here. I see an old school arcade in his workshop, 3-year-hand-made masterpiece. I played two rounds of Street Fighter 1995 against robot and lost both. 1:13pm now, writing and waiting.
4:30pm now. Carlo had brought me to the surroundings and a little hill with another vehicle. We chatted a lot, from AD 580 the invasion of Lombardy to Italy to the news of the Britain most recently. He said the citizens who agreed with the departure of their country from Europe are bullshit. He handed few very precise and large maps for discovering the backcountry nearby own my own. Surprisingly, he is also enthusiastic about camping, mountaineering and so on. Learned some skill of orientation by map and the sun. He also asked me to stay in his house whatever I like for discovering his hometown. I agreed and so we went back “home” and took a homecooked Espresso with sugar with him. He left the key and a small bag for me to start the first hike alone. So I’m now on the route on La Frate where he picked for me, with his given map, hiking alone.
8pm. I’m now on the way that I somehow found to downhill. Back then I lost myself up there twice. Got panic many times, sometimes it was bugs on your face, creepy sounds in the woods and because there was no-one-but-you. Even I tried to run downhill after I lost myself and it was pretty late. When I was finally downhill, I figured that I lost my sunglasses that was being hung on the neck of my tank top. Legs scratched and started bleeding. Very frustrated, I asked myself why did I fucking bring it without actually using it. Wanted to cry but couldn’t, I cherished the glasses so much as it has some meanings to me. Suddenly I feel like talking to someone, perhaps as I’d been quitting from the Internet for a day.
After a moment of depression sitting nearby the highway, then I turned back and got a successful hitchhike with my second thumb, grazie. An old 8:50pm. Just took a shower, and spent plenty of efforts picking the unknown sticky seeds off my socks one by one. They Stuck hard and deep as if a couple. Noticed three scars on my back of my right feet in a total length of around 10cm. Thanks for the thorns grown by the sunflower field by the way. And yes, I believe Italy is the origin of sunflower.
23:50pm. Without having dinner, Carlo came back just when I wrote the last word. I shared what happened today while we were drinking beer. He told me yes, the area I’d been hiking today was not well constructed and with some construction for hunting so it will easily get lost. He told me he’d lost hundreds times up on the mountains though I don’t know if he was just meant to relieve me. He said he would drive me to the area where I thought I lost my glasses later on and picked me another clearer route up to another hill for tomorrow which has a clear peak about 1000m.
Carlo gave me a raincoat and a pair of good hiking long thick socks as gifts. Talked about the sun and orientation and seasons and stars. Basically he was teaching me about the concept of the world.
We looked at the stars through the windows and the balcony, and even from few ten meters of grasses outside from home. I now know how to see Ursa Major by the Plows and how it leads to see Ursa Minor and how it helps to distinguish the north by its star at the tail called Polaris. I heard many times about all these before but II had never ever imagined I can know all these from a man aged 32 and like 2m tall who met on the road.
We played few rounds of Berlin’s Wall 1994 and Street Fighter 1991 before he went back to his home. Couldn’t believe he rang the doorbell and came back again just because he told me to walk few more tens meters avoiding the fucking streetlights for looking stars. Christ, what a beautiful universe. He turned back on his bike riding to the east and greeted from 20 meters away. I distinguished Ursa Major and Minor and Polaris easily. But not for Aquila which is at the center of the milky way, I guess I can also see it more easily in the future. Now lying on his bed, typing, thinking of sleeping now. Clock shows it is 00:13am. Didn’t have dinner and get Wi-Fi, perhaps will have to get a SIM card tomorrow. Ciao.
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