Leaving Polistena a few people saw me passing by a caf\u00e9. I must say that many are curious when they see me with my backpack. And for me it’s always fun to stop for a while and talk to people, mostly in italian but sometimes it’s a mix of languages: italian, spanish, english, german, hand & feet. Meeting all those strangers, see their curiosity and their kindness, that is for to me how livin’ is done!<\/p>\n
Back to trail: after leaving town it was a long(-ish) uphill climb, mostly road-walk. About 20 km into the day I found trail-marks again and I decided to go back into the woods. The Aspromonte National Park is a real beauty and wild. Sometimes there is no trail to follow and I just walk from one trail-mark to another. Often the next one comes into appearance when you reach the one in sight. So there I walk through the woods in wintertime, the ground is wet and muddy. I suppose the best time to hike here is in spring when it’s warm and everything is in bloom. But now it’s cold, maybe 2 – 4 degrees with high humidity, walking is okay but standing still makes me freeze in no-time. That and the wet, muddy ground make some days a Type-2 fun day.<\/p>\n
It’s not only beautiful here, it’s also pretty lonely. Today I passed by a herd of goats with no shepherd around but at least two sheperd-dogs. Once they spotted me they approached me aggressively and it sure was a good idea to move fast to the direction I came from. As they kept running after me I ran behind a curve and hid behind a large boulder. Unable to move for at least 10 minutes I stood still and listened to every noise, praying that the dogs would leave me alone. After a little eternity I decided to take a look with my hiking-poles fully extended in one hand and my knife firmly in the other one prepared to battle for life. Luckily the herd and the dogs were gone. Slowly I started walking again. “No one hears you scream!” was my only thought…<\/p>\n
Anyways, I made it out alive and eventually I reached today’s destination, Fabrizia. Or at least I thought it would be. I realized pretty quickly that this little town has no place for me to stay, neither a hotel nor a place for my tent to pitch. Fabrizia, however, was the town J. and I agreed to meet again. I’m was sure that he won’t be here before tomorrow evening at the earliest. What shall I do? First I went to the specific caf\u00e9 we agreed on, the Starlight Bakery, a pretty cool place with delicious pastry by the way and free wi-fi. After logging in J’s message pops up saying that he made it to San Luca this late morning and he’s heading out to Fabrizia now. “Whaaat?” I think, San Luca is only 32 km out of Gambarie, which we left 3 days ago. The trail must have been brutal and he still has 80 km ahead of him before he gets here. I assume it’s at least 3 days, more likely 4. What now? I decided to leave him a note at the caf\u00e9 and go to next town, as there is an affordable hotel I could stay, people told me. It’s raining and pitch dark but after two more hours I arrived at the hotel…and that’s where I am right now writing my blog. The hotel is affordable and clean. What do I do tomorrow? Do I wait here or keep moving? I think I decide this tomorrow. I hope J. is alright.<\/p>\n
No pictures were taken today and I’m pretty sure you know where to find them by now.<\/p>\n