Continuously occupied for at least 3,000 years and inhabited for much longer, Matera, Italy is one of the oldest cities in the world. You may have seen it already as the setting for a few movies including “The Passion of the Christ” and the "No Time To Die" James Bond movie. Matera, Italy Most amazing shower I've ever used. You could choose any color for the lighting.
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Two picturesque places - Positano and Amalfi. I ferried to Positano, then took a bus from Positano to Amalfi. A slow bus ride as the road is narrow and the bus sometimes has to wait for cars or other buses to pass a more narrow section before it can. I then took the ferry home. Great weather for two very nice places! I feel like Salerno had all of what I enjoyed at my last two stays plus great sea views. Good food, neat places to explore, and fascinating history. I even learned that a cathedral I would pass daily and had even visited briefly, was where Matthew, the apostle, is supposedly buried. After learning this I went back and, for a euro, explored his catacomb. The bodies of past Catholic saints are on display in various cathedrals. Saints bodies were/are? deemed incorruptible, though after centuries they are often encased in wax or silver. In at least one case just the skeleton remains in the case to view. At the Salerno Cathedral you can see Pope Gregory VII who died in 1085. His remains appear to have been encased in wax. Touted as the birthplace of pizza, I had the best pizza of my life in Napoli. I really enjoyed Napoli and found it to be laundry-across-the-alley authentic Italy. And, as with Rome, I really enjoyed walking around and exploring the various alleys and walkways around this old historic city. It was common to see these shrines on street corners. Big, small, fancy, simple... Napoli was inches away from winning the Italian soccer championship while I was there. I think it happened just a few days after I left. It was practically a done deal. So the celebrations were already starting well in advance. L'antica Pizzeria da Michele. Oldest pizzeria in Napoli. They've been at the current location for about 100 years, and making pizza for about 150. I was sitting alone at a two-person table. The hostess came in and asked if I was ok with someone joining me. The American in me wasn't crazy about the idea, but given the long waits and, I guess wasted table space, I obliged. As I thought about it, I realized it would be an opportunity to meet someone new. That it was. Alessandra approached with her luggage and an out-stretched hand introducing herself pleasantly. We talked while eating our world-renowned pizza. We then hung out until her train was ready to leave a few hours later. Fun times! Crossing streets in Italy can be scary. They won't stop to let you cross until you've started walking out into the street. Then they will stop. You will sit there all day if you are waiting for someone to stop and wave you across.
Pompeii ended up being a lot bigger than I expected. My three hours there were not enough. And the area is growing. They are still excavating new sections. I took an overnight flight to Rome, Italy sleeping maybe 10 minutes. I had never been to Italy before and had only been to a few countries in Europe many years ago, so this was all new to me. I got a taxi at the airport, dropped off my luggage at a place near my first stay as it was still mid-morning, and explored until check-in. My next nine days in Rome were spent seeing iconic landmarks, exploring and loving the old, old architecture and being surrounded by old, old history, eating amazing Italian food, and adjusting to the new time and culture. Oh, and getting an Italian phone number. Having data in a new place is crucial. The Vatican on a rainy day. You can see the end of the line just behind the fountain not far from the black screen on the left in the picture. It then wraps around passing in front of the camera, and continuing on around the ring to the screen on the right. The line actually starts at the top of the stairs of the Vatican far behind that same fountain. I came back from my travels in 2015 in time for the holidays. My plan was to stay until around March 2016 and then head to Europe. During that time I would look for a part-time job to build up funds and have something to do during the day. God likely smiled knowing how far off I was on this.
About a week after getting back, I got a call asking me if I would be interested in a job doing what I did before I had sett off to travel. With my plans to stay in the area for a while and an immediate need I could help with, I committed to the five months until I left for Europe in March. It was only after a day or two that I realized how much I loved the environment and what I was doing. I knew I would enjoy those five months more than expected. And that I did. It may have been a month later that I committed to staying for two years. I was enjoying it! And I could always travel later. I could offer a lot and I knew it would be a huge growth situation for me. And the unplanned financial boost would be very helpful as well. As unexpected as me staying on for two years was, I would have never imagined that I would end up being there over seven years. But that's what happened. And I loved it. It has been my favorite job ever and the one with the most personal and professional growth. I don't regret the decision to stay at all. But I am constantly flabbergasted that it has been seven years. It doesn't feel like it at all. But now it's time to head out again. I feel like it is time for someone with new ideas and energy to come in and take over where I left off. I'm returning to my plans to explore Europe. Today I did the Navajo Trail. I loved that hike. Takes you right up close to the canyon. I then drove over to Red Canyon, then back to my campground. I took my camera and walked to the edge of the campground, then out to an area beyond it which takes you to some bluffs. I walked around there exploring a bit and taking pics. I found some deer and, I guess, coyote tracks. Then I came back, ate, and have been getting stuff done online while in the driver’s seat of the car at my site. I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight so that I can leave early tomorrow. I head to Colorado tomorrow and will be in a hotel which will be nice. I'm looking forward to it. When I went to bed last night, there was a slight breeze. It was nice. I figured it would help cool me down. The tent holds in heat pretty well, so it was a little warm. Around 4:00 AM I woke back up. Not sure why. But the wind was picking up. Maybe that’s why. I think it may be caused by temperature differences in the park, because it steadily increased as the night went on. I wasn’t staked down since the ground had been too hard to stake into and I didn't have a mallet to help me with that. I'd set large rocks on the stakes instead. The wind got so strong at one point that I wondered if it was possible to be blown over. I kept reminding myself that the rain fly couldn’t blow off and that my body would hold the tent down. The tent was raised off the ground in all four corners - everywhere except where my body was holding it down. I considered collapsing it and sleeping the rest of the night in the car, but since the wind was fairly steady, I wasn’t sure how I could do this without it blowing away once I got out of it. But my theory of the wind strength being related to the temps meant that as the sun came up in a few hours the wind should die down. And that’s what it did. Around maybe 6 AM the wind was calm again. I fell asleep for an hour then woke up. Then fell asleep again for maybe an hour before waking up to a hot tent. Temps were almost to 80 degrees by 9:00 AM. I got up, packed up the tent, and then went back to the top of the hill near my site where I had explored the night before. I took some pics of the area in the daylight. It was getting hot so I didn’t dilly dally. From there I drove to Zion hoping to get a campsite. After Yosemite, I wondered if I’d have trouble. I was tired and really didn’t want to have to struggle to get a site. At the gate, they told me that the campgrounds were booked up and mentioned some on the other side of the park just outside of it. I’d planned to be here two nights, but as I drove through the park I decided to leave Zion and see Bryce instead. I’d seen Zion before. I’d wanted to spend more time here, but that meant staying who knows where and driving in and out each day. I hadn't seen Bryce before. So I found a KOA near Bryce, called, and reserved a site. I enjoyed Zion and stopped a few times to take pics or explore a little, then drove to the Bryce area. I got into Death Valley around 6:00 PM. After turning off the wrong way to get to the campground (following the GPS’s leading) I dead-ended at a small airport. I turned around and as I was heading back saw three coyotes crossing the street. I got a few pics of them (below). I credit the delay for my seeing an NPS employee as I entered the campground. She recommended I stay at the Texas Spring campground instead of where I had planned to go, saying it was quieter. It wasn't far away, and I still had a little time before it got dark, so I went for it. Glad I did. I didn’t see much of Furnace Creek, but it looked more open and crowded as did one I saw when I first entered the park. Not many people a Texas Spring, though. I got a site on the edge of the campground. It’s absolutely quiet and there aren’t many people here. I’m in my tent now. I have all the flaps open. I don’t know that I’ve ever camped with the tent this open before. At best, I’ve opened one of the flaps. I could probably take off the rain fly as there aren’t people too close. Fortunately, there is a breeze since the tent, even with all the mesh, holds in heat. I should be fine, though. After I ate dinner, I decided to try to go up onto the white hills near my site. It was easier than I thought. With new batteries in my headlamp, I went up and explored. It looked like snow-covered hills, but the ground was smooth and the crust-like surface gave slightly under each step I took like mud that was drying. It reminded me of a thick, soft, sourdough sugar cookie with a layer of hardened confectioners sugar icing on top. It wasn't regular dirt or sand. I think it has salt in it or something like it. With the moon being just over half full, and the hills being white, I could see without the headlamp for the most part. I walked around exploring up there for about an hour. So awesome. No one else up there. I could see the silhouette of the mountain ranges all around me and the lights of the lodge and resort area across the way and below me. What a great place. So glad I am staying here. Perfect temps outside. Now to get the temp in my tent down… I can credit this exploring around the white hills of DVNP as being the moment I realized how much I really love exploring new places, especially those off the beaten path. |
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July 2023
AuthorI've exchanged my ID badge for a passport, and am chasing the wind Categories |