Beach Bum

When I woke up this morning I still thought hiking was a good idea. There were some shorter treks I could enjoy between Manarola and Corniglia and up N in Monterosso. I also wanted to do some laundry as it was free. There were only 4 words on the washer indicating wool, cotton, mixed and delicates. Everything else was in pictures that weren't all that descriptive I thought. I put in the clothes and soap, selected a temperature and it started to work. The mystery was how long it was going to take. After a half hour it was still washing. At an hour it was still going. After an hour and a half I knew the clothes had to be clean and it had just finished rinsing and spinning for about the 4th time. I managed to get it to stop and unlock the door. The hostel cleaning person had left 3 bed covers on the line and I didn't see the clothespins out there. Not wanting to lose my clothes to the street below by having them blow away, I hung them in the room. By the time I gathered my things together for the day and took the train to Monterosso I realized the flaw in my plan: I was way to tired from yesterday's hike to even think about walking up any hill today. Since I didn't spend much time in Monterosso village yesterday, I decided to wander the two part town and get a feel for it.

Monterosso stretches eastward from the sea into the hills. Like most of the other villages it's full of shops selling all kinds of food, beach wear and souvenirs. I paused in a church to get out of the warm sun. It had an interesting nautical theme [notice the hanging boat at the top center]as you can tell from the picture. A bit further to the N and divided by the train station coming through the mountains is Fegina. This town clearly has a focus: the beach. A wide walkway above the beach along the shore guides you to the town. In this region of the Mediterranean, beach means small, smooth stones. This seemed like a great place to chill for a while and eat some lunch. Kids ran all over seeing how close they could get to the chilly waves before getting wet. In Europe when you go to the beach and it's still a bit cool to wear a swimsuit around, the solution is to leave your pants on the beach and go about in your underwear. Everyone lounges about soaking up the sun and chatting about this and that. This was a very easy way to spend a couple hours--and I'm not really a beach person!

I had hoped to be back to the hostel around 2pm to try and meet up with Hannah who was coming in to town. I ended up staying at the beach until about 3pm. When I got back I noticed there were clothespins which was fortunate as most things were still quite damp. Still looking for something else to fill my time and slightly refreshed from my relaxing beach time, I thought I would try to walk to a nature center out on the point of Riomaggiore. I wound my way down to the marina and around the coast to a small cove beach where people were stretched out on the rocks. This was when I realized that it was a nature point, not a center like the map implied. Not feeling the need to walk up and around for the view I walked down to the beach and sat in the sun. There was a little boy with his dad and grandpa wandering the shore nearby who was throwing and then writing on rocks. Very cute.

I made my way back to finish off the rest of my rice and pepper dinner and to pack up some things. Two Australian girls who had arrived last night were back from hiking the Blue Trail so we chatted for a while about the hike and where our journeys would lead us next. Fortunately all my clothes dried out in time and everything fit into my bags. Italy has been fun, but it's time to move on to a new country.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

A brief sleep in was in order after a long day of walking yesterday. Roused by the sunlight I spent the morning making travel arrangements and booking places to stay. Breakfast finally happened around 11am once things were settled online. Before leaving my bungalow I managed to use tweezers to restitch part of the sleeve on my t-shirt. Now that's what I call resourceful! I picked up a train ticket to Venezia (Venice) in town and headed to the post office to mail home various souveniers and papers I've collected thus far. The woman who helped me didn't speak much English, but I was able to buy a box that fit everything and fill out all the custom forms. One and a half hours and E35 later and both packages were in the mail. Yea! Three kilos (6.6 lbx.) less weight to lug around!!

I stopped at an open air cafe near the post office for a tasty lunch of tortelloni stuffed with cheese and green bits (basil or spinach??) in a light cream sauce with proscuitto and asparagus. Holy goodness! I paired it with a locally made white wine named Albana. Great combination. The wine smelled fruity, but had a clean, crisp flavor with just a hint of a buttery/chardonnay flavor in the background. Everything went down easy.

Most places worth visiting in Bologna are closed on Monday; hence the busy day yesterday. With really nothing to do or see today I decided to revisit Basilica di San Petronio to make sure I saw Giovanni da Modena's bizarre I'Inferno fresco. Bizarre it was. There were demon creatures eating people and strange horned creatures roaming about. The basilica is the 5th largest in the world even with it's incomplete facade. The bottom half is varying shades of white, green and red marble blocks and the top half is dark brown-black scalloped cement looking material. Gives two-toned a new meaning.

Having nothing better to do and really spending time in Bologna for the food, I stopped at a cafe for a cappuccino and pastry in the hopes that I could waste some time to stick around long enough for dinner. The pastry was surprisingly filled with vanilla custard and topped with almonds in a sugary glaze. A few sudoku puzzles later I decided to search out a place for dinner. I found the jazz club I had hoped to enjoy, but it didn't open until 8pm. Seemed a bit late to be in town when I still had to catch up on my blog, shower and pack up to leave tomorrow. Across the street was a movie theater with the show Remember Me starting in about 10 mins., but it was showing in Italian. No point in not understanding a great movie for E8. I gave up on eating in town and opted to eat later at the campground cafe. The evening's meal sampling was tagliatelli--1/4" wide pasta noodles with a beef bolognese sauce. Very tasty, but a bit too greasy for my liking.

And Now Introducing...

I roused from bed at the usual time to head downstairs for a taxi ride to church. Dress for the day included my longest skirt and a t-shirt; best to cover up as much skin as possible for the conservative Baptist flavor that fills much of Myanmar. Adrian had replaced his usual wear with a long sleeved shirt and a tie (the expected clothing for male foreigners). A good friend of Hrang from seminary met us and shuffled us into a taxi. We arrived at the church 20 minutes later.

Shortly after being introduced to some of the church elders, Adrian and I were asked to decide who would get up and speak a few words of welcome and thanks for their inviting us. When our friend translated this for us he distinctly said whoever was going to speak should offer thanks from the US. Adrian took this to mean I was the chosen one. :) Not the first time I've been asked on the spot to greet or give thanks. Kind of comes with the ministry territory.

So began the 2 hour sit-a-thon in high heat/humidity. I don't think I have ever fallen asleep during a sermon, but this was dangerously close. I could barely keep my eyes open as it was all spoken in Burmese and just sitting made you sweat. Despite the hot weather, we were offered a song book in English so we could participate.

After the service we joined the two pastors who led the service and some of the church folk for lunch. At this meal, as at most, we were treated to generous portions of rice, oily onion soup and flavored meats (curried chicken, fried fish with tomatoes and some version of what looked like beef). Our hosts encouraged us to take seconds and to "eat up!" Eating hot food actually doesn't make you feel any warmer than before. The food was always delicious and filling.