Training Log Archive: Charlie

Departure day from Alto Molise, and quite a fine time. A little taken aback by my bill this morning for 3 nights stay and 3 full and spectacular dinners. Less than €200! I pressed another 60€ in cash on her, which seemed to be a big surprise to her, so that felt a little better, but I would certainly have been happy paying quite a bit more. Not in any rush, so stopped in Carovilli to walk around a bit. Classic little Italian hillside town, very intricate, nice architecture, lots of narrow curving staircases in all directions. Quite a fine place for a sprint, but of course many old European towns are.

Then thought I would go for another walk in the forest preserve at Collemelluccio, but to my surprise it is closed on the weekends! Never would have thought. So on my way, a bit earlier than I had planned. A very pleasant drive down to the sea through rolling country, quite open, with rather pointy hill tops with villages perched on them like jewels.

Glad I had taken the trouble to learn Italian traffic signs and rules, as it made me feel more secure driving, but alas it is a trouble that not very many of the other motorists have gone to, including the guy who passed me, pulling into the oncoming lane and over a crosswalk when I stopped to let a lady cross. She had the sense to stop in front of me to make sure of what the guy was doing. But otherwise driving was easy and pleasant. I was able to drop the car half a mile from the hotel in Vasto, so pretty easy. I will take a bus next Saturday when it is time to go home.

Here in Vasto it is quite warm. No one at the beach, though. I asked the lady at the desk and she said that for them it was winter and in fact she had a sweater on. I was sweating in my t-shirt.

I came to an accommodation with her. I addressed her in Italian and she responded in English, I responded again in Italian and she in English, after the third time she asked me if I wanted to speak Italian and I told her I come to Italy to speak Italian, and now we understand each other. This was certainly not a problem in the mountains.

C • Alto Molise 8

Part of a walk along the beach from the hotel. Didn’t start the watch until I had been going a while, and 5his was the second excursion anyway. The first one was in flip flops after going for a swim and I was a little concerned about going any further. So back to get sneakers. Beach is good for walking.

Back to Montedimezzo for a longer excursion. This would certainly be quite a fine place to run, but that seems pretty remote to me right now. Some very different terrain, some very rocky, mossy and dense, some very open white oak forest. Many miles of marked trails in this forest. There is a sign a good ways in that says you should be out at closing time, 4:30 this time of year, so good I left when I did yesterday. I might have missed it, but I didn’t see a similar sign nearer the entrance.

Then back to Villa San Michele, determined to put in a better effort to find some of my friend Lina’s relatives. Parked and saw a few women talking together and I went and asked them if they knew Lina. Well, yes they did, and one of them was her cousin Maria. Then I asked them about the place where they package truffle products, which seemed closed when I went by earlier, and one of the women looked down the street and said, ther he comes now, and it was the guy with the truffle business. So I went off with him for a bit and he packaged up some truffles for me. Then back to visit Maria, who now had an elderly woman named Irma with her, complete with obligatory black dress. Irma was pretty hard to understand, but Maria is pretty excited about Lina, and pretty soon she calls her up and we all chat and laugh for a while. Then she offers me a coffee, and pretty soon she is cooking spaghetti, and there is some meat, a giardiniere of carrots and cauliflower, some delicious bread, some homemade wine. Quite the spread. Then we headed up the street past Lina’s grandfather’s house to where Lina’s nephew and wife and baby Nicola live. Nicola is 9 months old, and there’s a great-grandmother there, complete with both head covering and black dress. Quite a nice couple of hours, and then I was on my way to Agnone to tour the bell factory there, on the fervent advice of my host Enzo, who will be glad to hear about it.

C • Well, that sounds wonderful... 7

Brisk walk around well-maintained trail network at the Collemeluccio forest preserve. Very nice. Lots of recent activity in terms of water bars, side spurs for views and historic artifacts, like the ruins of an old mill by the Tigno River.

And then a nice chat with the ranger about the place, who recommended the somewhat larger Montedimezzo reserve near S. Pietro Avellana. I told her what I was doing there, and on my way to orienteering in Vasto, and she was familiar and said there was orienteering around here, but just not right now.

At the ancient Samnite theater in Pietrabbondante. Nice setting. The theater is pretty small by Roman standards, but pretty well preserved. Bored looking guy collecting the 4€ entry fee, paved path down, one sign. But a pretty dramatic setting. After I figured out why the town is so named. I had thought maybe because of the extensive stone works at the site, but now it seems more likely from the huge cliffs and peaks that surround the village a few km distant.

After driving around some more, to Agnone, recommended by my host Enzo, Vastogirardi, back to Villa San Michele, where I walked by the old railway station and the cemetery. The train only runs about once a month now, a ceremonial sort of tourist attraction, and the station with its sign for V S MICHE E looks like it won’t be getting a new L anytime soon.

Then hiking a bit in Montedimezzo. I wasn’t sure what their hours were, so started feeling a bit anxious and cut the walk short because the parking was inside the gate. Steeper terrain, more trails. Maybe return tomorrow. Anyway I left at around 4:30, drove on to the town nearby, and then to see the larger town of Castel di Sangro, across the border in Abruzzo. Nice, but I didn’t really feel a reason to be there and headed back. Passed the forest preserve and it’s locked gate at 5:30, so good I left when I did.

After a short nap, down to dinner, another fine antipasto, similar, saving the two tastiest items for last the tiny bruschetta with truffles and the knot of fresh cheese on a lettuce leaf, but all was good. Then homemade ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta and a light tomato sauce. Enzo explained to me what is so good about Agnone. They have a bell factory that gives tours. Apparently they make the finest bells in the world, but yesterday when he was saying “campane” (bells), it sounded to me like “gambate”, which doesn’t mean anything to me. He is a little tough for me to understand. Anyway, he explained and I got him to slow it down enough that I got it. We watched a bit of tv news together.

And then to bed, pretty tired.

This was the second of three little walks.

Arrived in Rome this morning uneventfully, rented a car and headed south toward Naples for quite a while before the left turn up into the mountains to Alto Molise. First stop was the tiny village of Villa San Michele, the home town of my friends Lina and Angelo. Parked at the church and walked around town for a bit. Nothing going on there. I saw maybe 4 people, 3 of them a fair amount older than I am. Down the hill a bit to see the old town, Pagliarone, destroyed by a pair of landslides in 1933 and 1960. Villa San Michele, built primarily in the 60s, doesn’t have the charm of old Italian hilltop villages, but it is in a beautiful location in the mountains. Then on to my lodgings at Masseria Monte Pizzo, a few kilometers away, and walk #2, this one, tramping along on and off the ancient tratturo, the pathway along which sheep were herded from the mountains to the winter pastures by the sea 100 years ago or more.

Then it was definitely time for a nap.

Then the third walk, down the hill on the one lane road that ends at the Masseria, to the railroad bridge. Don’t really know if there is still regular train service.

Then it was dinner time. The Masseria is a family operation, father, mother and daughter. My conversation with the dad informed me that they are 63, 57 and 39 respectively. They have 4 rooms and restaurant seating for about 40, but alas I was the only customer tonight.

One always eats well in Italy, but this is quite a special place. The mamma is the cook and she is excellent. Very good bread, of course, 1/4 liter of vino bianco, then an antipasto plate, very varied, everything excellent. A small piece of torta salata, two pieces of bruschetta, one with black truffles and one with tomatoes, a small piece of frittata, slices of parmigiano e caciocavallo cheeses. A bit of fresh cheese that Nadia, the daughter called a nodino (a little knot), a piece of eggplant, sautéed perfectly, a stuffed mushroom, four kinds of salumi: prosciutto, braciola and two others, one spicy, and a little pot of caciocavallo that had been melted in the oven with hazelnuts and honey.

Wonderful. My favorites were the nodino and the black truffle bruschetta, but it was all wonderful.

Then there was a first plate, home made tagliatelle with black truffles and mushrooms, the mushrooms wonderfully crisp. A lot of olive oil was involved. Just delicious. Then a dolce, semi-freddo al caffè. That is, coffee ice cream with a bit of chocolate sauce and some little roasted coffee beans. There was also a choice of home made liqueurs. Just outstanding.

C • Quite a day! 5

Legs were sore and tired, cut it short.

Event: NEOC: Townsend State Forest
 

225 squats. Getting easier, but it does take some concentration.