Verona

We had a quick stopover in Verona the home of Romeo and Juliet. It is also the home of Nick, Chelsea, and Maya’s great Uncle Marco and Aunt Angela. It was great to stay with an Italian family and whilst communicating was difficult it was a good opportunity to improve my Italian.

Marco, Angela and me

Grandson Pietro and Uncle Carlo

Marco and Angela gave us a quick tour around the Verona district. We went to Borghetti and Lazise on Lake Gardia ending up in Verona for pizza for dinner. We were eating outside in a typical Pizzera when the sky blackened above and we were hailed on for a 2^nd time in a few days- quite dramatic.

Marco and Ron

Marco runs a business in Verona in the building his Grandfather built 100 years ago His grandfather was a wine merchant and this factory was built of stone and marble. Marco’s office is in the bedroom he had as a child. Such continuity doesn’t happen in Australia like this.

Juliet's balcony

A statue of Juliet, it is good luck to rub her breast

Dante

Angela and Marco outside Roman Teatro, it is the 3rd biggest and holds 30,000 people. In the summer opera is performed.

Verona is famous for its rose marble, the streets are paved with it.

The Dolomites

We are in South Tyrol in the Dolomite region which is a mountainous area in Northern Italy bordering Austria. Being here is more like being in Germany than Italy. Laden, a germanic language is dominant and all signs are in 2 languages German and Italian, and some in 3. Everyone is bilingual. The houses are very cute Swiss – german style, flower boxes, wooded shutters and railings, wood piles neatly organised.

Our caravan park entrance

Alpine meadow and mountain backdrop

We have done some great long walks in the most beautiful country including high alpine meadows, pine forest, along raging streams and past waterfalls too many to photograph. We are walking for about 4 hours and regularly climbing 800m. Two hours uphill seems to be our limit but the stairs on the lighthouse walk are going to look piss easy when we get back. We have also been rained and hailed on as well. Every day at about 2pm a storm has come through to wet us. Our wet weather gear has proved adequate, just. I really do like my umbrella which doesn’t really match the trekkers gear.

Pine trees and Ron

We caught one gondola and one chairlift and then walked for about an hour to have coffee and apple strudel in this alpine cafe. It is not possible to drive here. The small ski resort of Compatch / Compaccio has no car access.

Ron has bought some walking poles. Everyone has them here. He thinks he is pretty special and we both think they should be sold with safety goggles for the owner’s partner. Seriously they seem to make him go faster and take some of the strain of his knees.

Ron is dangerous with poles

One of the walks was a representation of the Station of the Cross (12 I think??). Every couple of kilometers there was a monument depicting the next station. I particularly liked this crucifix made from a few sticks we found on another walk. Religious monuments are very common.

Alpine cow which live in small houses all winter

Below is short video of finch feeding on dandelion seed.

The background noise is a raging stream. This has lost some colour in the copying, this bird was a brilliant rose colour.

Female finch feeding nearby

The Po Delta (more Flamingos)

The Po Delta turned out to be an even better bird watching place than The Camargue. It covers a huge area. Unfortunately we only had 3 days. We were in the south and didn’t even manage to make it to the Po River but saw a great diversity of ecosystems, salty mudflats, salty lagoons, fresh water lagoons and littoral forests.

Flamingos in the Po Delta

There were many flamingos. They only arrived in the delta 15 years ago. Now there is a second type of Flamingo which has just showed up in the past two years – only two pairs. Also saw African bee eaters, grey heron, rose heron, great egret (like in NZ), black crowned night heron, grebe (2 sorts), hoopoe (very exciting) , pygmy cormorant as well as all the birds I saw in The Carmargue. A lot of the water birds had young. We found one nesting area of stilts, black headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, and red shanks all with young.

African Bee eater

Pygmy Cormorant

Black crowned night heron

Nesting bird colony

A Pigeon nesting near our caravan

Also saw many coypu in the freshwater lagoon. These beaver like animals were introduced to Europe from Sth America for fur. They are now considered a pest in most of their range. (Wikipedia)

Coypu is an animal like a beaver

Comacchio

We visited historic town Comacchio, a smaller version of Venice with many canals and cute bridges, but no people. It is famous for 1 bridge that crosses 3 canals.

Comacchio

Tre ponte

View from Tre ponte

Also saw a real archaeological dig with some bones and ancient boat.

Digging up bones, these are human bones

The whole site

The history of the area is fascinating with the local people involved with eel fishing for hundreds of years. Under various administrations Rome, and local municipalities they were forbidden to fish so a lot of poaching went on. We took a boat out to an old fishing station and saw old fish traps. They still trap fish today using the same techniques but with concrete and plastic instead of timber and reeds.

Fish traps

Fishing station in the middle of the lagoon

We also had some really good fish dinners. Our campsite was great, well organised, friendly and we were the only non Italians there. We could take away a mixed grilled fish plate from the Camping restaurant- a totally civilised country.

Adria Camping mixed grilled fish take away, a meal for one??

We have come across some very funny English translation. Here is just one example.

The Direction is a translation from Direzione which is Administration.


Pick the odd one out

(It's a duck)

Pick the odd one

(It's Ron pulling silly face)

Leaving Costacarrio
After 3 weeks we finally decided it was time to pack up the caravan and move north.
Rio Verde Camping Villagio was a fantastic site for launching out into Mt Cucco National Park and Umbria. We sadly farewelled Francesca our lovely host promising to return.

Packing up

Francesca looking serious

Costaccario
We were glad to be back home in quiet Costaccario, reunited with our caravan. Ron was very keen to get to the Sibilline National Park at the southern end of Umbria so the next day as it was fine and sunny we pack a few things and headed for them there hills.

Sibillini
This place was so much fun. There is a 9 day walk of the circumference of the park. This is beautiful country with large upland plains full of wild flowers and towering mountains.

Wildflowers

The first day we walked in a beautiful valley without another person, car, dog in sight. We found a cabin in a caravan park at Ussita. They provide a kitchen but no kitchen utensils i.e. nothing. I had to drink a glass of wine out of a vitamin pill bottle in desperation. So we went to the Trattoria for dinner. They were so kind to us and just brought us plates and plates of pasta, pizza, salami etc.

Our cabin

A picnic (we have one most days)

Castellangelo is a walled town on the lower slopes. Castelluccio a most beautiful village overlooking the Great Plain is Ron’s pick of all the beautiful towns we have seen in Italy. We stopped to buy local produce which included salamis, sheep cheese (which I can eat), lentils and truffles.

Castelangelo a walled town in the Sibillines

Castelluccio

The market at castelluccio

The 2nd day Ron decided that we would climb Mt. Vetorre the highest mountain in the Sibillines. The climb starts at 1600m and goes to 2400m. I have learnt that in this kind of country it is not km travelled that counts but height achieved.

The view from Mt. Vettore

We travelled to the start of the climb and there were stacks of people and cars. It was Italian Republic Day long weekend and every Italian and their dog seemed to have arrived at the Mt Vettore. Most walks we have done since we have been in Europe we have not seen a soul so this was a new phenomena. I had been saying things like “Italians do not appreciate their National Parks, they only like to eat and siesta and other nasty things” Boy was I wrong.

We started the ascent up a very steep windy track covered in small stone. On the descent it was very dangerous imagine walking on marbles. We met lots of nice people on the way. It was a fiesta atmosphere. After 2 hours I made it to the top. Ron turned back earlier. By then I had a nice young couple keeping an eye on me to make sure I was Ok (sweet).

Ron on the track up to Mt. Vettore

The last part of the climb

A map of Italy made out of trees viewed from the top

Well there were literally hundreds of people at the top all with their lunches watching a slalom ski competition on the last remaining patch of snow. Some had climbed with packs of horses. It was all an extraordinary sight. All these people had made this quite difficult ascent with lunches and children for a ski comp.