http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Marcoelitaliano/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Marcoelitaliano en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:59:15 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:59:15 +0000 Saturday December 12th dawned promising one of those warm sunny days unique rather than rare this time of the year here in Galicia. We were coming from 10 consecutive days of rain and the blue of the sky so clear and diaphanous looked like a chimera. Indeed a few hours after that would prove to be a chimera By midday some sort of unhealthy semipermeable haze looking like clabber darkened tha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Galicia/Cape-Finisterre/blog-461070.html I'm an optimist who's continually forced to come to terms with reality. When I was still in Thailand my plan was to travel overland to Italy. No planes. And so I in great solemnity ripped my return ticket to Rome off a burgeous symbol and set in motion well with imagination more than in reality. I was still only in my imagination in Tibet when I realized that those high mountains are simpl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Benaulim/blog-424365.html Sri Lanka keep offering me only gifts directly sent by the Lord himself. In the past it had been described to me as a lot of hassle persistence and intrusiveness. In hindsight I must confess that I canrsquot disagree more with such description. Sinhalese people seemed to me wonderfully generous men not at all intrusive less than less aggressive.Climbed down from the Adamrsquos Peak I wante http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Uva-Province/Bandarawela/blog-411026.html I apologize in advance to my readers for temporarily abandoning the story of my return trip from Asia not respecting for once the chronology of events. Fact is that while having moved to live in Istanbul a month ago three news arrived from Italy in the short span of 7 days have struck my attention and I believe they deserve an immediate comment.1 Clemente Mastella. Sunday June 7th was electi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-408435.html Sri Lanka had welcomed me with that mix of hospitality and embarrassment of those who peaceful by nature found themselves with a rifle in hand and do not understand why. Negombo Airport was armoured and Colombo city centre was constantly combed by agents uniformed and not looking for potential bombers. Only in Israel I guess Irsquove seen more weapons around. But people here contrary to w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Sabaragamuwa-Province/Adam-s-Peak/blog-404258.html If you're reading this you probably belong to one of the following categories a You are a friend of mine or family member b You are Samantha Fox c You are someone who regularly reads my blog d You are a male aged 30 35 who hasn't got anything better to do right now you're probably at the office pretending to work and have just googled for Samantha Fox.A few words of introductio http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-378043.html After 10 Robinson Crusoelike weeks the need for doing going seeing had become untenable. I hence said goodbye to what had been my home during seventy days and to its very few tenants. Mimi 4 years old little angel gave the impression of being in that moment the saddest child in the world. She was losing her patient games' companion and looked as if with my departure I had just violated a t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-376373.html According to a survey conducted by Project Gutenberg and based on 30 million words used in cinema and literature the three most common words in the English language are You I and to. If instead of thousands of movies and books had the research been carried on using Ya the bungalows' keeper of the place where I'm lodged on Ko Chang's english as basis the results would have been surprisingly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-368874.html I don't think I've ever been keen on an exciting life and all the emotions experienced in recent years came circumstantially while looking for something else.I've never considered working as something necessary to prove that I exist and for the same reason I never felt the need to overcommit my spare time and working the bare minimum I really have lot of it. The mere thought of a prolonged pr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-364952.html The last five days of this long cycling tour slipped away uneventfully. After the disastrous Maribor day my mood was not at its best and feeling on the other hand the arrival so close to me simply pushed me to pedal harder. I expected a more difficult terrain instead only near Postojna I had to do some climbs worthy of note. The last real effort for this year then it was all downhill to Triest http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-352643.html I will remember Thursday October 23rd as the worst day of this 2008 tour. I cycled for over an hour on the national road number 3 with an endless row of trucks mainly Hungarian continuously overtaking me just centimeters away from my body. My own safety constantly at stake. After about twenty kms the road turned into a motorway a relief for me so at least I had a meter across in the emergenc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Upper-Carniola/Ljubljana/blog-345006.html My first impression on Poland was not the most positive. I quote the page I wrote on my diary the day I crossed the Polish border. I apologize beforehand in case someone was to find it politically incorrect.Friday October 3rd The weather has changed this time the forecast was accurate. It drizzled all day nothing unbearable but annoying enough to make me end the day at Kostrzyn Poland 30 km http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Auschwitz/blog-342580.html Oslo on Sunday is a rather curious spectacle you see around only Middle Eastern immigrants and a significant number of alcoholics. Humans derelicts the latter result of years of protoprohibitionist policy. And the longer I live the most I grew convinced of something forbid something is the best way to push people en masse towards that specific vice.The ferry to Frederikshavn Denmark didnr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lubusz/Zielona-Gora/blog-340307.html Monday September 8thI'm back on my way to Norway. Due to incessant rain is taking me ages to make a crossing of a few hundred kilometers. It would have taken me less to cross from Nepal to Tibet Temperature remains low around 12C and today I was forced for the first time to wear my winter stuff with thermal full lenght suit and padded jacket. Day of climbs not harsh but numerous. Rocinant http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Oppland/Fagernes/blog-324917.html Another rainy day. I've been cycling for weeks now in the constant worry of being forced to seek for solutions to stay reasonably dry. I drift through the immense Swedish forests of coniferous that after the rain release a sweet and pungent smell that brings my mind back to Asian and Middle Eastern spice markets. Other journeys that today seem to belong to times so remote that could not be possib http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Varmland/Lake-Grocken/blog-324197.html Never walk into a supermarket wearing a Lycra cycling suit. Or at least never walk into a supermarket wearing a Lycra cycling suit with no pants underneath. Or at least never walk into a supermarket wearing a Lycra cycling suit with no pants underneath and stare for too long at a young German mother's decollet while she's bent over telling her daughter off. I mean Lycra is a fine material fo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Lower-Saxony/Remels/blog-318596.html Exactly a month of travelling everything OK till August 4th a day curiously full of setbacks...I had peacefully pedalled for 74 flat Kms and I was only 22 Kms away from Gent stage's final for that day. A puncture at the rear wheel apparently nothing serious. I decide to push the bike up to a gas station where I could have changed the tyre without being then forced to inflate it manually. I too http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/Province-of-Utrecht/Utrecht/blog-314175.html You can live a lifetime and at the end of it know more about other people than you know about yourself. You learn to watch other people but you never watch yourself. Because you strive against loneliness. If you read a book or shuffle a desk of cards or care for a dog you are avoiding yourself. The abhorrence of loneliness is as natural as wanting to live at all.I belong to that category o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-311311.html First update from the almost 1000 meters of Landeck in the Tyrolean Alps. A day of rest where apart from ensuring a minimum of maintenance to Rocinante I'm in full immersion in the art of eating breakfast at 10 half a ton of junkfood at lunchtime and now a rich snack of coffee and cake. And itrsquos only 5pm. Sometimes I suspect I cycle 100 kms per day just to allow myself to consequently http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Tyrol/Sankt-Anton-am-Arlberg/blog-304360.html Three months in Italy sedentary but restless and Irsquom ready for a new adventure. This time I wonrsquot be alone the faithful Rocinante will accompany me on the roads of Europe and maybe further beyond. Itrsquos not a horse as the name might suggest it's my beautiful mountain bike. Irsquove bought it two years ago brand new. It only cost 214 euro and is by far the cheapest among a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Abruzzo/Raiano/blog-295036.html