4-24-10 day 20 Massarosa via Pietrasanta to Forte dei Marmi
as I checked out, the lady at front desk was much friendlier. She did have a good birthday party the night before but it did not involve going to the disco unfortunately. She was worried about me walking alone as a woman through italy. But then she told me about her friends who had road bikes through patagonia ..for the satisfaction of it... she wished me well and I was off... I walked in grey, slightly drizzly morning... a little bit heavy feeling.. it was again along a car road..but manageable ..not my favorite... what made the walk interesting was the hills turning into more mountainous peeks on the east side... I knew I was only a few kms from the ocean at the west but I would not see it till the end of the day. The plants changed a bit too, I saw an increase of citrus trees. By midday I hit the outskirts of Pietrasanta I had real lunch ..ricotta ravioli with a lemon creme sauce and salad with side of veggies.. then two more kms and I was in pietrasanta... sun had fully emerged and the pastel town was pretty. It was middle of lunch breaks even the churches were locked.
So I sat at a cafe and hydrated while waiting. Then by 2.30 churches opened I went to the main one. Grand as is usual, I listened to a woman trying to convince her german speaking audience just how special this place was. I think I have seen so many grant cathedrals that I am loosing some of the appreciation of individual specialness.. though I still enjoy sitting in these ornate art feasts... next door was a former convent now turned art museum.. there were copies in plaster of famous sculptures from what I could gather. I did not get it. Then I realized that this whole region is stone quarry land. You could see the mountains in the back with obvious signs of human cut ins. I passed many a marble slab sales places and funerary sculptures specialists along the roads. So I gather famous artists came to this area for the marble. I am totally guessing but it would make sense. I saw what looked like art collective sculpture yards later. It seemed too early to stop..so I decided to check out this camping ground near Querceta. Then amongst the italian flags down a street I saw a tibetan flag.. I gravitated towards it, then I saw a little weathered looking man with a striking straw hat, little pompoms attached. He waved me towards him.
He is Teddy, he said he was originally from Freiburg Germany. But his german did not seem native. But who knows if he's not lived there for twenty or more years? He claims he lived in Tibet for ten years, until the chinese permanently kicked him out. He had a bicycle with trailer. He had pictures of himself and the local major, apparently the mayor has given him the rights to live and camp in a local park. Even though he had a lot buddhist accoutrement he said he was not buddhist. He was a self proclaimed vagabond. He was soon off to a french music festival and maybe later in the year nepal or india. He gave me good luck beads which were suppose to be the bodhi seeds of the tree in bodgia india. I thanked him. Then he insisted on walking me to house were people like me could stay for a night or two free. He left me there. Somehow I would not be surprised if I ran across Teddy again some time. I tried ringing the bell a couple of times at the house and no one answered. Then this woman cop who spoke no english but had a busy body quality about her...told me 'no piligrina, boy scouts'...since no one answered I gave up and decided to move on the the camp ground perhaps five kms from here. On the way out of town I found tourist info. She too insisted that house was a nuns house and they took pilgrims. She tried to call, turns out they were busy for over an hour... so in the mean time I could get another bit of road under me and prob cheap accommodations camping..so I took her directions... I walked along a road with the rail to one side...eventually I would see the sign for camping.. I took that road...it went further east than I expected towards the ocean... finally I found the campsite. It was closed... in fact it looked like it had deteriorated into a squatters camp ….now remains of old fridges, trailers and other piles of garbage all that was left... resigned I decided to walk all the way to the coast... this was a slight digression from the path again...but now the idea of seeing ocean propelled my now tired feet forward... I was very delighted to finally see signs for accommodation... not too cheap but I had lost steam and the woman there was just really nice and I had to speak german with her because it was her stronger second language. I showered dumped my stuff and walked to the beach now six thirty... it took me a bit to find a place were I could enter the beach..it is walled off by chains of beach businesses.. you cant even see the ocean from the street... they control the beach during the on season but renting beach space.. you can walk the beach for free but if you want to sunbath it costs...or so I was told...clearly it was still too early in the year since I was one of three people on the beach...but I can imagine this place in the heat of summer.. unpleasantly crowded... despite hunger and some chores calling... I stayed on the beach for an hour.. I dipped my feet in the water still chilly for swimming.. but coming from NW USA I am used to staying on beaches where water is too cold to swim.. this place truly is stunning: lovely beach and ocean on one side and interesting mountain range on the other... then pizza and back to room...
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