What have I learned on this trip? Maybe I’m not the totally hot shit hiker that I used to be. I really didn’t do all of the Camino, and I am not into suffering for a badge of completion. And, I did most of the trail. Hiked over 90 miles, just in those 11 days. I saw amazing landscapes that most visitors to Sicily wouldn’t see. There are a lot of super nice people, wherever you go, maybe especially in Sicily where the hospitality and friendliness and level of helpfulness permeates the culture. Be aware of how you process the world around you. Expectations, anticipations and assumptions can cloud your awareness. They can bring you disappointments and dissatisfaction. And you can choose to turn that stuff around to appreciation and gratitude. Or by going into the world with an open attitude or positive intentions, you can maybe skip that outcome. I learned so many layers of eras and civilizations have passed through here. It’s beyond my comprehens...
Or something like that there! This was a most splendid day that almost didn’t happen. The transportation to this place seemed iffy, but thanks to three women from Colombia, one who lives in Palermo, it went fine. Overnight, it’s Fall here. Colder, windy, more rain last night. Met the three women at the bus stop and we were going to the same place, the UNESCO heritage site. We shared a taxi from Piazza Armerina to the site. Just a brief history: it was first built in the early 3rd century, meaning around 225 AD. It was added to along the way and was inhabited for about 150 years. There was a landslide that inundated the site which preserved the astonishing mosaics we saw today. It is the best and broadest example of Roman mosaics remaining. Cold plunges were a thing in 250 EC First was the spa complex. Certainly some nice rock ruins and mosaics. Next the inner bedrooms and hideaways. Spectacular. Then the grand hallway. The mythical phoenix bird ...
Goodbye Agrigento. I left the apartment at 10:00. My bus, number 4208 didn’t leave until 11:20 and I had ample time to immerse myself in book two of the Godfather trilogy. Spent some of that time reading in a park and then went to the bus station to read more. One would assume that if you bought a ticket the day before, at the bus station, that the bus would leave from the bus station. I saw bus 4208 drive into town 20 minutes before departure time. Thought nothing of it. Maybe they are getting gas. I saw the bus leave town at 11:23. Fuck! In fact I said “fuck” and a well dressed young Italian man looked at me askance. One would also assume that a ticket seller would alert an obvious dumb ass stupid tourist, that the bus I just bought a ticket for leaves from another location. So, I had to laugh this one off. Days and days on a trail where I was contemplating expectations, assumptions and anticipation all possibly leadi...
Buon Viaggio!
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