Siracusa, Sicilia. Saturday April 28

Siracusa, Sicilia. Saturday April 28. 

Fresh Water and Salt Water

Dear Trail Friends,

I slept poorly last night, waking at 4am and being unable to fall back to sleep. I went through the day off-balance and irritable. I was annoyed taking a walk with Chris and Peter and Judy and Hanna, having to engage with others’ pace and desires, walking through the relatively crowded market and inhaling car fumes, when I really would have rather been walking alone along the shore, but not clear enough to simply go off on my own. 

Do I really want to ask you to walk with me through my bad moods and inability to enjoy this great opportunity? What I’d rather do is reinvent the day, remember the golden moments, and as I share it with you bring myself into tune with the opportunities for beauty. 

Photo 1 shows the morning view from our hotel room. 

Photos 2 and 3 show views from the dining room on the fourth floor. In photo 2 you see Chris and participants Kevin, John and Tricia in front of the ocean view, in photo 3 you see part of the breakfast buffet in front of the view of the roofs of Ortygia. I was struck that the view of the old town is so picturesque it looks more like a water color painting in the photo than a actual view out the window of old roofs. 

So in the midst of all this beauty, we went for a walk after breakfast and I managed to be grumpy. We walked through the market, visited the spring of Arethusa, ate lunch (not exciting food) nearby, and came home for a nap. At 4:30pm our group assembled for the formal beginning of the tour. This included introductory remarks, and accolades for and from our guides and organizers, brief introductions of participants, a break for prosecco and appetizers, and Chris’s first lecture. 

Chris’s lecture - of course I can’t begin to do it justice here - touched on the way in which the Greek settlements in Sicily were thriving before the time of Homer or the Hellenistic world, how the cities here were an important part of the Ancient Greek world. As colonies tend to do, these settlements had involved departure from home, arrival and resettlement in an unfamiliar world, enslaving and assimilating/destroying the native population and culture. One unique feature was that the settlements were guided by the oracle at Delphi when that oracle had newly been taken over by Apollo. Once a place where people sought guidance from dreams and the earth mother goddess Gaia, it had been changed by the upstart intruder god, the young male god Apollo (himself a kind of divine colonist) into a different kind of oracle, one that directed and guided people. People had been explicitly directed by the oracle to settle in Sicily, in Siracusa in particular. That move involved the same kind of illusion/promise of a new start that immigrants have long brought to America and Chris as she lectured managed to evoke both the sense of excitement of a fresh start in relation to our journey here, and the understanding that every fresh start also involves a return to the same old issues and patterns. There was a cynical view that the oracle st Delphi guided colonization as a way to manifest and amplify the power of that institution. But there was also the sense that something genuinely fresh had been called into being. 

Chris also spoke of the fountain of Arethusa. She referred to several versions of the myth and my memory isn’t good enough to accurately relay what she said, but what stays with me is an image of a lively young nymph Arethusa who bathes in a river, not realizing that the river is the river god Alpheus, who of course falls in love with her. She, wanting to remain a virgin companion of the virgin goddess Artemis, runs from him. Artemis helps Arethusa by hiding her in a cloud, but Alpheus pursues her and Artemis, terrified, begins to sweat. The fear and sweating are so intense that they transform her into a stream. Artemis still tries to help Arethusa, now by creating a hole in the earth deep enough for her in her - new form as a steam - to flow away, to flow and to escape, underground and under the ocean, from mainland Greece to the island of Ortigia, where she emerges as a fresh water spring. But Alpheus flows down into the ocean and pursues her to Ortigia, where his salt water self meets her fresh water spring. He mingles his salt water with her fresh water. 

Photo 4 shows the fountain of Arethusa that we walked by today (before the talk). The water is under all that profuse growth of palm and papyrus. 

I’m wondering as I write this how these commingling waters were related to the guidance of Apollo and the immigration of the actual colonists from Greece to Siracusa. Chris when she lectures manages to cast a spell (for me at least) in which my intellectual understanding is wide awake but so also is a kind of dreamlike awareness that senses and feels connections without being able to - or needing to - explain them. 

Perhaps the way Arethusa managed to escape Alpheus by transforming into a stream and flowing from Greece to Sicily is a little like the myth of a fresh start for the colonists? And the way Alpheus manages to flow into and through the ocean, to follow her and commingle with her is the way the old patterns and problems return when we find ourselves in a new fresh start, so full of promise?

I was aware when I gathered photos and introductions from tour participants that this tour was going to be something of a pilgrimage for a number of people. I find myself wondering how these stories in Chris’s first lecture might relate to that pilgrimage for me and for the other participants, 31 of us plus the guides, each one like a unique crystal reflecting and refracting the light of these stories differently. 

Thank you for “walking” with me through my fragmented memories of Chris’s lecture. As I hoped, sharing this with you is transforming it for me. I see all my old patterns and problems and how much in the grip of them I am, but also feel the sweet illusion/promise of a new beginning, a fresh start. The commingling of salt water and fresh water seem to express that. Both real. Both true. 

And after the lecture we were off to an amazing and wonderful dinner, dishes served family style, more than we could possibly eat - caponata, octopus salad, orange salad, fried fish, fried baby squids, fried vegetables, potatoes and apples, cheeses and salamis and sausages, and on and on and on, wine poured generously, conversation, laughter. 

Photo 5 shows the table with some of the food. Photo 6 shows me with the chef. I thought his colorful jacket and chefs hat quite as pleasurable as the food and the wine. 

One story at dinner sticks in my mind. David is talking about taking his wife Joy up in a small plane and getting into serious trouble because of weather, the plane suddenly descending dangerously, nothing he can do to stop it, knowing it is out of his hands, that they will die unless the weather itself spares them and there beside him is Joy raising her arms like a child, chortling with delight at the thrill of the descent. Obviously they survive- he is here to tell the story - and that is the moment when he decides to marry her. 

This story brought vividly to mind the memory of my car spinning wildly out of control two weeks ago - what would it have been like to have someone beside me raising her arms and chortling with delight?

Maybe this story for me feels like salt water and fresh water commingling, the terrible beautiful commingling of the promise and the illusion in the idea of a fresh start. 

And so begins our journey ... 

Siracuse, Sicily. Friday April 27, 11pm

 Friday, April 27, 11pm

Dreams of Gold

Dear Trail Friends

Luckily I finally did fall asleep at 5:30am and woke at 10am, just in time to make it to the breakfast buffet that closes at 10:30. The dining room is on the 4th floor of our little hotel and has a panoramic view of both the coastline and water and the town and rooftops. (Photos tomorrow)

We are on the island of Ortigia (Siracusa’s old town) just over the bridge from the rest of Siracusa, which is on the southeast coast of Sicily. Photo 1 shows the island - the blue dot is where we are. 

We took a slow meandering walk across the island then across the bridge into Syracuse to the bus and train stations. We had hoped to make a day trip to Noto, a beautifully preserved baroque town and UNESCO world heritage site, much loved and studied by longtime parttime Orcas Islander (and Berkeley professor of architectural history) Stephen Tobriner. We were interested not only in the architecture but also in a small  bakery there featured on a recent episode of Chef’s Table - we had promised our Orcas island friend Arthur Winer that if we could get there we would check out the canolli and other pastries and report back to him. Much as I loved the idea of that adventure, we found at the bus station that buses to Noto were much less frequent than the guidebook had suggested and we also realized that we were still tired enough from travel that we would enjoy a quiet day wandering the narrow winding streets of Ortigia much more than the more ambitious adventure. We also wanted to be at our hotel mid-afternoon to welcome my sister Judy and Chris’s son Peter when they arrived. 

We had a lovely light lunch - arugula, sweet little tomatoes, tuna fish and exceptionally good olive oil - at outdoor tables. It was sunny and probably in the mid-70s. I wore my sun hat and we didn’t need our jackets. 

We returned to the same restaurant as last night for dinner, joined this time by Toni (our states side tour organizer), sister Judy, son Peter, and my friend and colleague from NYC Ellen. This time Ellen and I shared a first course of ravioli dish with shrimp and orange, and a second course of fried fish (a diverse mixture of fried seafoods very very lightly breaded and beautifully seasoned). When we arrived at 7:30 the restaurant was empty. By the time we left at 9:30 it was full. Sicilians prefer to eat at 9 or later. Photo 2 shows our table at the restaurant, left to right, Judy, Peter, Toni, Ellen, and the no longer empty tables around us. 

The walk home was especially magical with the almost full moon overhead and the narrow street with the old buildings and their balconies. Especially magical was walking with Peter who pointed out things like how electrical wiring is put into the stone (since these stone buildings were built long before electricity), the tubes made of clay and how they were fitted together, the changing materials of the road under our feet. Photo 3 shows our walk home- left to right, Peter, Judy, Toni, Chris. 

After we came back to the hotel Ellen and I went up to the roof garden to see the view of water and old town roofs by moonlight. 

Tomorrow the formal tour will begin with short talks and a group dinner. 

Ci vediamo in Sicilia. Buono notte e sogni d’oro (dreams of gold - the closest Italian equivalent to “sweet dreams”). 

Siracusa, Sicily. Friday April 27. 3:30am

Siracusa Sicily. Friday April 27. 3:39am. 

Tuning OurInstruments 

Dear Trail Friends,

Chris and I left Orcas 8:30am on Wednesday because our ferry schedule was changed due to an injured ferry (damaged propeller). We had lots of errands to do on our way to Seattle: dropping my car at the Subaru dealer for engine repair work (on Monday of the previous week, a day of heavy rain, my brand new Forester hit a puddle in the fast lane and spun wildly out of control, whirled and lurched across the slower lanes of traffic and into the ditch beside the road. Miraculously there was no collision, it did not flip over, and I was able to drive away. But the impact was huge so I took it in last Thursday to look for subtle damage. Alas, there was damage to I believe the cam case seal and oil was leaking. The repair required an expensive because labor intensive removal of the engine to reseal the cam case - so we decided to leave OSilver, our new car, there as we headed for Sicily), stopping at Costco to get new lightweight rain jackets, at AAA for an international driver’s license, at Goodwill to leave off several bags of books and clothes and other re-useable items, a stop st Walmart’s in an unsuccessful search for a “lock lace” device for my new shoes (I had unfortunately left my well broken in hiking shoes behind and brought only the new larger pair, not yet broken in and intended for future hikes in which I would need bulkier warmer more cushioned socks than my new snug shoes could tolerate), at Althea’s orthopedic shoe store in Everett to explore a new lace hole and possible heel pads for the new shoes, a voyage through rush hour Seattle traffic, and final arrival at Chris’s daughter Sandy’s house in Seattle. 

We went out to dinner with Sandy and her partner Betsy and their daughter Sara, and celebrated Sara’s decision to attend Washington Stste University at Pullman. Betsy has roots in Sicily and we loved sharing an Italian dinner and the fantasy that they will go with us in imagination. Sandy, Chris and I ordered the Sicilian Blood Oramge Prosecco cocktails (which turned out to be ordinary orange but were no less wonderful for that. 

Photo 1 shows Chris and daughter Sandy toasting with their (bloodless) Sicilian orange prosecco cocktails. 

We got up at 5:00am Wednesday - luckily Chris set her alarm because I had set mine for 5:45 when I meant to set it for 4:45) and got an uber to the airport. We had more time than we needed at the airport - international checkin and baggage check is much more efficient than it used to be - and our flight left on time 8:30am, arrived in Philadelphia on time, and we made our way to the flight to Rome smoothly. It too departed on time. Chris was initially disappointed that it was on older plane with no outlets for recharging iPhones but I had brought my recharger that I use on the trail and we truly appreciated the fact that the older plane had more leg room. 

Our flight arrived on time in Rome and we made our way relatively smoothly through baggage claim and to the other terminal to catch our plane to Catania, Sicily. That flight too was on time and we arrived in Catania where we met Angela, who will be the local guide for our tour. She drove us to our hotel in Siracusa where we met Lucia who has been the local tour organizer. Lucia wanted to meet later that evening (Thursday) to discuss a few issues on the tour (particularly regarding how to balance accommodating dietary restrictions of group members with giving other group members a chance to eat real Sicilian food). Not having slept at all on the flights, I was annoyed by the proposal. I just wanted to rest and not have me or Chris have to deal with practical tour details. 

  But in fact getting together with Angela and Lucia and Toni (our American tour organizer) turned out to be the first highlight of the trip. We met in the spectacular apartment Lucia is house-sitting for a friend who collects art - very interesting and provactive contemporary art with images that suggest Adam and Eve, the Minotaur, Christian icons and more. We drank wine, nibbled local cheese, salami, grape tomatoes, olives and crisped bread, and I felt the trust and harmony among the planners and guides develop in a way that reminded me of how Chris’s mother used to say that it is important to tune your instruments as you begin a conversation. I like imagining that it is part of the special wisdom of people in the hospitality business that you create occasions to cultivate warmth and trust. I also like imagining that it is part of the Sicilian culture, especially the role played by wine and good food in creating the mood. 

Photo 2 shows (left to right) Toni, Angela, Lucia and Chris. There was a lot of talking with hands and I enjoyed seeing how Toni talks with her hands and thinking about that as perhaps passed down through the family from her Sicilian roots. 

Afterwards, Chris and I had a simple dinner sharing a first course of Norma di Mare (pasta with eggplant and swordfish) and a second of sea bass with pistachios and a side of very fresh and perfectly cooked spinach. 

I am loving the way my Duolingo playing at learning Italian helps me say little things like “grazie mille” with confidence and recognize a word or two as I hear people speak and read signs. I have often heard that locals appreciate even small efforts to speak a few words of their language. But I had no idea how much those small efforts add to my own pleasure. There is a real pleasure in tuning the instruments - creating warmth and trust between human beings. Io parlo molto poco Italiano - imperfectly and awkwardly but still it tunes me a little to the music of the language and the culture. The pleasure it brings surprises me. 

And may I say how surprised I am by the pleasure of writing this blog to you? I woke up at 1;30am and by 3 realized I was not getting back to sleep. 

As I began this blog it seemed dense with boring detail. I felt insecure and self-critical. But by the time I arrived at the tuning of the instruments story, I was feeling the warmth and trust I described. It is funny how telling the story of an experience and sharing it also shapes it. Thank you for joining me, you few hearty souls who made it to the end of this post, because these feelings we are conjuring together comprise such a precious reality. Our world needs as much trust and warmth as we can manage to cultivate, one small tuning session at a time. 

 Thanks for walking with me and for tuning instruments with me. 

A domani. 

Back on the Arizona Trail (with a small detour to Sicily)

Dear Trail Friends,

First, my feet. Sorry I didn't write sooner but I was depressed about my foot problems, and the possibility I might never back-pack again. First I learned I had irreversible, age related "fatty pad atrophy" (which basically means the heel and metatarsal cushions so brilliantly created by evolution of fatty tissue interwoven with connective tissue – have almost totally worn out, and what's left is loose and not well-anchored in place so it tends to slip and slide and become swollen and inflamed.) Then, when I finally followed the podiatrist's referral to a orthopedic shoe store in Everett (ferry ride and all-day trip from Orcas), and realized that by giving up all I thought I knew about shoes and allowing experts to guide me, that I actually could walk again (though whether I can walk long days, day after day, remains to be seen), life got hectic as I tried to plan an adventure with not enough lead time.

The plan is to hike the rest of the Arizona Trail (from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the bottom, up the North Rim, and on to the Utah border). This is a short hike for me and will be a good opportunity to see how my feet do on the trail with the new shoes - smaller, tighter, more cushioned, less flexible.

I have been training diligently. Unless I get lucky and get a "last minute" campsite at the campground partway up to the North Rim, I will be hiking the whole trail from the primitive site at Clear Creek (where I also camped last spring) - which means about 2 miles and 1200 feet down to the bottom, then 13.5 miles and 5600 feet up to the top. I actually created a training hike with 5600 ft gain by hiking (for those of you who know Orcas) from Cascade Lake up to the Cold Spring sign (2.3 miles, 1650 ft gain) - going up and down 3 1/2 times. That was quite a demanding and all-day training hike. I have now done it three times carrying a 25 pound pack, and I believe I am in great shape for the trail. I know I will lose training during the month we are in Sicily, but I wanted to get to the Grand Canyon as fast as I could after we return, before the hot summer temperatures really settle in. As it is, it may well be over 100 degrees at the bottom of the canyon, although it will get cooler as I hike up.

Several people have suggested I blog about Sicily. That will be much harder for me. Instead of days of hiking through the quiet solitude of the wilderness, I will be riding in a bus full of 30+ people. So my introvert needs will be neglected, and my extrovert capacity well-used. Also, my sister Judy (who is going on the hike with us) and I have a practice of contemplative drawing at the end of each travel day. So I will have limited time or energy for blogging.

Nevertheless, the Sicily trip seems related to the backpacking trip this year, and several people have asked if I would blog about it. I know I probably will not find time to blog every day, but I love the challenge of trying to share and reflect by blogging on a trip so different from the hikes I usually blog about.

Chris has led quite a few trips to Greece and one to Turkey, and lectured on mythology at the ancient Greek sites. I have had the chance to join several of those tours. I have loved them, partly because I love Chris's lectures. She is one of the two greatest lecturers I have encountered in my life. The other, George Steiner, was teaching at Harvard Summer School the summer I was 18 and his lectures on Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, and Russian novelists were unforgettable and life-changing. I also loved the community that emerged during each tour - many of the participants were former students of Chris's, and there was a zest for learning and for mythology and a comraderie that was intoxicating.

I would love it if I could  bring you with me to Sicily, and share some of the richness of Chris's lectures and the community of the "trail." I also would love to have a record of what may well be the last such tour Chris leads.

We can't have a blog - however introductory - without a photo, so here is one as I approached the crest of my training hike. A typical misty Pacific Northwest morning, then the sun bursting through and patches of blue sky. Just before I pulled out my iphone, there was a misty rainbow-colored ring around the sun, but it was shy about having its picture taken, and vanished as soon as I aimed my iphone at it.

So, that's all for now, I will see you in Sicily - and then on the Arizona Trail. Thank you for traveling with me, and especially this time, for helping me to weave together such disparate parts of my life (my shared and very civilized life with Chris, and my solitary passion for wilderness).

See you on the trail.