Archive for May, 2010

Literary Mileage
Sensuous Hiking…Only in Italy

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Beach setting at Hotel La Veranda, Mattinata, Italy.

Sensuous hiking – that’s the best way to describe the experience my four girlfriends and I had on Friday when we hiked from Monte Sant’Angelo to Mattinata in Italy. To begin with, the Adriatic Sea was in view most of the day. Our sun-dappled scenery was an intense contrast between the brilliant blue sea, white limestone cliffs, and extreme valley cuts covered in olive groves and other lush green and flowering vegetation.

At one point we found ourselves in a verbena forest—bright yellow flowers on big bushes w/a luscious fragrance that enveloped us as we walked along. As we exclaimed over that and thought our environment couldn’t get any more sensuous, we smelled rosemary and realized it was growing wild everywhere. Then I noticed that the olive trees bordering much of our route were covered in tiny white blossoms that smelled almost like almond. We were drunk on scents!

Since it was downhill, this 8.2 mile hike was promoted as an easy four-mile stroll. Who are they kidding? We found it slow and precarious going, picking our way down a mountainside in loose rocks for at least 3 hours. At about 1:00 Janet and I found a wide flat spot with a view of the valley—a good spot for lunch. Although it was rocky, we spread out our disposable tablecloth and soon the other girls joined us. We had a wine-free bacchanalian feast–salami, cheese, oranges, apricots, almonds, yellow pepper strips, ending with some sweet almond candies. We all contributed to this bounty from items bought at the market in Manfredonia.

Lunch revived us. And we were thrilled to discover we were further on our trail than we thought. It soon leveled out on the valley floor. By now, the friendly wind had died and the sun was intense. This part of the hike was more sweaty than sensuous. My feet were incredibly toasty in my boots. We walked for almost two hours on hot pavement before reaching Hotel La Veranda, but with a full view of the sea on our right. When we reached the hotel property, we were awestruck by its setting—fronted on the water with a huge white limestone cliff nearby. We plopped ourselves down on their patio and ordered campari and soda before naps and warm showers.

And finally, the perfect way to end an exquisite day—vino rosso, spaghetti w/several varieties of fresh seafood in it, followed by zucchini and fish so fresh it practically jumped out of the sea onto our plates after just a short side trip to the grill. Bon apetito!

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