… Sinking Spirits – The Monti Iblei Cycle Tour
Part 3
Interestingly, the Italian word for "finish" - FINE - was sprayed across the chequered line as the road started to level off, unlike the START, which was now a distant stream of sweat away. The real end, however, was some twenty minutes later as I pushed the bike over a pathway of rough paving stones in the grounds of Feudo Bauly, the charming complex of converted stables and other farm buildings that was to be my touring base. The history, photos and more information about the place can be found on their official site: http://www.feudobauly.com/englishfeudobauly/feudo_bauly_hotel.html. For a video clip of my room, click here: Room 214.
I'll be frank. There were a couple of minutes after I'd been shown to my room that I stood there, staring through the insect screen of the window, feeling utterly depressed. It had nothing to do with the room, which was more than adequate for my needs; nothing to do with the place, which deep down I knew I was fortunate to be at; nothing to do with the day so far, which was essentially trouble-free. The root of it all was the lack of food. My last decent meal was now nearly 24-hours earlier. I had breakfasted on a pear and along the way I energised myself with a few fig rolls. These I had to give up on because they weren't moist enough, thus acting like a glue locking my jaws together and drying my mouth even more. I was also stinking so much that if could, I wouldn't have stood so close to my own self. Geographically I might have been at altitude but morale-wise I certainly wasn't.
Feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to fill my stomach with anything substantial so I showered, washed my dirty kit and put on a clean one. Back on the bike for the 6km ride into Palazzolo Acreide for the following reward: couscous (with aubergines, zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes), a spinach focaccia, a frutta marturana(a traditional marzipan sweet, this being in the shape of a fig) and the full set of carbonated drinks: Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Chino. In the meantime, I got into the daily habit of reading La Gazzetta dello Sport and did some more note taking.
Back at Feudo Bauly, I identified my favourite spot. This was an elevated terrace overlooking a well-kept lawn which led down to the pool area. Across the rarely traversed country road lay a private wood belonging to the hotel owners. So from my chair, the 2 dominant colours were green and blue - ever so relaxing for the eyes. And for the ears, a soundtrack of buzzing bumble bees, chirping birds and mooing cows. As the sun began to set, it dawned on me that this was one of the reasons why I was here.
I was content.
Arched gateway
Stairway to my room
(For the next part of this travelogue, click Part 4)
(For the previous part of this travelogue, click Part 2)
