I took this ST MAURO CASTELVERDE TOMB foto (for the record so to speak) on a return trip subsequent to 1992 as my camera on 21 SEPTEMBER 1992 en route by foot up to ST MAURO had suddenly stopped working. The weather along the way from BIVIO COMUNELLO walking by way of BIVIO CALABRO had suddenly become very bad with very heavy rains and much thunder and lightening. It was the very first occasion when I had made the wholly uphill climb from BIVIO CALABRO to ST MAURO and so I hadn't known quite what to expect. I certainly as always on my summer Sicily trips never carried a tent and hoped against hope that I would be able to manage along one way or another.
I was quite confused and fearful en route on the TOMB RAIDER occasion as the weather suddenly became very very bad indeed and altho I did not know exactly how far from ST MAURO I was on that early stormy darkening evening I eventually got on the look-out for somewhere to take shelter. During the afternoon my old notebooks record that the weather was sunny. But all that suddenly changed as the sun went down and evening drew nigh. Anyway lo and behold in my developing desperation I espied off the road the above TOMB and took overnight shelter therein. It was not in the township but in the countryside area. By then it was after 7pm and I'd walked about 15 miles since about 1.30pm.
The entrance door was pad locked but the lock was slightly ajar and so I manipulated it a little and made my way inside. I had a small torch. Inside there were many insects and large sized moths and even a SCORPION or two. Inside there was also a very narrow staircase winding down to a lower level (altho I never ever ventured to the lower level) and fortunately at the ground level so to speak there was just enough room to lay out my ground sheet and sleeping bag and so there I stayed overnight while the storm raged thunder and lightening. It was a bit strange overall but I just made the best of it and was not indifferent or disrespectful of the fact that it was a tomb. Next morning the weather had settled so on I treked on up to ST MAURO after re-securing the door and lock. Obviously it was quite a memorable occasion - the above foto was made for the record when I re-treked the route in subsequent years.
As I have already recounted in blogspots I certainly had more lovely times en route from BIVIO COMUNELLO HERE - via BIVIO CALABRO and MY SICILIAN BEDROOM HERE - to treke on and on via lovely BORRELLO ALTO to the quiet gentle POLLINA MARINA seaside beaches.
You can find the ST MAURO location (at No. 39)
on the Madonie Region Map link below -
but not the precise TOMB location.
on the Madonie Region Map link below -
but not the precise TOMB location.
For a full chronological list of
all SICILY ABLAZE
page titles click HERE.
For a full A to
Z indexed MADONIE
REGION locations map click HERE.
