“SHADE HOPPING” TO TAKE REFUGE FROM THE BLAZING SICILIAN SUN.

When I am casting back in my minds eye on occasions over the years of my MADONIE and NEBRODI MOUNTAINS walking excursions a phrase that recurs to me is “SHADE HOPPING”. It’s a descriptive phrase that I have good reason to look back on fondly. It signifies that altho’ there were very very many long walks through beautiful shady woodland and forest areas where shade was abundant, especially during the very hot long high summer days, there were certainly other times along contrasting roads where in the blazing sun with my sometimes weighty back pack, there was almost no shade whatsoever to be had from the hot blazing sun.

Sometimes a combination of tiredness and lack of shade encouraged me to scrutinise the roads ahead very carefully indeed and at various intervals set my mind for heading for espied individual wayside trees which projected down enough shade onto the nearside road surface for me to head for with some desperation so that I could stop there underneath in the shade for brief although extremely very welcome rests. So it was that I would mentally coach myself to enjoy these memorable "SHADE HOPPING" occasions. Of course there were times when I felt grumpy because there was no shade hopping prospect at all on the road ahead, and I would just have to slog on regardless. There was no alternative anyway.

Sometimes, when the going was difficult, I would see a small shady location in the distance and hope very much to be able to rest beneath the roadside tree which had cast its shadow but when I got to the location the actual road system at the particular spot was such that traffic conditions made it impossible to stop at all – it would be too dangerous. Disappointingly, at some moments therefore it was more complicated to SHADE HOP than I would have wished. Anyway “SHADE HOPPING” was a memorable occasional aspect of my travels.

I will search through my photographs and if I find something to illustrate a SHADE HOPPING location I will in due course add them to this particular blog narrative.

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EXCLUSIVE! MARLON BRANDO - SENSATIONAL NEW 2013 GODFATHER FILM EPHEMERA.

THE GODFATHER in 2013 ... like you've never seen him before.

Not even in CORLEONE!!

This new release will prove sensational. 

I will need a big supply of paper tissues

for eye-wiping during this summers Sicily excursions. 

This film is believed to have been directed by
3 Sicilian Geologists whose names

so far have not been released.
CLICK ...CLICK on the above images to enlarge the details.

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ST AGATA DI MILITELLO - CREATURE LIKE SHADOWY ANIMATIONS!

This ST AGATA DI MILITELLO (Messina Province) photograph I made quite some years ago now - if you CLICK on the image once its size and visibility will be greatly enhanced and you can then enjoy its creature like SHADOWY ANIMATIONS.  It's a foto I have always remembered and on occasional ST AGATA re-visits I have sat on the tree shaded public benches in this central ST AGATA location and rested up. The beach at ST AGATA I don't much care for at all but its creature like quite a surprise SHADOWY ANIMATIONS I certainly do.  These shadowy hanging BAT and CRAWLING INSECT like animations are no longer there but here they are still preserved for enjoyment. This photo's location is on STRADA STATALE 113 SICULA.

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A SMALL BUT MEMORABLE WAYSIDE RARITY. WHITE POPPIES!

It was June summertime SICILY 2004. And as sometimes happens (although relatively rarely) the rain was really lashing down. It was absolutely torrential rain. And for the first time ever in my life I'd seen some wayside white poppies from aboard a coach the day before.

So next day I went back on foot. I found the spot OK as I knew the road (Strada Statale117) and had made a mental note of it.  Before I quite reached the location to make matters even more traumatic a patrolling countryside CARABINIERI vehicle's custodians (probably bored out of their cocky peaked caps) decided to stop me thereabouts in the absolutely teeming rain to check my I.D. etc.,  I was very very far from endeared as I stood there getting absolutely soaked to the skin. Anyway I disappointed them and proved not to be the biggest criminal since THE GODFATHER!  For my satirical take on the Italian CRABINIERIE click HERE. 

Anyway I eventually got on my way again and took shelter for a while. And then walked on and hey presto I came upon the only WHITE POPPIES I have ever seen - as shown below.

CLICK CLICK on images to helpfully increase their VISIBILITY! 

They were along the NICOSIA road northwards en route to BIVIO CAPIZZI and CESARO or MISTRETTA. On the left hand side of the road about a kilometer or so beyond NICOSIA's CEMETARY. Over the years betwixt the MADONIE and NEBRODI mountains I had trudged this road backwards and forwards a few times - nice countryside. And several times I had holed up for BED AND BREAKFAST at LA VIGNETTA MOTEL at Porte Portelle - usually I stopped therein when well into my annual holiday and when in dire need of a good wash and the luxury of a civilized bed for a night or two.

Along this road - there was also an old CAVE I had discovered and I had also stayed therein overnight a few times - when the weather was unsettled and rainy wet. My next blog spot will feature my "CAVE MAN" stopovers. In fact I got to know and remember certain passing small locations along the various roads so that when the weather was unsettled I'd head thereto to take shelter until the weather had re-settled.  More in passing about these locations in my CAVE MAN blog spot - HERE.

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“ARSENAL, CHELSEA, TOTTENHAM, NOTTINGHAM FOREST!” NEBRODI 1990 CONTADINO FOOTBALL ENTHUSIAST.

September 1990 and I’d left the MONTE MALLARO “DESERTED COTTAGE”. Heading on foot towards FLORESTA eventually by way of PORTELLA MITTA I was passing through a beautiful open landscapes area with very very many grazing animals. I had covered about 2 kilometers of the journey from the DESERTED COTTAGE  pasture when I chanced upon this shepherd. We spoke – he hadn’t expected to encounter a lone South Londoner and although I did not expect him to speak English I did get a truly amazing surprise which I noted and have always remembered. When he realized my nationality he almost immediately blurted out with very energetic enthusiastic good humour

“ARSENAL, CHELSEA,

TOTTENHAM, 

NOTTINGHAM FOREST!”.

That was his sole English – and I absolutely do not mention this limitation grudgingly – absolutely not – it was a really lovely unexpected moment. Doubly so because I had never had any interest in football but notwithstanding this our exchange and meeting was really lovely.

CLICK on photo to increase its visibility and his contadino football enthusiasm!!

He'd be pretty elderly now and I certainly still hope
he’s doing OK in that really beautiful area of
the NEBRODI MOUNTAINS REGION.

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MONTE MALLARO. DESERTED COTTAGE WITH BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" - he wonders

                                     

COTTAGE is encircled in red. 

COTTAGE again encircled in RED.

CLICK on images to enlarge and very much more fully enjoy.

 This DESERTED COTTAGE cottage in the MONTE MALLARO area of the Nebrodi Mountains regional parkland is about 4 hours walk from Sicily's highest village FLORESTA.  It’s a pretty beautiful walk through quite variable peaceful scenery - up hill down hill etcetera etcetera. Really nice.

From FLORESTA one heads north for PORTELLA MITTA then its westward sharp left on along the quiet mountain roads – through lovely varying scenery and very many grazing animals along the way. The last kilometer or so takes you down and down a steeply winding narrow track which at times is almost totally shaded overhead by arching trees and although a narrow space there were sometimes cows sat in the shade there who were quite at ease as you passed. In the early years there were no reliable maps for this particular location/ area - one had to rely on a compass and in this way this location was just by chance visited.

Eventually you suddenly arrived at wide open beautiful pastures and the slowly dilapidating deserted cottage. I made my last visit there two years ago - HERE - alas that will be my last as there had been pretty serious landslides along the above mentioned steep final 2 kilometer stretch which has made passage very dangerous - and if you came a cropper there-abouts you could end up there for the rest of eternity.

Anyway during my 25 years of Sicily walking sojourns I visited the DESERTED COTTAGE as I have labeled it on a number of lovely occasions sometimes staying put in very great peace for a few days or so - there were one or two occasions when I arrived at the cottage from a reverse direction – down down down the steep tracks and across pastures and small watercourses from also very beautiful BOSCO MANGALAVITI - on these occasions I would have legged it from PORTELLA FEMMINA MORTA or even CESARO via LAGO MAULAZZO and BIVIERE DI CESARO. Such fantastic exhilarating excursions.

Above and below - having a good back scratch
on 3 ultra reliable trees! 

Well, the above animal photographs were all taken in the immediate vicinity of the ultra peaceful deserted MONTE MALLARO cottage pastures. What truly beautiful majestic animals they were. Sometimes there were one or two horses also and just occasionally grouting wild CINGHIALI boars - as pictured immediately above. Sometimes a local Contadini would show up - amazed to come across some South London solo cockney at such an outlandish location. There were often many animals here - these selected photos are of a more individual nature. Really really memorable and always a location to greatly enjoy very much in anticipation returning to. 

On one occasion as shown in an above photo I left in-situ on an abandoned old cooking pan bottom one of my poems and (see below) I also carved my "I.C" initials on one of the nearby cottage trees.  When I most recently saw the small carving (two years ago) it was largely overgrown due to the passage of time. Alas rather like my ageing leg muscles too!

September 1990 - I'd just arrived down from
Bosco Mangalavitti.  He was present and was surprised and 
did not expect to see me. And his dogs asked him
"Padrone you gonna shoot him?" 

and he smiled and said "Oh no!"

The above IMAGE  PLAN provides annotated locations details along the route to the 
MONTE MALLARO location en route to and from PORTELLA MITTA.  
CLICK on image to increase its size and visibility. 


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. 

For a full A to Z indexed NEBRODI  REGION locations map click HERE.    

MADONIE SOTTO LE STELLE "RAFFO PROJECT LUNA" 2012

 Here you have the a view of RAFFO VILLAGE 

nestling beneath the local mountainside. 

Here you have a shot of the central 

RAFFO VILLAGE LUNA PROJECT OBSERVATION POST.
CLICK on the above images to greatly increase their detail.

This LUNA PROJECT RAFFO "sotto the stelle" was begun in 2012 and is set to continue 24 / 7 through-out 2013 and possibly for even longer.  The RAFFO observer shown in the photograph is facing towards the nearby high mountainside above which the moon very often very massively and really beautifully rises. And in the very far distance on the right hand hillside ridge can just be seen a row of small dwellings originating from the MUSSOLINI era.  MADONIE SOTTO LE STELLE is certainly an intriguing place.  There is far more to RAFFO than a very large SALT MINE and various very enjoyable summer festivals.  If you visit Sicily and the MADONIE GEOPARK make an excursion to RAFFO.  
Reminder - there IS more to Sicily
than CORLEONE and the MAFIA.

This photo shows local "Madonie Sotto Le Stelle" 
enthusiasts in session in August 2012.
These folk are into "life changing experiences" -
their phraseology.
CLICK on it to enlarge and inspect. 
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For a full chronological list of all SICILY ABLAZE page titles click HERE. 

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