Escape to the Country

You know that feeling when it’s so hot you can’t breathe properly. Your clothes instantly stick to your body as soon as you leave the haven of an air conditioned space. You choose an outfit on the basis of what shows sweat the least. That’s been life in Rome for the last six weeks or so. The mercury is perpetually in the high 30’s, most days over 40. It’s just about bearable if there’s shade. If not you’re screwed. As a tour guide the comfort of the clients is the most important thing. So I always position them in the shade which invariably puts me in the sun. At times it feels like living and working in an oven. Despite this I still love it! Luckily, my seventh floor apartment is too high for lots of mosquitoes so that’s one blessing at least! But as much as I think I’m handling it pretty well (particularly for a Brit!) it has been an absolute joy to escape the high temperatures and seek refuge in the mountains. The destination? I almost don’t want to share this with you. It’s currently a delightful secret. An oasis in a desert. A port in a storm. Ok, I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else!

In the heart of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park is a town called Pescasseroli (pronounced ‘pesca-celery’), sitting at nearly 4,000 feet above sea level it’s a popular location with Italians to explore the National Park. In the summer the hiking and mountain-biking trails are the draw, whilst in the winter it’s all about the ski slopes. It has a lot going on, a beautiful historic centre full of picturesque hiddledy-piggledy stone houses; a sea of grey tones punctuated by pops of red geraniums in window boxes. There’s a main piazza where locals and visitors alike mill around, the benches are guaranteed to be housing at least one elderly Italian gentleman, (often two or three) sitting, chatting and watching the world go by. Their ruddy faces a mirror of the ensuing conversation. Kids are kicking a football, bikes of all shapes and sizes whizzing past or stationary outside of the shops. There’s no need to lock them up here. The old ‘forno’ or bakery is always a hive of activity as people buy their bread, biscotti or famous pizza rossa. The town has the infectious bustle of a place where one wants to be but still maintains the old world charm of a time gone by.

In the last few weeks this delightful place has been the destination about six or seven times and has provided a welcome relief to the heat. Sometimes visits have been for a couple of nights, others just for the day. No matter the duration though it feels like a proper break, a real escape. There your clothes don’t stick to you. You can breathe…deeply and fully. The cooler air caresses your skin instead of pricking it with tiny hot needles. To get there the journey is of two halves, an hour or so on the autostrada or motorway, then an hour on country roads. It’s here I wind down the window, turn my face to the fresh air, close my eyes and really take in the passing scenes. Everything changes as the winding road goes up and up from the valley to the mountains. The scent of wet foliage changes to cut grass to sun soaked pine forest as you pass through the different terrain. The air temperature fluctuates from a warm breeze to patches of really cold, fresh air. Then finally the road descends down to the town where one find’s oneself back in amongst civilization.

Most trips have included a hike or walk of some sort. These have been much more varied then I imagined. There’s a terrain for all desires and moods. Recently walks have included shaded gorge strolls where the babbling brooks and ferocious waterfalls provide the soothing soundtrack. Then other times paths have weaved up from the valley to exposed tree-less mountainsides that have a moonscape feel to them.

However, the stand out hike was an overnight adventure. The destination for the evening was Rifugio Terregna; an isolated, remote mountain lodge completely immersed in nature. My research indicated it was a 2.5 hour walk….I must have misread! It turned out to be quite a lot longer! Luckily, we’d visited the forno in Pescasseroli to buy bread and then went to the deli where they made us pecorino and salami sandwiches..so we had sustenance.

The route started with a steep incline out of the town through a pine forest, the path zig-zagging in a failed attempt to lessen the shock to the system! Here the warm air accentuated the scent of pine which filled our lungs as our feet passed over the woodland carpet of pine needles. The path soon broke out of the forest, the incline lessened and continued through grass meadows abundantly dotted with wild flowers and rocky outcrops. This section took longer than it should have done due to my incessant pauses to take photos, a new hobby that I’m very much enjoying at the moment. The next couple of hours was a mix of welcome shaded woodland interspersed with open meadows. The only other people we saw on the whole walk were three men with horses who had also decided to stop for lunch at our chosen spot. Having refuelled on paninis and wild strawberries we set off again and after a short while we were rewarded for our efforts. At the top of a steep section where meadow met woodland we turned to admire the view and as we looked up to the ridgeline, eight huge stags could be seen. The sentinel was stood on a rock dominating the skyline as though he’d stepped straight off the label of a whiskey bottle. It was truly magnificent. The route continued to surprise as it left woodland and skirted a huge valley, with a large bowl or amphitheatre at one end stretching down to more mountains in the distance. There was no sign of civilization at all, just pure nature.

After having set off 5.5 hours earlier, covered 9 miles and climbed 2,500 ft in elevation we finally crested a small rise and were greeted with the beautiful sight of Rifugio Terraegna nestled in the meadow below. This small lodge has a dormitory that sleeps 8 and a double room with private bathroom but that evening we were the only ones booked in. We were greeted by two of the team who work there, later learning they rotate and spend half a week up in this isolated haven hosting visitors. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent rehydrating (with water first as we had ran out, followed by beer), eating a delicious traditional dinner and then after nightfall star gazing. Lying on my back in the meadow, looking up at the sky and seeing a shooting star was a moment of pure peace…something I’ve been searching for this year. It was a really special moment…Unfortunately, somewhat ruined only a couple of minutes later when my stomach made a rather unfortunate rumble, very much resembling the sound of a bear! This being bear country the fear was almost palpable!

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, we descended back down to civilization, taking the same route which felt only partially familiar as the light was completely different. After 24 hours submerged in nature where the only sounds were the chirping of birds and buzzing of flies, arriving back into the hustling and bustling main square was quite an assault on the senses. The cool escape was just what the doctor ordered. As the temperature increased from a refreshing 18 to an overbearing 37 degrees back in Rome that evening, I was grateful I had the photos to prove it had actually happened. Otherwise it would feel like a blissful dream.