Treviso to Torino

Ok, so I know I said at the end of my last post that I was leaving Treviso the next day. Well, I didn't. Not the day after that either. Actually, after having intended to stay for 4 days, I finally managed to tear myself away after 14. There was just so much to do! After my bike ride to Venice another CS friend of Chiara's came for a visit. Alessandro stayed for 4 days, and I'm pretty sure that the amount of fun we all had together was bordering on illegal. I also got to spend more time with my first CS host from Treviso, Thitiana, and her brother Ferdy. Ferdy is a career musician, and we ended up spending several days recording some of my songs in the attic studio at his parents house. They turned out great. One thing I have realized in my time here, especially while in Treviso, is that I need to explore my music more. I am not sure how I will do this, but when I get home it will be a bigger part of my life: something to share. And I thank all those who helped me realize this, because I couldn't have done it on my own.

So I finally did ride out of Treviso in the middle of a storm, leaving yet another new family behind. Of course, I got lost right away. But I got back on track (after an hour of riding in wrong directions) and eventually made it to Vicenza. The following day I arrived in Verona, where I crashed a CouchSurfing party being held in a kiwi orchard. Guess what I had for breakfast? That's right: Nectarines! I also got some info on a free camping site on Lago di Garda, where I was heading next.

I spent three nights in the anarchist campsite on Lago di Garda. It reminded me of powerlines beach back in the Kootenays: cloths were optional, dreadlocks were mandatory, and you had to dig a hole in the ground when you needed to... you know. I spent my days riding, unencumbered, around different sections of the lake, and my nights swimming and then trying to sleep through competing drumbeats and dogs barking. But the campsite was beautiful, contained in an old olive grove beside a manor house, right on the clear water of the lake. I could've stayed there for months... but I had to keep going. After so many days spent in one place, it felt wonderful to be on the move.

And move I did... through the mountains to Lago d'Iseo, through the town of Bergamo to Lago di Como, and then into Switzerland, along Lago di Lugano on my way to Lago di Maggiore. But, while trying to get back into Italy, I ran into some problems at the border. I had only been in Switzerland for a matter of hours and had only entered the country as a shortcut. When I arrived at the border, the guard asked to see my passport. "No problem!" I said. Actually, yes. Problem. BIG problem. Without English, the guard explained to me that he could not allow me back into the EU. I thought he was joking, but he showed me an English version of the rules, and there it was. You see, there is a stipulation that a foreigner who has been in certain EU states for more than 3 months consecutively cannot reenter these states if he has left the EU. Well Switzerland, always proud of its neutrality, has not joined the EU.

So there I was: having been in Italy for weeks and weeks, having only left that same afternoon, I was now not allowed to return. In a lighthearted way that only succeeded in making me yearn to engage in violent behaviour, the guard suggested: "Tour Switzerland". With the language barrier, I couldn't even talk about what alternate courses of action I had. Utterly dejected, I rode back the way I had come. I didn't know what I was going to do.

After some thought I decided to sleep the night through and then try again in the morning, hoping for a different guard that might not check me out. But I also remembered seeing another border crossing, and I passed it on the way back. I turned down the road, slowly. As I approached, I saw no guard at the gate. I sped up. Still no one. I sped up some more... I blew through that crossing, not looking to the right or the left, just kept going and didn't look back. No one came after me. I laughed and laughed! As I rode I told the border guard exactly what I thought of him, hoping he could hear me on the other side of the river. If you don't ask, they cant say no! But now I'm a fugitive! If I were to be stopped again in the EU, they could instantly deport me and I wouldn't be allowed to return to the country in which I was caught for 10 years! Isn't that exciting?

The funny thing was that the road I had tried to take across the border was the wrong one... ie: not the one I had meant to take. It was all up hill, windy, narrow and busy. The road I ended up on was the one I had originally marked out on my map. It was all down hill, silent, following the course of a mountain stream, shaded by trees, birds singing. Sometimes things just work out.

So that's how I made it to Lago di Maggiore! Now, while in Meteora with Dad, we met a group of lively Italians at a campsite, and ended up making some friends. It turned out that one couple lives on Lago di Maggiore and, when they found out I would be coming by that way, offered to put me up for a while. So I called them when I arrived and they came to pick me up! For three nights I staying with the Frigo family: two Italian folks who speak very little English, and their two kids (both my age) that acted as translators. The son, Garcia, is a climber and he took me out for a day of climbing in the Italian Alps. I also went for a bike ride around this new lake, making sure not to cross the Swiss border. It was so lovely to stay with these generous and happy people. I would've like to have stayed longer - and they offered - but I still felt something pulling me forward.

And so forward I went. I rode south from the lake through most of the day and then cheated by jumping on a train to Torino. A two hour train ride saved me 3 days of riding through kinda boring country, and right to a nice couch to surf. So I have been in Torino for the past couple of days, being shown around by another exceptional host, Christina, while I try and figure out my route through the Alps. I think Ive got it now, and I will be riding again tomorrow. For real this time.

The time that remains for me is now shorter than the time I have spent here. Even though I still have 2 months left it feels like I will be coming home soon. This brings up mixed feelings... I could keep doing this tour for a long time, even though I can't afford it. As it is I will not be able to ride through Spain and Portugal like I had hoped. I will be lucky to make it back to Amsterdam in time for my plane without cheating again with a train! But I am just going to keep going forward, following whatever path lays itself out before me. Its worked so far! And maybe by September I will actually be ready to come back to Canada... what do you think? Likely? Or maybe the Italian authorities will catch up with me and make my decision for me! Yeeha! I am having SO MUCH FUN!