Long-distance paths have acquired quite a following in the past few decades. In the US you have ways like the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail standing as the Big Three. There are plenty of other long-distance paths to spend days upon days on, as well, such as the Arizona Trail, the Green Mountain Trail, and on and on. Of course, the American examples pale in number when compared to the Old World.
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Three euros and one hundred thirty-one winding steps leads to the observation platform atop the base of the dome of La Basilica di Superga. Only so many people are allowed to climb up at one time. For the best of times, morning. Then, the sun illuminates the snow-clad peaks of the Alps to the west and north. The city of Torino – Turin – sits far below resting on the banks of the Po River. It is a magical scene, one allowing for reflection on the utter beauty, natural and urban. The Basilica also represents the tie between an adopted city and the family that adopted it, the House of Savoy.
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Monte San Michele. Welcome to one of the battlefields upon where so many Italians, as well as their opponents from Austria-Hungary, spilled blood during the 1915 to 1916. These campaigns fought in the harsh limestone hills just east off the Isonzo River. The extreme efforts of that long year and three months remembered by King Vittorio Emanuele III’s proclamation in 1922 of the hill’s inclusion as a zona sacra, a place of special memory to the Italian nation. At least three zone sacra in Italy relate to World War 1 – Pasubio and Monte Grappa are the other two. There might be more but those along with Monte San Michele are the big three.
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Always new things to learn in Panama. One is the airstrip which the Panamerican highway tunnels under about 1-2 hours west of Panama City. I have been driven under the runway on six occasions and have never seen a plane nor really much in the way of any activity at all. Local Lions club members told me it was just an expensive affair on the government’s part to attract tourists to an underdeveloped area of the coast. This is true regarding the last decade or so of the airstrip’s life but does not explain the rest of the history of the site.
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Lions in Sight is a subgroup formed by Lions and optometrists in the late 1990’s. Originally (and still well represented), most of the volunteers and doctors for the group came from the San Francisco area. The group expanded activities in the 21st century with a vision clinic a year to Mexico’s 8 Lion regions. One to two other trips went afield to more distant clinics – Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Armenia, Albania, etc. Lion volunteers and doctors soon came from all over the US helping spread the motto of Lionism “We Serve”.
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Rombon sits at the eastern end of the dolomitic Kanin massif. It is a serious mountain. The climb is relatively straightforward, but it entails 1,750 meters of elevation gain over 5 ½ to 7 hours of climbing. Once you are up there, you have all of that elevation to lose. There is no water nor alpine huts up here. The mountain rises to 2298 meters while Bovec, the normal starting point, sits at a mere 460 meters. For over two years, Italians and soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire grappled with each other amidst the alpine splendor. The fighting conducted sporadically, but when fought, bitterly.
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Until 1940, there really was no fast and easy way to reach the Pacific Coast from the main population center of Oregon – Portland. At first, there were river steamers coming downstream from Portland to Astoria. Then, the train to Astoria with a branch line going further south to Gearhart and Seaside. The first road connection finally came in 1915 with the building of the Lower Columbia Highway, today’s US Highway 30.
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The 1840’s saw emigrants begin to make Oregon – especially the Willamette Valley – a destination of choice. After a brief struggle, newcomers chose to make Salem the capital of the new Territory instead of Oregon City. But Salem was definitely an inland choice. Transportation to the sea was needed to enable easier communication with the rest of the World as opposed to a six-month jaunt across the Rockies. As the 1850’s rolled on, the best choice of a seaport lay at the mouth of the Columbia River – enter the Astoria to Salem Road, military in purported purpose, but strategic thinking lay at the heart.
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Along the old highway leading south into Trieste – State Highway 14 – just past where the ancient river of mystery, the Timavo, emerges to run its short course to the sea, stands a stone monument in memory to Maggiore Giovanni Randaccio who lost his life near here 28 May 1917. A short burst of machine-gun fire mortally wounded the young 32-year-old Italian. His death due to Austrian gunfire. Alas, a death also a result of his friendship with the self-proclaimed Vate of Italy, Gabriele D’Annunzio.
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One of the true gems of the Mediterranean world is the little town of Kotor lying at the head of a ten-mile-long fjord system flanked by huge peaks rising over 4,000 feet above the waters. Lying deep in its mountain fastness, Kotor positively exudes magic, even in the wake of ever-increasing numbers of tourists and development threatening to divest the enchantment. Hidden amongst the cliffs and peaks the bays and fjords lie 83 forts around Cattaro erected during the 19th century by the military of the Austrian empire. Their role, to both defend the Bocce di Cattaro – Bay of Kotor – from sea and land attack.
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