Sorry that I haven’t wrote for a long time. I still want to continue with my travel story, even though I am back in Estonia now. There is just so many things to say. So I continue right where I stopped in last post, and don’t do big cuts like when writing about Kenya.
Allora, last day before Genova in Italia. In this day I advanced forward so little, and otherwise I didn’t do anything special either. Walked through Livorno and then 16 km-s to Pisa. I even didn’t go inside the city. I didn’t see the damned leaning tower. And so what, it is just one tower. Nothing special in it, I’m really sure of it. I went straight to northern roads to catch a next car. It didn’t take long. Two most beautiful Italian girls stopped and said that they are going just a little bit forward. Every way forward is a good way, and especially with these girls. For Italians they were really open to foreigners like me. Usually it seemed that Italians are still somewhat xenophobic. But these girls were talkative and interested about my travel and me. Yeah, one thing was bad about that ride – that it ended so quickly. They just asked my name, but of course I gave them my contacts, also my blog address. I don’t know if they ever watched it. I was even bit disappointed, that they didn’t contact me later.
They actually put me down in a place, where they warned me not to stay the night in a tent... especially at the beach. So even when it got dark and I didn’t get a car, I decided to walk forward. That walk came to be hardest and most unpleasant part of the day. Via Aurelia - it is not highway, but there it is almost like it, and walking on the road in darkness would have been pretty much a suicide. So I walked behind guardrail where flora made moving extremely tough, and in some places even painful by old, familiar thorned plants. I had to go so about five kilometers, but it took pretty much forever. In one place there was even a truck in a stop lane, and later I started to believe that this guy said that he can take me to one nearby town, but he had really bad accent and at that moment it sounded to me that he didn’t want to move anymore. Yeah, I walked away and leaped again behind safety railing, and saw him leaving, and then in my mind his words started to play and clear a bit. Damn how angry I was about myself, for not listening well enough or asking him to repeat what he said.
Even after getting off from the big road, I walked quite a lot in search of suitable place for my tent. I planned to go to the beach, but way was too long. I was totally exhausted and needed to get up quite early if I wanted to get to Genova in a next day. Anyway, who knows if the beach there was safe. As I already said, I walked just about 5 km. I had enough of nerve stress this day. By the way, when trying to walk to beach, one car almost would have hit me, turning too close to corner.
Next day, sky was cloudy; I didn’t have much to eat in the morning and of course no refreshing swim in the sea – so day started with the wrong foot off the bed. Hitching a ride was on the same big road and it took four hours to get a car to half the way to Genova. On the way it started raining... heavily, luckily it also stopped quickly. Another four hours for another car, but at least it took me to Genova.
We rode on the highway now, but even there views got to be amazing. Via Aurelia would have taken me to coast again and surely I would have liked the beautiful beach villages and road that follows the coastline on the cliffs, but now highway rose really to the heights. Around us was like a "Lost World" – high and steep hills covered with dense forest and some small villages down in the narrow valleys that seemed more like something made by first settlers in some dense unknown jungles (just a bit exagerated... but that is what came to my mind when seeing these views). Signs showed that Genova is really close, but it was hard to understand how such a big city could hide itself in such terrain. But exactly so it was. We went through last tunnel and suddenly we were in the city. Also Genova lied on the valleys and hillsides. I have never seen a city built like that. Even now after entire journey, it is still most special city I have been. Terraces, bridges, tunnels, roads that go with sharp turns up the hill in most tight areas between high buildings. In some places it would feel that buildings are even higher, because they are just located on the hills behind other buildings that are on much lower ground. You know, when you look down from hilltops, things seem so tiny as they would be just models of real things, but looking upwards to towering houses is absolutely different feeling. And in Genova it wasn't just height of the buildings, but also the height of the hill on what they stood, that played with my mind. Like Manhattan, a concrete jungle,.. or actually, my driver compared it with Hong-Kong that is also jammed between sea and mountains. Later I felt that this comparison is fitting even better – because of lots of small alleys full of people and neon lights, because of thousands, even probably tens of thousands motorollers/scooters going on the streets between the cars like pesky mosquitoes. It was different from everything I had seen in Italy so far, and I liked it. Livelyness of this city was unbelievable. And it seemed beautiful. Even away from historic center, where modern buildings by itself didn’t have anything special, but simply all that composition, it was special. First time on my travel I really regretted that I didn’t had a camera. Of course I would have liked a camera already in awesome Austria, or even earlier, but now it seemed crazy thought to be in such a city, and not to get any photos made by myself. Luckily my host had a cam, and he was willing to lend it to me.
Every day, in morning, I walked around, making photos and exploring different sides of the city. It is so easy to get lost there. Even my host said, that although he has lived in Genova now already years, he could still get lost. Map doesn’t help much, as there weren’t different elevations marked. But it wasn’t a problem for me, as I didn’t have any certain destinations, and just accidentally finding new places, was exactly for my liking. I love that city. It was so full of life and artistic feeling. I didn’t feel lost. For example it wasn’t very unordinary to walk past an open window and hear someone singing there. And there were lots of really artistic graffities, not to mention all the incredibly original shops that also made me feel part of that place. This city talked to me, it didn't make me feel like tourist, it made me feel like artist who just was meant to come there. This city had homely feeling and yet it was so strange, so exotic. It had the spirit of old times, but it wasn't the museum. Finally something that felt like true Italy to me. True Italy - impression I have got from media and hearsays I guess. In this city this impression was true. At one side something mystical, peaceful and lovely, at the other, colourful, crazy and interactive. But greatest experience of Italy was yet to come. No, not the best ice cream I have ate, although also this was in Genova. By the way, you can't just go to any place that sells ice creams and hope that it is the famous good Italian ice cream they talk... you have to know someone who knows exactly the best place to get an ice cream. Best part of Genova isn’t its beaches. Truthfully these are stony like in most of Italy, and not special in any other way either. Not very beautiful places. And when already talking about beauty, then lets talk also about the girls. Italians are quite conservative and even if you happen to see some pretty girls in beach, then usually they are too much covered. No music in the beach, actually no life there at all... nothing much interesting and fun. Best of Genova isn’t the Italian architecture either, although you can find also really amazing examples of that there. In my opinion far better than in most Italian cities. Genovan historic center was full of very varied architecture – some absolute peculiarities and bizarre elements mixed with complex, masterfully made and beautiful facades you may see only there. Although small, Genovan parks I find to be one of nicest, most natural looking in all known world to me. Modern urban rhythms fitting so well together with old; marble plated walkways, sculptures, etc.
But best part of Genova is its lively nightlife. Ok, in streets youth parties like crazy and before morning every day city needs cleaning. This isn’t what I mean. But yes, even on streets and plazas you may find nice concerts and performances. Yet, my best night was in closed doors club. Basically it was a smoking place, so there is no sign outside and you have to knock on the door. A man opens the door and looks if he knows you. Of course he didn’t know me, but he knew my host, and my host said that we are cool. Inside there is like paradise. All kinds of people together – old and young, black, white or whatever what nationality or race, hippy kind of people, funky style looking gamblers, intelligents, artists, etc – everyone interesting types in their own way. All of them socializing like one big family. Even everything that was bought by someone, would it be weed, cigarettes, drinks, snacks, everything went for a round in a table. And then someone else bought something… again to everyone, so it went on. There was both music from cd-s and also played and singed by anyone who could play or sing. Instruments were plenty. One old school man, who especially made me feel like in old Italian movie, was absolutely fabulous comedian, just talking and talking (and that in a really good english), while I was just laughing and laughing. Entire interior of that place gave it the movie-like atmosphere. I knew that this night is going to be best already when I walked in to that place, but in the end I really couldn’t have imagined better finale for my Italian stay (Well, actually getting to France took still few days, but from Genova onwards, I was certainly happy that I came to Italy). Sadly I can’t say where this bar was, and I don’t even say the name of it – just in case,.. so that it would be safe that this place exists also in the future.
Photo collection that I finally got was good and even my host and his friends were surprised about how I showed Genova in ways they themselves have never seen yet. A proposito, I will add some photos either to this post or separately as next entry... soon. By the way, I’m interested of parkour and when I said to my host that Genova is exactly as made for purpose of doing parkour there, then he said that also he is a little bit interested of parkour, but he hasn’t seen anyone actually doing it in Genova, but it took me just two days of wandering around randomly in search of good photoshots, to find a posse of young boys and girls practicing jumps and moves. I saw them from from bridge though and didn’t go to them.
Yes, it was amazing time in Genova. And that thanks to my host. It was very special place, where I would like to go back, but I always had to leave even best places on this trip. It is not my place – that I remember always. Africa, my love, waits me back and wonders where I’m held so long already. Getting away from Genova wasn’t easy. I tried many places for hitchhiking, both to Via Aurelia and also to highway. It took me entire one day just to find a good place. I returned to Giacomo’s place for one more night to get as far as possible in next day. I actually hoped to get to France in one day, but I still had to come to understand again that hitchhiking in Italy isn’t easy thing. After a little way on highway, I got back to coastal Aurelia, and I didn’t care at all that advance forward is again so slow. Most of that time by the way, I was conflicted between wish to go to swimm and wish to get to France. Now there were also beautiful sand beaches, maybe only bit overcrowded. For a long time I hitchhiked forward through beautiful, small coastal towns and villages, past amazing nature and beaches, but in the end, evening still came and I was still in Italy. I decided to stop in a small place called Andora – not the country between France and Spain. Andora with one R was another one of these small beach towns. My last driver said that there is abandoned camping at the beach and I could easly stay there. So I did. In the morning though, I got to know that it wasn’t actually abandoned, but just not working. Some guy woke me up and said that I must pack my things and go. But it was ok, as night was already stayed over and even at first bit angry owner calmed down quickly and just talked with me a little bit about my travel. In this morning of course I did a quick bath in sea and warmed myself under sun, admireing at the same time one black young woman at the beach. This day I had lots of time.
