POST 218 19SEP2015 SECRET OCEAN - MONTEROSSO TRAIL Phan Hoang Letter
SECRET OCEAN
x
THE MONTEROSSO TRAIL
from
PHAN
HOANG’S NOTEBOOK
The spontaneous writings
presented in this collection are first drafts, not edited texts
|
||
Post 218 19SEP2015
Monterosso is a picturesque town among five enchanting sites in Cinque
Terre (Five Lands): Monterosso , Vernazza,
Corniglia,
Manarola,
and Riomaggiore, in the
northern Italian coast.
The section of Cinque Terre trail that runs from
Monterosso to Vernazza is the most rugged and physically demanding portion of
the 12km long trail
; the scenery is absolutely magnificent.
|
||
THE MONTEROSSO
TRAIL
ĐƯỜNG MÒN MONTEROSSO
On
November 13, 2008, early morning, I left the Tibetan Temple in Pomaia, Italy,
to move to Monterosso, a small town of Cinque Terre, I had visited before and
I loved it. Although the distance is less than a hundred and fifty kilometers,
it took me a whole day to reach it, by bus, train, walking, and taxi. I
arrived to the rented apartment, uphill, at 8:30 p.m., exhausted and hungry.
Nestled in the foot of a long mountain
Monterosso faces bravely the wide open ocean and turns firmly its back to the
modern society. Out of the summer season you could hardly find an Internet
Café here; the small local population did not seem having such a need and a
few visitors who came to this quiet place at the time I arrived were not
coming here to sit in front of a computer screen. Planned to stay for two
weeks I will surely discover many picturesque aspects of this old town along
with some interesting stories and customs. But at first, to me Monterosso is
a good starting place for many narrow trails through isolate mountains. In
this season, when the winter is soon approaching, the challenging trail could
immediately bring you back to the ancient time when you tread the crooked
path. The trail runs endlessly up and down between the blue sky above and the
deep ocean below. At some places it becomes so narrow and dangerous that two
persons cannot cross at the same time.
I started
hiking early in that cold morning. It was not easy to find the entrance of
this trail from Monterosso to Vernazza, and all the way up there was no one
on the horizon, no sign of human activities, no coffee shop, no water,
nothing. On this trail, you find yourself alone in the middle of the
unbelievable beauty of Nature: colorful trees, beautiful rocks, green woods,
white cloud, and a light blue ocean below. All seem to be a dream. By the
silence of the trail one can get senses of some vague fear of an animal
attack, a human aggression, or an unhappy accident that could take place at
any time. Who knows if on this narrow trail one could be forced to encounter
a surprise attack of wolves or wild boars, or an unexpected hit of a deranged
guy trying to push you out of the trail making you fall down to the abyss. In
fact, you are hiking alone on this trail because that is your choice to be
alone, walking your own path, testing yourself, waking up your surviving
instinct which was steadily diminishing less with age but more by the
comfortable life in modern urban cities, even you keep doing your martial art
every day. Still, whether on a deserted trail in a foreign country or in the
day to day busy life at home, you are always in need of a loyal companion: an
effective companion, a companion for life and death who follows you anywhere,
in silence. Could that be possible?
That
morning, alone on the narrow trail from Monterosso to Vernassa, between the
sky and the ocean, facing some potential dangers, I was happy for having my
companion with me. Do you know who was he?
-My Chi-Kiem Wooden Sword. Yes, my Wooden Sword is my loyal
companion.
(to be continued)
Charles Phan Hoang, 2008
|
||
No comments:
Post a Comment