  Day 13 -  May 12 2003 -  Peglio -  i think i can i think i can In class in the morning chris heard jan,
 one half of the elderly dutch couple say ''Ieri pomeriggio sono andata a peglio a piedi'',  which I translated as ''yesterday afternoon i went to Peglio on foot'' well by the end of this story you too will know how important those little filler words are and that Jan did not say to peglio but he said in Peglio as the journey to peglio from urbania on foot is only done by the insane.
 lock me up sister.  From the terrace of my casa rumorosa we can see a castle perched atop a nearby mount,  looks very impressive and if the wind is blowing right you can actually hear its bells a second or so after the bells from urbania.  A breathataking structure which would have made it abundantly clear that the people that inhabited this town kind of liked to be left alone and had some pretty good technology and money backing up this desire.
 I left for peglio with a small bottle of water,  a book,  my camera stowed nicely in my daypack,  the first part of the journey went swimmingly.  a wrong turn started things off.  well not technically a wrong turn just a hope that it would connect with the road to peglio.  a false hope.  But not even the wrong turn dampened my spirits it gave me the chance to walk through a poppy field and say hello to some old ladies who were very surprised to see me walk past them,
 and not quite as surprised to see me return.  Finally on the real road to peglio the existance of a bike track completely seperate to the road made me think that yes this is a well thought out walking track and that many tourists and locals make this journey regularly and it would be pretty and scenic and local girls with arms full or local produce would greet me along the way.  bzzt about 1 km along this scenic pavement the road started to climb,  not so bad i thought,
 i mean it's got to climb.  it's not too hot and the climb and the resulting view is the reason i am here,  i have my health happiness and a hunger for adventure. yadda yadda yadda Another kilometre down the track,  the road was still climbing and the tree canopy was becoming sparse,  my water bottle half empty and the sign i just passed said winding roads for 3 kilometres.
 Of course the nice bike path had stopped and i was walking on the shoulder of the road with most drivers giving me a what the hell are you doing look with one of them laughing as he shook his head.  I paused after walking uphill at a fairly good pace for an hour,  the views were getting better all the time but it wa hard going,  i had walked for about 2 hours,  taking out the efect of the wrong turn means i should be just about there,  but i wasnt,  as it turns out the 3 kilomeeteres i was told was as the crow flies,  the distamce was closer to 5 kms,
 i didntt know this at the time.  ) remind me not to seek a carer as a suspense writer)  A further hour of walking uphill and afternoon sunshine and i reached the outskirts of Peglio,  it was just the idea that ''i have come this far. '' that kept me going.  Thew view from the top .  yeah it was good,  but not that much better from the view from the nearly at the top.  beautifull patterns of different fields,  streams,  mountain mists blowing across the valley and finally a cool breeze flowing across the top of the mount that i had scaled.
 Peglio being a small town everything commercial was closed by this time,  its 3 shops not available to offer me refreshment but a fountain near the bus shelter appeared to give me a chance to refill my bottle and cooll down.  Certain rumblings in my stomach were nothing to worry about it was just the exercise.  i had a good lunch of bread tomato tuna and .  ahh.  beans.  lots of beans.  hmmm With the rumblings growing stronger i searched the town for an approriate receptacle for my .  post lunch offerings.  niente,  i tried speaking to two old ladies who sat near the church.  the church goddamit but nieither of them could help out.  one used the word purtruppo which i took as her saying sorry but i cant help you.
 one pointed towards a bush.  a small bush mind you.  and laughed.  i took my leave.  A large hotel loomed on the horizon,  it meant climbing a bit further uphill,  but hey it's a hotel,  i can even see a pool dammit i can probably have a shower and have those local damsels feed me those grapes they had been peeling for the past hour.  Well the size of the carpark made me believe that this is a popular spot,  but not at the moment.
 the place was fenced tight and looked like it was waiting for the high season,  it actually looked like the whole hotel existed somewhere else and this wa a backup copy.  With my rumblings keeping me company i began my descent,  obviously much swifter than the ascent,  i passed places i hadn't noticed in my approach to Peglio,  a beautiful lush green field a small villa clinging to the side of the mountain,
 the sign indicating deer over the next few kilometres is obviously there just to keep the tourists hoping.  The rumblings had turned to cramps,  but urbania was now visible my oohs and ahhs were a combination of breathtaking vistas and ass clenching fear.  i walked past that same poppy field this time wishing it wa a grove of bushes,  walked under the sign welcoming you to urbania one final clench and double timed it back to casa rumorosa.  Flatmate Ben couldnt quite read the expression on my face as i approached but he has gotten to know me well enough to open the doors for me and laugh .
 my shirt and jeans soaked through with perspiration,  my posterior entrance surviving the ordeal and the camera in my bag capturing the moments that i will tell more often.  i think.
