Today was to be my 'catch-up' day, time out to respond to work emails and messages from family and enjoy a rest before pondering the next seven days I had left in Lecco. I had thought to alternate day trips with excursions as there are numerous places to visit in North Italy that are only an hour or so away, and so very accessible with the affordable Italian public transport system. Seek out the imagined space where Romeo serenaded Juliet in Verona maybe? Or have a parma in Parma (couldn't resist, sorry)?
After sitting down for an hour or so I thought it time for a 'break' to stretch the legs. I packed my backpack with the basics: charged mobile phone, house keys and a bottle of water and off I wandered off in the general direction of the mountain I had been peering out at and photographing every single night I spent in Lecco; I realised that I had not even walked that side of the house yet, always walking the same predictable 2-3 routes down town. Even if I just venture into new neighbourhoods for ten minutes, it would be some exercise and a different environment to experience. So with no map, no directions, no research about hiking or potential dangers, and no informing my hosts that I was possibly about to venture up a large mountain, I sought the unknown. After ascending the road for several blocks, I started feeling like I was in a different town altogether, alternating between large private gated properties replete with swimming pools, and tiny abodes on the outskirts of town, several with donkeys in paddocks. The rich smell of donkey manure was somehow reassuring, recalling those familiar smells of Australian agriculture. As I neared the mountain, I thought I may as well ascend. That was where the visible wildlife ended; from then on all I saw were minuscule lizards that scampered away just in front of me as I marched on through the forest. It was hard to drop that habit of just slightly keeping a watchful eye out for snakes. But - I'm in Italy! No venomous snakes! And no rubbish either.
After forging on ahead for two hours, experiencing all types of walking paths from rocks you need to grab onto to large uneven stones and gravel I ended up in Monte San Martino - I only know this from the signs that appeared and by cross checking the visual appearance of the mountain with its distinctive vertical cliff when I returned.
The mountain San Martino belongs to the Grigne group and together with Resegone is the rocky natural background for Lecco. Alessandro Manzoni the writer (see previous blogposts of mine about Lecco)
mentions it in The Betrothed: “The bank, formed by the deposit of three large mountain streams, descends from the bases of two contiguous mountains, the one called St. Martin, the other by a Lombard name, Resegone, from its long line of summits, which in truth give it the appearance of a saw”. And it does indeed visually resemble a saw. Having returned home (and stretching those calves) I researched a little further where I had been. This blog is pretty close to what I did except that I did not quite go where the large cross was.
So four hours of walking, and according to the Health app: 10.3 kms, 145 floors an 15,635 steps later, I am feeling absolutely elated at having made it to the top of the world (I mean Mount San Martino). Where to next?
