Parma-town

I'm in Parma. Parma, Italy. I wasn't sure I was gonna come through here. In fact, I was planning to go south of here, but as I got closer, an Italian told me it was a wondereful town so I gave it more thought. Still, I wasn't sure. Then the ghost of my best friend, David, told me I HAD to go to Parma or he would haunt my dreams with the happiest Care Bears and Smurf dolls and I knew I did NOT want that. So I made my way to Parma.

For those of you not from the Cleveland area, Parma is a SW suburb of the city. Parma, Ohio is where I went to high school. And I grew up in the neighboring community of Seven Hills. Parma used to be the brunt of local jokes because, even though a lot of Italians did live there it was known for it's Polish population and the joke was that they all wore white socks with "flood" pants. And it was kinda true; you could see a lot of white ankles back then.

Parmatown was the mall and it was thee spot to hang out. It is where, as a teen, I got busted for trying to steal an LP record (Angel's, On Earth As It Is In Heaven) with another friend, Kevin. I was henceforth banned for life from the mall but a month later I was back BUYING records.

David had lived in another neighboring community, Parma Heights, and we would hang out at the mall too and make fun of the girls with outdated perm hairstyles or ridiculous "new Wave" cuts or  pre-torn "punk" clothes they'd buy at Merry-Go Round. David was more of a college friend having met him at Cleveland State University which is where we principally hung out. But we still always laughed about and made fun of Parmatown and Parma, in general.

So in a way, I HAD to come here. Inevitable? I don't know. It almost did'nt happen.

The past week was full of real highs and real lows. After I last blogged the weather got super wicked with thunder and lightening, periods of heavy downpours and hail. I had to duck and hide between places to avoid getting wet but in the end I arrived in Ovada soaking and cold. I got a room in a hotel and vowed that if it was raining the next morning I was gonna quit, the rain was simply bringing me down too much. Well, the next morning it was not raining. In fact, there was a splendid rainbow which has often meant good luck for me so I put my belief in the power of the rainbow ( I know what you're thinking, really Stevyn, the power of the rainbow? What's next, dancing unicorns? And all I can say to that is, I HOPE I see dancing unicorns and you're gonna be sad you were'nt with me to see them too!)

So I went forward and marched into what the Italians call, the Little Alps. They are magnificent mountains and I think I liked them much more than the Italian side of the real Alps. Such beautiful behemoths. I did a lot of walking up and down very steep white & yellow roads, curving every which way and often feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. I do not have my map in front of me but I do remember the small village of Montebruno as I place I went through. A lot of places were only a few homes and much was natural. In fact, I even went through a National Park area. This area was my favorite hiking in Italy and some of the best scenery on the trip. Plus, no more rain in the mountains.

But I was still dragging a bit, mentally, and also stressing about going to Parma and I was not sure why. Then, I had a sort of epiphany. As I left S. Stefano de Aveto nestled high in the peaks of the mountains (some of the Little Alps are 6,000 feet high) I was ready to climb a pass nearly 5,000 feet. It hit me that this point might be the last highest point I would walk on the whole rest of the trip. Certainly in Italy. And since that was on Saturday, the end of my 9th week, I decided the pass would make a great place to declare my halfway point of this journey and that Parma, which I thought might be a halfway point, would just be another stop AFTER having already passed that middle marker. It meant I was half over! Somehow, that mentally propelled me forward again and I instantly felt better.

I camped at the top of the 5,000 foot summit Saturday night and Sunday morning I walked over Tomarlo Pass and began week 10 (which I am going in reverse now, so I am calling it week 9 again and next week will be 8 then 7 etc). It was a gorgeous morning, one of my prettiest and so very quiet. Nobody out on the roads. All morning I descended down down down  until I came out to Bedonia where some June 2nd religious ceremony was taking place in the streets with sacramental garb and droves of people walking this trail of flower petals in designs on the ground.

I have mostly stuck to white & yellow roads but when I have been on red roads I have lucked out with most stretches being pretty nice. For that I am grateful. And the rains have subsided for now. In fact, on June 1st it felt like summer had finally arrived. Things have been heating up. I feel humidity now. I do not need to wear a coat in the morning. Plus, the roads have gotten flat. I left the mountains yesterday and it has been easier walking which my ankles are happy about.

Parma is a marvelous town founded in 183bc. The Romans were here and there are many magnificent structures. Safe to say it makes Parma Ohio look, well, like a suburb of Cleveland and not much else.

So, now it's off to Venice. I hope to be there by Sunday or Monday. It will be a very big city, my biggest this walk yet. But I am ready & look forward to it. For now, the happy wanderer continues his journey.

Ciao.