My Dolomite Adventure
Hello & Welcome to Poetry for Now Season 4 Episode 2: My Dolomite Adventure. After 3 days in Venice I take a bus up into the Dolomite Mountains to my starting point, Cortina. 6 days walking from town to town, across the most unusual and dramatic landscapes shaped both by glacial erosion and volcanic activity. As you listen to these poems enjoy my photos at thewalkingpoet.net
TRAVELLING
Each day bings a new delight
After 36 hours door to door
I am in a hotel in Venice
Soon to be enjoying my first meal
In this sparkling canal city
The wonder of those flying machines
Still amazes me
How we quickly appear in another world.
Everything different from yesterday:
Language, food, clothes, faces
weather, architecture,, art
Design, Culture, coffee
Music in the Piazza.
Getting around
on foot or by boat
Over bridges or under bridges
Through crowds or around crowds
Start early before the cruises arrive
Or wait, until they have left.
Even the endless souvenir shops
hats, masks,Murano glass
still leave me delighted
weaving around the city
passing infinite gelato shops
finding those small local trattoria
experiencing tasty Cicchetti,
the tapas of Venice,
with locals at tables
in narrow alleys.
A city of the sea
seafood is fresh
baked to perfection
in parchment paper.
Deliveries and garbage removal
manual labor on carts
keeping businesses flowing
the boats with cranes
bringing tiles, and scaffolding
renovating the old buildings.
Ferrying down the Grand Canal
Seeing centuries of trading wealth
shown in glorious villas, gardens and domes
now, desperately trying to stay above water
to be protected
As our climate changes around the world
THREE PEAKS
DREI ZINNEN - TRE CIME
Here in the Dolomites
am I in the Austrian Tyrol?
or am I in Italy?
Names, language, food
its all mixed up.
The early bus drops me off.
there’s the UNESCO sign
World Heritage Site
my first serious Dolomite day begins.
Sun shining, perfect temperature
Walking alone steady up hill
hearing the rushing river
twisting and tumbling.
A couple catches me up,
I keep to my steady pace
aware of the altitude change
not rushing from sea level Florida.
Because here i start at 1,000 meters.
Enjoying the fresh dry air,
The dramatic mountains
the refreshing green forests
interspersed with snow patches
against bright blue sky
the 3 peaks appear
like arrow heads
above the plateau.
In good time, I reach
Refugio Locatelli at 2450M
Slowly eating my bread and cheese
drinking and refilling my water,
Chatting with 3 Coloradians
feeling how special
these Dolomite mountains are
Its my first day
I take my time
chewing and
watching the clouds
slowly rolling in
cloaking the 3 peaks
from the view for late starters.
Moving on now
aiming for the other side
where buses should be
to take me back to Cortina.
Many more hikers appear
walking up
towards the Refugio I just left
out for their afternoon stroll.
Its mostly down hill for me
and I will be happy
to get back and rest
after a glorious day one.
Would life be so simple,
but the next challenge awaits.
Which bus will take me?
the crowd waiting in line
doesn’t know.
The bus I planned to take
number 445 takes off early.
Time to hitch a ride.
In seconds a Dutch couple stops
squeezing into their electric BMW
A one hour Glide down to my hotel
Sharing my shots of the cloudless peaks
Perfect repayment for their kindness.
RAINY DAY
The rain came suddenly
hugging trees for shelter
looking down
the water drops
are shining jewels
on alpine flowers.
purple, white, scarlet
blue and yellow
The rain is a blessing
directing me to look down
to the unnoticed beauty
of the forest flowers.
I cannot stay,
so Moving on
into the sweeping wind
across open alpine meadows
dotted with log huts
each eave offers meager shelter
from the wind driven rain.
Each pause in the downpour
I move onto the next hut
until i finally reach
the Refugio
drying off
to eat gourmet ravioli
hot chocolate with schalkzaner
i cannot face 4 more hours
of soaking rain
I ask for a better way
to reach my destination.
There is a way down
out of the weather,
my new found guide
leads me to a nearby chairlift.
Out of the wind
still far to walk
on tarmac roads
through the town
past houses and hotels.
The marathon bike race
passing the finishing line,
I think about my finishing line
just keep moving
don’t stop now
the sauna is getting close.
WALKING CHANGES TIME
Stumbling over freshly fallen boulders
Reaching the smoother stony Trail
Looking ahead to the slippery Patches
White, muddy Brown, icy snow
still Hanging on in Shady spots
Refusing to melt on a warm summer day
then slowly becoming narrow streams of water
Climbing up the steep trail
now only one boot wide.
eroded by snow, rain, and sliding rocks
There's no going back.
Arriving high above the valley
Looking into the whirling clouds
hiding the scenes below.
Time to eat, drink and rest
knowing the descent coming next
The German family take my photo
Yes, I was here at 2650 meters.
We all leave the peak and go down
from Sas Ciampac
Different directions, different destinations.
Staying away from the edge
and a steep drop into the abyss
I walk alone
In the silent moonscape.
Through volcanic sentinels
And splashing streams
trusty poles keep me upright
As rocks slip away under my boots.
Where am I, where is the path down?
red and white painted flags
Appear now and then on a rock
Around a bend, far away.
This is not a well-worn path
More of a slight indent
in this isolated moonscape
Splattered with snowy patches.
Reaching a wider trail
In the distance
I see people approaching
A bouquet jof Alpine flowers
a lake and green vegetation
(Leche Crespeina)
Surrounded by vertical red cliffs
Rising thousands of feet
Above the ochre colored pathway
The steep trail down
follows a small river
Tumbling over golden rocks
in miniature waterfalls
Edged by yellow and golden flowers
Far below I see green fields.
I am ready to come down
From moon time.
I am ready to reenter
people time.
©MartinStrasmore2024
