REFLECTIONS ON THE PRESENT TIMES

I don't think that anyone could have imagined the events of the past few months and the impact that it has had on all our lives.

Living in Italy, we have had to respect one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world and for someone who is happiest outside and walking the trails, this for me was extremely hard.

Considered a person at risk I started isolating at home at the very beginning of March and for weeks  my nighttime 50 metre walk to the rubbish bins was my only excursion and the high point of my day. My family  even banned me from  going to do my shopping.
Fortunately I have a large terrace overlooking the sea, so it could have been much worse. I cannot imagine what it must be like for anyone with no outside space. 

I was lucky in that I was still working, so the days passed fairly quickly, and then when my hours were reduced, I started doing things that I had been putting off for years: sorting out drawers and paperwork (25 years of salary slips for example), cleaning the tops of cupboards, spending a lot of time tending the plants on my terrace and doing quite a lot of chilling out. I resuscitated a book of enigmatic crossword puzzles and read novels that had lain dormant on shelves for decades.

Only too aware that I could quickly become seriously unfit, I started skipping (don't laugh!), doing short bouts of stepping and making sure that I hit my daily target of 5,000 steps even if it meant walking up and down the apartment corridor. I found that by staying at home I actually moved more than when I went into work (in spite of the walk from the car park to the office) and even lost a little weight.

My car's battery went flat. So a few weeks ago, I had it recharged and started taking it out for a weekly drive, strictly on my own and armed with my mask and documents, taking a circular route of roughly 6 kilometres. The first time I did this I couldn't believe my eyes. I had left the countryside in its relatively drab winter attire and now found it clad in a riot of colours.The trees were in blossom, the roadsides were a botanist's dream and it was all so, so green. It was overwhelmingly beautiful.

On 27th April we were at last allowed out for physical exercise, for limited hours (6.30 to 8.30 and 19.00 to 22.00), strictly alone and with our masks. It was like being let out of jail. That morning I was out of the house at 6.35 and over the following days created various circuits more or less within the allowed distance from my home. I missed just one morning (it was raining) and would go both morning and evening whenever I could.  I counted myself very lucky to live in such a lovely part of the world where even a walk along a road  could provide such an abundance of flowers and so many amazing views.

4th May marked another step (literally) towards some form of normality. We were now allowed out for physical exercise at any time of the day and could go further afield. This is when the advantage of working reduced hours hit home: I could take myself off for lengthy afternoon walks on a weekday, something that would have been impossible normally. So since then this is what I have been doing. 
I was keen to check out the wild orchids, so my first walk was the Giro di Santa Croce, up behind Termini, where I knew I would be sure to find them. I was pretty gutted to see that the butterfly orchids had already disappeared  and that the orchis italica (naked men orchids) were over their best. They must have been spectacular a week earlier because there were vast colonies of them fading along the hillside. I was however compensated by myriads of tongue orchids,  less "showy" than the others, but incredibly delicate. I also found some bee orchids.

Since then I have also walked up the CAI300 trail from Nerano to Monte San Costanzo, yesterday along the Sirenuse Trail and today to Recommone. Apart from some pretty high grass in places, the trails are remarkably clear in spite of their lack of use over the past few months. The flowers continue to amaze. 

In conclusion, a few observations of this period:

- bird song. I have never heard so many birds singing away. Is this because there is less traffic noise, or are there actually more around than before?

-  traffic noise (including marine traffic and those awful power boats that roar up and down the sea in the summer) - none for weeks, road traffic is unfortunately now on the increase .

-  it is perfectly feasible to shop  once a week. It just takes organisation and a weekly menu planned before the shop. I still don't go.

-  a return to the land. Terraces that had been abandoned for years have been tilled and sown and are already bearing the fruits of labour: peas, fennel, lettuces, broad beans, artichokes and all manner of greens, all ready for consumption, rows of tomato plants, peppers and  zucchini just planted in preparation for the summer. Is this because a lot of people now have more time on their hands and it gets them out of the house (we were allowed to work the land before we were let out for physical exercise) or is it an underlying concern of what the future holds? Probably a combination of both. It is however good to see.
- masks: they are nasty but necessary. They are hot, they are smelly (keep away from the garlic) and they make your glasses steam up. However they have become the new norm and it is actually pretty disconcerting to see anyone without one.
We are now waiting in trepidation for the next 10 days to pass, praying that the situation continues to improve and that we won't be locked away again. That would be pretty hard to digest.