A solitary ride, Arezzo to Chiusi

I would like to update you with my ankle situation: I got my cast removed a couple of weeks ago and it took some time to finally walk again. Actually I started to dance before walking. My daughter and my partner regret the days I was quiet and good, just lying in bed. Now it’s again the real me, active and energetic, dancing in my home. Soon I will be back on the road, in the London jungle. I can’t wait to work again!

In regards of my trip, the days in Chiusi were one of the best! I had just left Arezzo and took the so called Sentiero della Bonifica. I set off as usual in the morning, stopped at a petrol station to pump my tyres properly. The Sentiero della Bonifica is a dirt track that follows the Canale Maestro della Chiana, an artificial canal built in the XVII century by the Medici family to solve the problem of the progressive swamping of the whole valley. The interventions turned the swampland into agricultural land.

Completely flat, the first half of the route presented long straight stretches in the heart of agricultural estates, sometimes it was reduced to a grassy path or a track marked by tractor tyres. Along the way I could hear the sound of tractors far away on the fields, this being the only sign of human presence. In fact, though the path is widely known among cyclists, I met barely two people in the 60 km of travelling. It seemed odd but it must have been because of the heat. The sun was high and painfully fierce that summer. It was a bad year for agriculture, enduring drought was causing huge damage. I could sense the thirsty nature pleading for water. The canal was completely dry.

The path became more interesting once I reached the delightful lake of Montepulciano. There were small boats, many of them abandoned, and reeds in the water. The path followed its shore, ahead of it the path skirted a marsh with stagnant water and rotten trees with lianas hanging from its branches. The colours were sombre and the whole scenery was macabre and fascinating at the same time. I couldn’t move from my spot and continued to stare at the view. The whole valley must have been a similar swamp before the drainage works had started. I woke up from my daze and continued cycling. The world around me was once again normal. I was impressed though by the contrasting micro cosmoses close to each other, separated exclusively by some invisible law of nature.

Once near Chiusi lake I finally saw some human beings. They were having barbecues near the lake. The path continued past an industrial area before arriving in the unattractive Chiusi Scalo. Frankly I didn’t like it, it was dreary and drab. Located at the foot of the hill, with industrial establishments, it seemed poor and uninhabited. When I arrived there, I received a text from Leire, she had been wild camping next to Chiusi lake the night before and hadn’t felt enough safe to repeat it. She was trying to contact the same host from couchsurfing that would host me that night. Eventually she managed to find him and he hosted both of us. I was so happy, our wanderings were to intertwine again! We arrived at the address in the afternoon and met Andrea, our host from Rome who lived in Chiusi. He told us his plans and we were immediately fond of him. His way of hosting embodied couchsurfing values: the spirit of generosity and the power of sharing, involving hosts in adventures and experiences in the local area. A surfer doesn’t need comfort as much as experiences, sharing, learning and meeting people. Andrea was open minded and concerned about the world’s matters.

The plan for that evening was a night bath in hot springs! We first went to the groceries, prepared dinner and in the night went by car up the hill to San Casciano dei Bagni, a pretty medieval village of Etruscan origin, known for its thermal baths and natural hot springs. At the bottom of the village there was a path which led to the pools with hot water. There were three pools with different water temperatures and when we arrived there was youth having a night bath. We entered first in the pool with milder temperature and then progressively changed to the hotter ones. It was extremely relaxing and I realised that my muscles needed more care. We stayed there for more than an hour taking pleasure in the soothing properties of the water. Before heading home, we visited the village which was really charming in the night. We went to bed fresher than ever and had to wake up early the next morning for a paddling excursion.

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