Day 17 { june 11th 2002 }
“Heat and a cockroach”
Flatland for miles... The beating sun. And then...Cremona. Furthermore, a darn good impression, white maggots and featherweight bikes.
The next morning we all make use of that excellent shower (it would be one of the last decent ones I would use) and go downstairs for breakfast. Well...breakfast... To start with: there are no tables. We can have breakfast standing at the counter. A cup of coffee and 2 croissants.
Tha’s it.
Not a good start, so we loot the local supermarket afterwards.
“...all sweated away in an hour or so”
Around noon, the landscape has changed.
It’s flat. Not a mountain in sight. And it is hot, bloody hot.
Not much shadow around.
We have to re-apply suntan regularly. But the warmth radiated by the black tar roads and Mr.
Sun seem to suck it of our skin.
We pass through small villages, situated in the middle of nowhere. The occasional supermarket is greeted with a smile.
Having sufficient water is nr. 1 on our priority list. Having something to eat is a close second.
We do not feel hungry,
but we know that if you don’t pay attention to your tummy, you body will definitely let you know later on.
“Monotony”
Hours pass by. An occasional breeze cools down our faces. Straight roads through endless fields. We cycle in a ‘tandem formation’, taking turns cycling up front. The wind is everywhere.
The only thing I remember of cycling towards Cremona is that my Condor works like a red flag.
Drivers honk their horns, people gaze in awe, some people even stop their cars ahead of us and take pictures.
When we arrive at the outskirts of Cremona, Bianca has some trouble finding the campingground. We eventually manage (breaking the law every now and then), and end up at a place...well, it receives a big fat 3 (on a scale of one to 10). It’s a rock hard surface, the toilets are messy and smelly, and Rick and I even spot a cockroach looking at us (or it was a bug doing a very good impression).
“...finding white maggots all over the place”
It takes me 15 minutes to decide where to put up my tent. “Will it be next to that dangerously instable concrete construction,
underneath one of the several ants-covered trees or on the rocky ground?”. I have chosen wisely, for R&B end up the
next morning finding white maggots all over the place in their tent.
Megan, Rob and Jason have arrived too. They put up their tent somewhere at the back of the terrain. As if they don’t want
anything to do with us.
“Navigating in an ancient city is not easy”
An internet cafe is our next aim and, with no luggage attached to our bicycles, we head for the city centre of Cremona.
This is one of the cities I will definitely visit. When I’m older and have more money (yeah right...)
We head towards the center. It’s lovely to sit on your bicycle without the added weight of your bags.
It feels as light as a feather!
Navigating around in a large city is not easy, but eventually we manage to find an internet cafe,
after we’ve gotten some directions.
Not long after that, we head home and plan to leave early in the morning. No doubt it will be
a very warm day once more.
