Stranger In A Strange Land -Caorle to Marano Luganare

​Something I haven’t said much about but has been a joy the past few days is that so much of our riding each day has either been on actual bike paths many of which are part of international cycling routes or very quiet back roads.  Today was no exception.  Once again very flat terrain with lots of waterways and irrigation canals.  

One new feature today was the glorious view of the Alps in the distance.  A nice background for the fields of crops and vineyards.  

Today’s riding was a bit of everything, beautiful bike paths, single track, gravel roads and a bit of busy trafficked roadway.  

Still lots of wetlands with all kinds of nesting birds. We especially enjoyed seeing all the nesting swans. 

We passed through some quaint towns, most of which had small or large marinas filled with fishing boats. 

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The only negative of the day was a strong headwind which made the fifty miles of riding feel a lot longer. 

We finally reached our destination of Marano Luginare.  It was a fairly small town of 1800 inhabitants. The tower on the charming main piazza was extraordinarily interesting. Note the statuary near the bottom. 

Many of the buildings had these types of coats of arms on them.  Note the pigeon in a commanding position. Without belaboring the obvious there was an incredible amount of antiquity in this tiny town.  There were wells and lots of Roman era artifacts to be seen everywhere. 

This was the view from our hotel room. 

So speaking of the hotel, the lovely Stella D oro, checking in was the beginning of my feeling like a stranger in a strange land. The proprietor, a lovely woman probably well into her eighties was checking me in. Usually my Italian works to some degree to communicate but for some reason it was not working with her.  We both did a lot of bumbling trying to get what we needed from each other.  She was also doing things really old school and in slow motion. I felt like I was in a Carol Burnett episode - you remember the ones with Tim Conway as the old man who moved comically slow.  Anyway, we finally got checked in and they found a spot where we could put our bikes. So all is good but I am feeling that awkwardness of not being able to communicate and how foreign and a little uncomfortable that can make you feel. 

We walked around and look at the town and it’s working fishing harbor. 

We walk by the church and there is a sign out front that talks about some procession that is going to happen in about an hours time.  So we get an apertivo and sit at a local bar to try to get a front seat on the procession.  We were even so concerned about this big crowd that might appear that we went back to the restaurant at our hotel thinking that a reservation was going to be a must.  Once again me and the woman can’t make heads or tails of each other and I give up trying to make a reservation but I think it is going to be ok. 

 

So the procession starts. There were vespers sung at the church and then a walk around the block to the main piazza.  We realize that we are probably the only tourists here and really most everyone else is in the procession. First after the first couple of clergymen there are many elderly men walking. We wonder if they are veterans. Then the band followed by the priest who does a blessing in each direction.   

The ceremony is surprisingly moving with somber music and I almost feel like a voyeur watching this very intimate and personal community event. Jim and I keep saying to each other, I can’t believe I am seeing this. It was so beautiful.  

This very deeply religious ceremony makes us feel more and more the foreign outsiders.  We head to our hotel for dinner and I am actually nervous knowing that some difficult communication attempts are ahead of me.  Yes, it is a rather awkward and challenging effort to order food and yes the old woman is the one to take our order!  Order placed and food begins to arrive in copious quantities. Mussels , pasta dishes, lots of wine , calamari.  A little (lot) of wine seemed to be the right solution and communication becomes easier and we make some headway with chatting with the staff. Oh and forgot to say, our fear of needing a reservation was unnecessary as we were the only ones there until another cycling couple checked in. It ended up being a fabulous meal and we left feeling embraced by the ladies at the restaurant.  

 This was our hotel at night.  

I wasn’t expecting to have this kind of outsider experience in northern Italy. Really the best travel is when you are outside your comfort zone a bit.  These moments usually end up being the ones that you remember the most and make you appreciate a different culture and place.  It was a truly memorable experience.