INTO THE WILD

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

As I told you before, after a sitting marathon what I longed most was going for long walks. It has been terribly hot, unfortunately, in the last days so long walks were not recommended. Anyhow, yesterday I couldn't resist my sister's invitation to join her to a wanderful cool (in every sense) place she had gone to with her husband last Sunday. I had always heard about this splendid pond near my house but never went. I thought it was too dangerous to get there but I've just discovered it isn't . I have already shown and described my favourite walk some posts ago (HERE) and this spot is on the same route, near the monasteries, only you don't follow the main road at a certain crossroads ... Now, I absolutely want to share with you the incredible excursion my sister and I went for. It is just 3 minutes by car from my house, then ... into the wild. My eyes are still full of the green and the blue we were astonished by yesterday afternoon.

The amazing pond - St Benedict's pond it is called - we finally got to walking about half an hour after leaving the car, is formed by the river Aniene which comes out in a sudden sprinkling fall from a crevice in the mountain. Impressive. We sat there silent, watching and listening to the roaring of the water ... the voice of Nature, the sound of life. It was not hot at all, we needed a jumper and ... we were glad to be there. Glad to be alive.