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Water and curves: my Amalfi Coast

Sometimes trains simply have to be taken, without thinking too much about it. And I speak literally. So, about twelve hours earlier, my wife and I bought a one-way ticket, Rome - Salerno.

It wasn't like we didn't intend to return: we knew we'd only be out for two nights. Yet we wanted to have an open return. The time, but above all the place from which to leave.

We got up very early in the morning, with the idea of finally visiting the Amalfi Coast. In many years I had never brought my wife there and it was time to make up for it. Don't you think?

We spent a few hours around Salerno, maybe even a little too quickly, I admit, and then we started traveling along the coast in stages. The first one: Vietri sul Mare.

Which is not that far from Salerno. Just after getting on the bus, we realized we were already there. Of course, we still had no idea where we were going to stay overnight. Ideally, in Amalfi, but who knows...

For many people it will look like a common practice. But for me all of this represents a total paradigm shift, which I have become accustomed to since last year (2020). Previously, I was inclined to plan in too much detail, which I'm quite good at by nature. I changed because I was forced to and today I can say that I also start to like it a little.

There are negative aspects, I do not deny it: for example, from a budget point of view, especially for transport, many times you pay more. And also from an organizational point of view, you are often forced to carry all your luggage with you. In my case, a light one. I am no longer twenty and I do not know how long I will be able to continue this way. Maybe I'll converge on a hybrid system.

But today, still no, it is not possible.

I am not saying this to make controversy: but these days the rules can change at any moment, they may cancel a flight, move your booking for a vaccine. It is the time of the ideation of the objectives, but not that of the detailed strategies. It's time for captains, not time for generals. The moment must be seized, the openings must be exploited. The alternative, while respectable, is defensive waiting.

But, by just waiting, you would lose breadth, colors would always squeeze into the same eyes. And they ask for nothing more than to spread and be welcomed. I think I deserve some new light, I think it is right to allow myself an intermittent escape. Allow me to forget and to forget about myself.

And here comes the curves. On roads hanging over the sea, they begin to give me suggestions. “Turn, crazy Stray. Turn around bad thoughts, around unwelcome memories. "

The waters help: “Be liquid, Stray. Don't think, permeate, let yourself be permeated. " So the images envelop me, the memories and impressions mix. The terraces take me by surprise and for a moment toss my mind in Bali, my soul in Peru. I'm still here, the intense blue recovers me and pushes me forward.

There is a swimmer over there, in the cool of the afternoon. And it's the same cool that I feel on my skin.

Breath, breath: it's all a matter of wanting to fill up with the world.

And in the end, it is precisely in Amalfi that we stop. And that's where we stay, a little out of town, up there. We return there when there is still light, even before the law imposes it on us. Isolated and distant, as required. Yes, but where do I say. As I say.

The next day we leave again, but calmly. I have no plans, other than to indulge in a slow breakfast while greeting a splendid view.

We move again, we dedicate the well-deserved tribute to Amalfi by walking through its streets. It's Saturday and the city comes alive. Tourists are starting to show up too. They are not just Italians. Life is liquid. For better or for worse it fits everywhere, it finds a way to reboot. I allow myself the selfishness of feeling airy for a few minutes.

Back on the bus, again curves. A tunnel ahead: it reminds me that sometimes it is necessary to proceed, albeit with some unknowns. Because maybe there are other surprises, other colors waiting for you where you least expect them. I am not courageous by nature, I try to push myself out of necessity. I try to wink at change, when stasis promises to be fruitless.

Not all of them are unknowns. When you know that Positano is waiting for you, you have the guarantee that it cannot go that bad. Even if you have backpacks on your shoulders: light, but heavier than the wallet that empties along the way.

What is filled, however, is the baggage of images to take away: so any element looks suitable to become a frame.

How did I get back? Somehow I did it. Maybe I flew, maybe the Earth has rotated under my soles.