Afternoon, Dec 16, 2005 THE CONTAINER ARRIVES
Fenestrelle at last! The container was due to arrive at noon, but we couldn’t get at it until after 2 pm for some reason. So we just “When in Italy . . .. “ and had lunch. Saw Jophile again in the kitchen of the Dragoni. Her heart’s been broken since we last saw her but she looks great and what a generous soul. She’s agreed to let me use her internet (she has dial-up) if I need to.
Now I’m sitting in the backseat of the car in the parking lot at the foot of the road as the winds rock the car. Gord and Jaz are up the mountain unloading equipment and supplies (huge refrigeration plates, plastic in a roll, styrofoam sheets, ice paints, my ice skates! hockey sticks, buckets, tools, etc) at the Fortezza in this unbelievable, gusty wind. Somewhat frightening when they were considering trucking the container up the narrow, winding road towards the fort (another road being repaired). They decided instead to unload it with a forklift at the bottom of the hill and then drive it up in a smaller truck. Luckily the winds were warmish, starting at 14 degrees when we arrived at noon. Now, though, with the sun down, it’s cooooold.
We ended up at the bottom of the hill, me and Michaelangelo ( truck driver of the container), holding our bodies against huge styrofoam sheets so they wouldn’t be whipped away by winds. On the mountain tops, you could see the wind whipping the snow off the edge and you had to really lean into it to stay standing.
Between gusts, I got to speak a little Italian, I can put a few words together, and handed out my business cards, asking the guys who were helping us load, “Voi avete venire alle inauguration?” Don’t know if I got the ‘at the’ in the proper agreement, but they understood what I meant. We were in somewhat of a bind for some time there after lunch, when the guys in the trucks fixing the road wouldn’t move aside to let our truck pass. But we had Renato, who speaks the local dialect, he actually charmed Mara into getting the guys to help! That and euros (cash only) go a long way.
No real solution to the lack of internet access, so when I do post these posts, they will be late.
Fenestrelle at last! The container was due to arrive at noon, but we couldn’t get at it until after 2 pm for some reason. So we just “When in Italy . . .. “ and had lunch. Saw Jophile again in the kitchen of the Dragoni. Her heart’s been broken since we last saw her but she looks great and what a generous soul. She’s agreed to let me use her internet (she has dial-up) if I need to.
Now I’m sitting in the backseat of the car in the parking lot at the foot of the road as the winds rock the car. Gord and Jaz are up the mountain unloading equipment and supplies (huge refrigeration plates, plastic in a roll, styrofoam sheets, ice paints, my ice skates! hockey sticks, buckets, tools, etc) at the Fortezza in this unbelievable, gusty wind. Somewhat frightening when they were considering trucking the container up the narrow, winding road towards the fort (another road being repaired). They decided instead to unload it with a forklift at the bottom of the hill and then drive it up in a smaller truck. Luckily the winds were warmish, starting at 14 degrees when we arrived at noon. Now, though, with the sun down, it’s cooooold.
We ended up at the bottom of the hill, me and Michaelangelo ( truck driver of the container), holding our bodies against huge styrofoam sheets so they wouldn’t be whipped away by winds. On the mountain tops, you could see the wind whipping the snow off the edge and you had to really lean into it to stay standing.
Between gusts, I got to speak a little Italian, I can put a few words together, and handed out my business cards, asking the guys who were helping us load, “Voi avete venire alle inauguration?” Don’t know if I got the ‘at the’ in the proper agreement, but they understood what I meant. We were in somewhat of a bind for some time there after lunch, when the guys in the trucks fixing the road wouldn’t move aside to let our truck pass. But we had Renato, who speaks the local dialect, he actually charmed Mara into getting the guys to help! That and euros (cash only) go a long way.
No real solution to the lack of internet access, so when I do post these posts, they will be late.
posted by Caitlin at
8:28 AM
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