Day 736, chronicle 098, Manfredonia (N41°37.633′ E15°54.941′) Italy, 15 October 2011 2:55 pm -

The trip ended Sunday, October 9 at 12:15 when I got off my bicycle and I shook hands with the mayor of Manfredonia, Angelo Riccardi, who greeted me at the headquarters of the LUC (Urban Cultural Laboratory). A stage was prepared there and I received plaques, trophies and other awards from representatives of the municipality of Manfredonia, the Olimpic committee of Foggia, the UISP Gargano, associations for diversity “Il delfino” and “Occhi felici” (happy eyes), Avis and the Association Gargano 2000. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised and genuinely touched by the warm welcome back I received from both the authorities and the citizens of my home-town, a worthy grand finale of two years of travels. It still seems unimaginable and incredible to me, even if I personally experienced it. Although not even a week has passed since I reached my destination, my cycling life seems already distant in time, belonging to another phase of my existence. Not being in the middle of the “action”, I find it hard to tell about the last month cycling from Thessaloniki, where I wrote the previous entry of this diary. I am composing this last chronicle on the old high school desk in my youth bedroom at my parents’ house, and I cannot help remembering all those places where I laid my computer to describe the prominent facts of the adventure. It is the first time in my life that I kept a diary and found it a very useful exercise to rethink and reflect on what happened, besides being a way to ponder and draw lessons. Even if I have always tried to make the story interesting for you, oh my readers, I ask pardon of the tedium I may however have caused you.

The last part of the journey, when my mind was already in Manfredonia, and every kilometre was one less to the goal, started on September the 27^th 2011 at nine o’clock when I left Kyriaki’s house in Thessaloniki and headed westward onto the motorway E75 and then the E90, that cuts across western Macedonia. I covered about 80 kilometres of flat terrain and I was about to climb the mountains that lead to the mythical Mount Olympus, when a police patrol approached me and told me to stop. The agents informed me that it was forbidden for bicycles to go on the highway. I replied that I did not know it and that I would leave it to the next exit. “You will not proceed any further on this motorway!!” exclaimed the woman agent while taking my passport and registering my name on a book similar to that of the fines. In all the countries I crossed in this journey, it was the first time, with the exception of Burma, that I had serious trouble with the law, mainly because I’ve basically always respected the rules of the road. While the man agent was talking on the radio, the woman was scolding me about the dangers and irresponsibility of my conduct for the car and truck drivers, but especially for my safety. Within ten minutes the rescue service van arrived and my bicycle was loaded on it, while I sat on the back seat of the patrol car. Here the conversation moved away from my criminal conduct to the trip and my life. I was sure that they would have driven me to the police station; instead, they took me to the state road N4 to Igoumenitsa, and they left me there. I thanked them and assured them that I would never take the motorway again. I also promised that in my diaries I would talk with positive notes about the Greek police. After I thought that: if cops are so kind to those who contravene the law, not even fining or making them pay the expenses of the service van, I am not surprised that the Greek state is in a situation of default …

I spent the same night in my tent on the roadside near an abandoned house a few kilometres from Leventis and the next day I started to ride on the road that runs along the highway. I entered the mountainous Epirus region, through roads climbing steep slopes covered by a dense pine forest that stretches before your eyes up to the peaks around 2500 meters of the Pindos Mountains range. I crossed the pass of Katara and I stopped for the night near Mersovon in an area inhabited by bears, whose presence is clearly marked by road signs that game me concerns to sleep outside. On 29 September I went down to the valley descending a slope of about fifty kilometres, reaching Pamvotis lake and the city of Ioannina. I spent that night in the suburbs of the city. From here to the coast it is relatively flat with the exception of the hills that protect the town of Igoumenitsa. The port has ferries to Turkey and Italy, my last frontier to cross into my motherland. At the time of embarking the Aegean Queen, I had a moment of sadness because I considered this as the true end of my journey, but I had to change my mind later, because the arrival in Italy brought me unexpected and pleasant surprises.

I covered the 168 nautical miles that separate Igoumenitsa from Brindisi in my sleeping-bag on the rear deck, because all  the chairs inside were promptly occupied by entire families and groups that, judging by the language and the facial features, came from the Eastern Balkans. Landing in Puglia, I found Nadia, a cyclo-friend from Latiano, who welcomed me and with whom I had made an appointment for the next day in Lecce to attend the regional cyclo-gathering organized by FIAB (Italian Federation of Friends of the Bicycle). That Saturday, October 1st, I visited the historic city of Brindisi where I was approached by a young man on a bicycle who asked me: “Aren’t you the one who is travelling from Vietnam?”, I replied “In the flesh and bike!”. So I followed Daniele to his house, where I was a guest for lunch before leaving heading to Lecce. I did not reach the city on that day, but I stopped about ten kilometres before it and slept in an olive grove. Sunday, October 2nd was the last of three days of cyclo-gatherings and I joined the other participants to visit the beautiful baroque city and surrounding countryside, ending up in a wine growers’ cooperative for a glass and homemade pasta. For that night and the next I was Nadia’s guest, with whom I spent the next day cycling to Campomarino on the Ionian coast. We swam in fresh but crystalline seawater. The next day I followed the Adriatic state road reaching Bari in the afternoon, and the same evening I told my travel experience to the Ruota Libera (Free-wheel) cyclist members association. In Bari I was a guest of Alain, a French cyclist transplanted here for several years, who created the first rapid service delivery by bicycle, the Bici Express Bari (www.baribiciexpress.it). October the 8th I reached the town of Margherita di Savoia, where I was received by the Vice-Mayor, who handed me a plaque, and by members of AVM (Association of Volunteers Margherita) and Unitalsi associations. I spent a couple of hours showing them videos and talking about the trip. The next day, the 730th, it was pouring with rain but this did not prevent a delegation of Manfredonians cyclists to pick me up and ride together for fifty kilometres up to my home-town, stopping for refreshments at Zapponeta.

Finally, the sporty aspect of the project “From Vietnam to Italy by bicycle for the disabled” ends here, but the humanitarian aim will continue for the next three months when I will travel throughout Italy to tell my experience. I will return cycling for another sporty-humanitarian project from next January. Keep on following me, there is still a lot to see …. Until next time.
PS: If you have any question or want to contact me to talk about my experience in your town in Italy, write to mt(at)matteot(dot)com

Project official website with news, photos and videos: www.travelforaid.com

Here we go with the second and last part of Matteo Tricarico‘s report of a month spent in Taiwan volunteering for “Harmony Home Association” helping children with HIV/AIDS. Matteo is now back in Nepal and is heading westwards, down to India first, and into Pakistan and central Asia proper on his long way back cycling to Europe… Monkeyrockworld likes to follow and share his adventures, please show support too!!

The first morning I woke up late and after a quick shower I descended to the ground floor to the loud sounds of children laughing, crying, shouting, playing and doing what youngster’s normally do. What a wonderful scene presented to my eyes! These little human beings were just adorable, busy with their vociferous activities; some of them stared at me with their narrow eyes, looking with a mix of curiosity and fear to see a new face, long in shape, with blondish hair and a big nose between two wide eyes. The Filipina, who took upon herself the task to look after me in almost the same way she would have done if I were another child, served me breakfast and introduced me to the rest of the staff: all Taiwanese women with the exception of a Burmese and an Indonesian girl. In fact, I was the only male resident in the building and, therefore, the children quickly, and naturally, identified me with the paternal figure, calling me “pa pa”! Being in my early 40s, unmarried and childless – at least none of my ex-girlfriends has informed me of fatherhood -, this situation was quite a shocking and a dramatic change to my life. I quickly fitted in the daily routine of the shelter. Initially, lacking any experience in the babies’ management business, my handling of the children was awkward and clumsy, but I guess, after a while, Mother Nature kicks in and one instinctively knows how to deal with young creatures. By the time I left Taiwan, I could properly hold, feed, diaper change and cradle a baby in my arms until he would stop crying. I even understood most of his immediate needs by the way he was crying for hunger or mourning for tiredness. Merry moments for the kids were the weekend days spent outdoor in amusement parks, fairs or at the night market. That required a good deal of logistic and extra people, mostly volunteers, to look after the children, who incidentally would run about trying different merry-go-rounds. The older ones, aged 10 or 12, were also keeping attentive eyes on the youngsters and behaved like older brothers would to younger sisters, showing the solidarity of a real large family. Normally, I was assigned to four children aged five and six, the easiest to control. I also had the only disabled one of the company, who could not walk, so I carried him on my shoulders. The more time I spent with the children, the more they got accustomed to my presence and they would come up to me for food or drink, to recover a toy taken away by another child. They would even exploit my soft heart to get things that the nannies would forbid them, like candies and chocolate kept on shelves safely out of their reach. As much as they got used to me, I got used to them, to their shouting and crying and, in time, I also managed to isolate myself from their presence around me to do my personal things, like to keep my correspondence and update my travel blog without being distracted by them.

The first week of my stay in Taipei, I spent most of my time with the kids and only left the shelter for short walks in the surrounding areas. However, my life suddenly changed with the return of Nicole from her trip to America. Nicole is the founder, cornerstone and soul of the association and I was honoured to have met such a positive, generous and inspiring person. I learned much from her on how love for people in need and personal determination can alleviate the suffering of so many young and old human beings. Like a Circus that would parade exotic animals to get spectators to the performance, she made the best use out of me by taking me with her to various schools, universities, an Army base and even to a female prison for an information campaign on HIV-AIDS. I had up to 30 minutes to present my sporty-humanitarian project, to show some of my videos, and to tell my travelling experiences. Nicole has a great sense of humour and she applied it while translating my speech from English to Chinese, by adding her own funny comments to my words with the result to make the audience burst in happy and loud laugh. I am also glad that she exploited my presence in Taiwan to generate media coverage for the association organising two events: a cycling tour of Daan park in Taipei with the children following me on their small bicycles and the cycling crossing of the island from the capital to south in Ping Tong, where the association manages another shelter for HIV-positive patients. Frankly, I was amazed by the media attention that these two events attracted, but, I guess, that an Italian cycling throughout Asia with a humanitarian purpose, doing volunteer work in Taiwan, it is not a piece of news that local media can report every day.

It is almost two weeks since I have returned to Kathmandu before continuing my journey to India and then westwards and I feel sad and miserable… I feel like I have been cast under a spell by the children of Harmony Home who, not only have settled themselves in my heart forever, but have also placed their smiling little faces in my subconscious, popping up in my unconscious dreaming. They are not leaving me alone even in my conscious daily thinking! I sincerely miss living with those disadvantaged young human creatures and the adults who look after them. The short time I lived with them in Taipei, they made me feel at home, active and, I also hope, useful.

Matteo Tricarico

www.travelforaid.com

With awkwardness for my lack of writing, I am posting the new diaries from Matteo Tricarico’s epic trip from Vietnam to Italy. This is the report of a month spent working as a volunteer for the “Harmony Home Association” in Taiwan with HIV/AIDS children. As usual, Matteo’s insights are interesting and thoughtful, and hopefully will open some new contributions from yours truly Monkey, who has been quite busy lately and forgot to put pen to paper for your entertainment for a while… I’ll leave you with Matteo, so far.

Kathmandu, Nepal 15 Gennaio 2011

Everything begun here, in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu in mid-September 2010. I happen to be in this corner of the Himalayas as a stopover of a sporty-humanitarian journey, that is taking me riding solo on a bicycle from Vietnam to my motherland Italy, stopping on the way to visit centres for disabled people. A trip of about 30.000 kilometres in two years throughout South-east and Central Asia, Persia and Turkey up to the Mediterranean shores, following a flexible itinerary connecting dots made by the different institutions, hospitals, schools for disadvantaged young people. In Nepal I just concluded a month-long volunteer period, teaching English and computer in a rural school in Charikot, a town on the way to Mount Everest. On my return to Kathmandu, I became acquired with a Taiwanese woman, who was also spending a short volunteer period in a local primary school, and who spoke to me so extensively and with such a sincere patriotic love for her country, that I started to fancy the idea of taking a break from cycling and visiting the island. A few days after her departure from Nepal, I received an email from a friend of hers who invited me to Taiwan, introducing me, for the first time, ‘The Harmony Home Association Taiwan’. In these last two nomadic years of my existence, a commodity that I have a large supply of is time. Thus, my new Taiwanese friends did not need to twist my arm or to send me a second invitation to convince me to abandon my bicycle for a month and to fly to the Far-East.

Despite the fact that I have been dwelling and working in continental South-east Asia for the last seven years, therefore I am not new to Asian culture, I was very curious and much looking forward to visit the mysterious island of Taiwan, which is not exactly a place one would just pass through and it is not a land that makes much international newspaper headlines. I knew about the history of the country, its diplomatic difficulty with “big brother”, continental China and I also recalled in my memory that 20 years earlier, in 1991, while I was a young exchange student at the University of Leeds in England, I became good friends with a group of Taiwanese students, who were the first real Chinese people I had ever met in my life, and who introduced me to their land delicious cuisine. I remember that eating those dishes, prepared with the same ingredients of the Italian food, yet with such a different taste, I discovered that my motherland cuisine had a serious culinary opponent to be feared! Except these almost insignificant facts and due to my ignorance, I did not know what to expect in Taiwan and even less I knew that my month spent in this scarcely familiar island, would leave an unforgettable mark on me, and even change my vision of life…

I landed at Taipei International airport on November the 5^th at 8:00 pm, after a two-day flight via Delhi and Bangkok, and I was picked up by the mini van of the Harmony Home Association, driven by a pretty Chinese young woman, who spoke almost no English, but who kept on smiling courteously during the hour-transfer to the association shelter. From these first moments in the island, I learnt two great truths: looking at the infrastructures, Taiwan is a fully industrialised and first world country and that, despite the language barrier, I would be able to communicate with the locals through hand signs and body language. This fact was confirmed by an article of UDN newspaper on November the 20^th stating that: “Even if Matteo does not speak a single word of Chinese, his body language and his actions are the best way to promote and to show love and affection”. Once I reached the shelter, I was taken care of by the Filipina social worker, the only one fluent in English, who led me to the third floor of the building in a small room where there was a bunk bed and many wardrobes. She asked me if it was OK for me to sleep on the lower bed, I replied positively and I started to unpack my bag. Suddenly, four children entered the room, curious to see the newcomer, they asked me questions in Chinese, looked in my luggage and played with some clothing. The Filipina re-entered the room and sent the children out, apologizing for their intrusion. There, I realised that I was actually going to sleep in the same place with the 40 children guests of the shelter and that, although I had my bed in a room separated from the rest of the dwellers, I would have been in close contact with them. In my life, I have been sleeping in various strange and funny places, especially in this last year on the move. Some previous dwellings have comprised of: a cattle shed with cows and outdoor in the Indian countryside, where I had to fight with monkeys who tried to steal my water and cookie supply.  However, I have never slumbered in an orphanage with kids as young as a few months old. That first night, I was in bed by 10 pm, and I did not lock the door of the room because I did not think it to be necessary, but also because there was no door handle! I soon learnt that some of the social workers employed at the shelter, kept their belongings in the wardrobes and that they would enter the room in the middle of the night to get what they needed. They would turn on the light and apologize for waking me up. After the first couple of nights, I got so perfectly used to this coming and going of people that I managed to keep sleep soundly like a baby. I must also add that after having spent last year cycling alone, to have so many people around, it made a pleasant difference and I highly enjoyed their presence. I felt like being part of a large family, where there is no place for personal space.
(TO BE CONTINUED)

La Travel for Aid ha presentato la relazione dei 300 giorni di viaggio del progetto sportivo-umanitario “Dal Vietnam all’Italia in bicicletta per i  diversabili”, che sta portando Matteo Tricarico a percorrere in bicicletta in solitaria la distanza di 30.000 chilometri dal Vietnam all’Italia. La finalità umanitaria dell’iniziativa consta nel sensibilizzare ed informare l’opinione pubblica sulle condizioni dell’infanzia disabile, andando ad incontrare i bambini in istituti per diversabili nei paesi attraversati.

In questi primi dieci mesi di viaggio sono stati percorsi oltre 10.000 chilometri, da Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, proseguendo per la capitale cambogiana, Phnom Penh (ottobre 2009) e poi per quella thailandese, Bangkok (ottobre 2009). Di seguito, l’itinerario si è snodato nuovamente attraverso la Cambogia (novembre 2009) e a nord sino alla capitale del Laos, Vientiane (dicembre 2009) ed è continuato per il nord della Thailandia (gennaio 2010). Sono seguiti il Myanmar (febbraio 2010) e tre mesi in India (febbraio-aprile 2010) per raggiungere l’estremo sud del Subcontinente e ritornare a Calcutta, prima di entrare in Bangladesh dalla frontiera est. Due mesi (maggio-giugno 2010) in Bangladesh e indi il viaggio è proseguito verso nord al confine sud-est del Nepal e successivamente per la sua capitale Kathmandu, per un soggiorno di altri due mesi (luglio-agosto 2010).

La finalità umanitaria del progetto, portare all’attenzione del pubblico la condizione dei disabili, è stata raggiunta in partenariato con otto organizzazioni non governative che hanno aderito al progetto aprendo le loro scuole ed istituti per diversabili alle visite di Matteo. Un migliaio di messaggi e commenti di sostegno hanno seguito la pubblicazione dei video, fotografie e descrizioni scritte delle scuole diffuse attraverso i canali mediatici della Travel for Aid, segno che il messaggio ha raggiunto una parte sensibile del pubblico che segue questa iniziativa.

Oltre alle visite delle strutture per diversabili, Matteo per 20 giorni ha prestato servizio di volontariato come insegnante di lingua inglese e computer nel centro di accoglienza per bambine dell’etnia Munda sfuggite a matrimoni precoci e gestito dai padri missionari Saveriani a Bongshipur, nel sud del Bangladesh. E ancora, in Nepal si appresta a cominciare tre settimane di insegnamento nel villaggio di Charikot ai piedi del monte Everest.

Ecco alcune domande a Matteo, che ci dice qualcosa di piu’ sulle sue meravigliose esperienze:

Qual’è il tuo bilancio di questi primi dieci mesi di viaggio?

“Sono lieto che l’aspetto umanitario del progetto si sia fortemente accresciuto con la partecipazione di nuove organizzazioni umanitarie e di centri da visitare, ben altre quelle che erano le mie aspettative. Come sono commosso dall’entusiasmo dei messaggi di supporto inviatimi da tante persone che virtualmente mi seguono in quest’avventura, che si sta dimostrando una colta maestra di vita. Fortunatamente, non ho avuto nessun incidente di percorso ed oramai sono abbastanza allenato da poter scalare il tetto del mondo.”

Il viaggio si è notevolmente allungato rispetto al programma originario, come mai?

“Dopo dopo aver vissuto per 300 giorni così ramingo, trovo persino difficile continuare a chiamarlo “viaggio”! In realtà, si è trasformata in un’esperienza di esistenza nomade, quasi un vero e proprio modo di vivere e non più semplicemente andare da un punto A ad un punto B, come lo concepii un anno or sono. Di fatto, ho raddoppiato il tempo di permanenza in India ed in Bangladesh, oltre ad aggiungere due mesi di Nepal che non erano affatto previsti. Sino ad ora, ho percorso solo un terzo della distanza che mi separa dalla meta, ma in realtà sono al giro di boa, questa seconda parte del viaggio sarà molto più rapida anche perché le soste saranno più brevi.”

Quali sono stati i momenti più significativi.

“Credo che i due mesi trascorsi in Bangladesh siano stati i più ricchi umanamente perché ho vissuto per alcune settimane ospite in piccole comunità con i padri Saveriani, a contatto diretto con la gente del posto da cui ho appreso tanto e che mi hanno trasmesso la loro semplicità di vita. Ho un vivido ricordo degli occhi curiosi e vogliosi di apprendere delle ragazzine dell’etnia Munda, salvate da matrimoni precoci che al centro potevano studiare e sperare in un’esistenza migliore di quella dei loro genitori. Quest’aspetto umanitario del progetto ha assunto un’importanza personale molto superiore rispetto al viaggio di scoperta e visita delle attrazioni locali. Mi sta portando un arricchimento spirituale interiore ed un nuovo, più profondo senso della compassione.”

Se passate dalla cambogia andrete sicuramente a Siem Reap a vedere i templi di Angkor. prima di andare a Poipet e passare in Thailandia, una ottima cosa che potreste fare sarebbe quella di fermarvi a Battambang, città sonnolenta, sebbene la seconda della Cambogia per grandezza, dove alle otto di sera tutto è chiuso e alle 10 si va a dormire stanchi perchè non c’è nulla da fare. Perchè fermarsi, quindi? Perchè potreste fare un’esperienza molto particolare e aiutare della gente.

La NGO Khmer New Generation Organization è gestita dal simpaticissimo Sun Saveth, e si tratta di una scuola per bambini poveri sperduta nella campagna e nella jungla del distretto di Sangkor dove potrete assaggiare una fetta di vita cambogiana, lontani dai riflettori del circuito turistico. Che non è poco.

Non c’è bisogno nè di avere qualifiche, nè di essere madrelingua o di sapere bene l’inglese. I bambini vi adoreranno comunque, e voi farete un bella differenza nella vostra vacanza, e nella vostra vita. Per me questa è stata l’occasione di trascorrere una intera giornata assieme a Sun, sua moglie e la sua famiglia, mangiare cibo tradizionale khmer a casa di un khmer, vedere come vive la gente cambogiana nei villaggi e regalare dei sorrisi a dei bambini che parlano inglese come mitragliette!! Dei grandi!! Lo parlano sicuramente meglio di alcuni di voi che leggete, quindi questo altro punto a favore al mio discorso che se continuiamo così, l’Asia tra pochissimi anni ci sotterra alla stragrande.

Sun ha organizzato anche un laboratorio di scultura per gli studenti più portati, con un maestro che insegna loro a scolpire il legno e produrre artigianato locale, per garantire un migliore futuro e insegnare un lavoro.

Sun è una persona gentilissima, alla mano, e farà di tutto per farvi passare una bella giornata, o due, o tre, o quante volete, sappiate che si insegna dal lunedì al venerdì per una sola ora, dalle 5 alle 6. Io sono stato recuperato alle 9 del mattino, scarozzato in giro per la campagna a bordo della sua moto (cosa che costerebbe molti dollari fatta tramite un agenzia o guesthouse), portato a vedere Phnom Sampeu e Wat Banan (un tempio pre-angkoriko e delle grotte nelle quali i maniaci di Pol Pot massacravano la gente durante il genocidio, con tanto di teschi e resti umani in evidenza), offerto pranzo khmer in casa sua, scarozzato ancora in giro e in generale, dato un tempo fantastico.

Se siete in cambogia, o ci passate, contattelo qui:

Il miglior modo è chiamarlo perchè non guarda l’email ogni giorno, vive nel villaggio e non c’è corrente, una volta in battambang chiamate lo 092 790597

Hanno bisogno di donazioni, la scuola non ha nemmeno la corrente elettrica e alle 5.30 si insegna al buio!! Anche pochissimi dollari possono fare una grande differenza per loro. Contattate Sun se interessati, e passate da battambang, ne vale veramente la pena, io e Amy, una ragazza canadese, ci siamo davvero trovati benone!! Sun offre anche un homestay con la sua famiglia per circa 4/5$ al giorno per un letto e il cibo, ma non può ospitare gratis. Cercate di capire che ogni moneta è utile per questi bambini, personalmente, tra i più simpatici e intelligenti incontrati in Asia! W la Cambogia!!