Merry Christmas to all!

The most sincere and affectionate Merry Christmas to all, as you spend it in peace and in serenity with your families. I believe that there is not a more attractive gift: than the affection and the love of those dear to us, which is what we should preserve and defend. A New Year is about to begin: the celebration is to live it intensely, finding inside it the same force and determination to surpass every obstacle and to realize with success your dreams, small and large. Best wishes!!!

TOGETHER

To return home after this significant expedition also brings you back to the people dear to you. In the few days between now and Christmas it is beautiful to spend time together with family and close friends that you have not seen in a while, to exchange greetings. But the memory of the desert is always with me. Also Fabio lives in this state of joy shared with the memory of the expedition that we just experienced and the nostalgia of the profound atmosphere that he followed me through. He has passed on his passion to Oriana, his wife, who for the first time has manifested the desire to come with me in the desert, putting away all of her fears and worries that she has had since the beginning of this adventure. Like her, many other people are strongly desiring to come with us for this experience, to encounter a magical atmosphere and to find themselves. Welcome everyone to this new experience: the desert is waiting for us!

JOY AND PAIN

Unfortunately the great joy of our arrival from the desert was off-set by the pain that struck the family: Puck the big dog of Max, much loved by everyone, died the same night, maybe from a heart attack. He was only three and a half years old and was in great health. This summer we had hiked a lot together: he followed us in the mountains and he could arrive with us to extremely high difficult places, without a problem, untypical for a Great Dane. Max and Lauren have lost a great life companion and the many adventures they had together leave us all with an empty sensation. They decided to get a new puppy, that will arrive after Christmas. He will not be a substitute in their hearts for Puck, but his presence will help them to get over their sorrow and pass their joy on to another puppy.

Fabio's Party!

The big party Sunday night at Cenate, organized by Oriana, Fabio’s wife, to celebrate our arrival from the desert was wonderful. Really all of Fabio’s friends and the support team were there, except for Daniele, whose baby was sick with the flu. Also there were Teresa (incharge of official press) and Max and Lauren. We saw the film and some photos from the trip and retold some of the most beautiful moments of our journey, and also those moments that were the most difficult, but in the end finished with great joy. Fabio was very happy to have realized his great dream, and shared this with his friends who also have a great love for sports, the “Guys of 999” and with the president of the Omero Association, where he began sports many years ago. The beauty of Villa Maestri (where the party was held) added to the splendor of he evening, which was complete, with a speech from the mayor of Cenate, recognizing Fabio and I for our accomplishment and presenting us with two paintings that recounted our expedition in the desert.

Fabio in the desert

The thing that I was the most impressed with was how Fabio changed in the desert. At the beginning he was a dedicated athlete going for a good physical performance, concentrated on the time and wanting to know exactly how many kilometers we had gone and how many we had ahead of us. Then the magic of the desert performed a miracle. He began to go ahead, forgetting the time and distance and feeling more and more a part of the environment that awaited us, even though he could not see the beautiful path. He was completely relaxed, enjoying the silence that gives you strength and at the end confessing that he did not want to conclude the expedition that had brought him so much emotion. His most beautiful words were, “Here I am a man that is truly happy.” Thanks to everyone who brought life to our trip together in the desert for a New Frontier allowed Fabio to have this sensation.

Other memories

The cold and snow during these days provoke an awkward memories of the clear days that the Egyptian desert gave us. To think about the sunrises and sunsets with their intense rays, to the colors of the dunes of sand that change rapidly making games of light and shadow, to the like expanses of stone to melted silver, makes it hard to accept the change to uniform days, without color. I remember with pleasure the heat of the sun on my skin, the cold of the clear nights under a starry sky almost incredible with shooting stars that gave life to my desires. And then the silence, the true, strong silence that only exists in the desert and is a precious gift that it offers to you. To lose myself in these memories helps me to feel the same and I give myself moments of serenity also while work in front of the computer: I am really fortunate and hope to be able to share this with other people in the future, because I remember so intensely, how I accomplished this with Fabio.

Memories

The days run frenetically after the expedition with Fabio, but the memories emerge almost unexpectedly in random moments. Memories of the small details of the desert that at the time seemed almost insignificant, accompany me for days and days that were significant there in the desert seem to fade. The terrible pain in my feet, almost impossible at times to endure, is practically forgotten, if not for the pits and the marks that are left behind. Strong instead, are the memories of the noise of the silence while we walked, every now and then exchanging a few words, or the moments in which in the evening we divided the our few things to eat, while enjoying a rest after a long day of trekking. The emotions every time that I saw the flag of the resupplies and I thought: also this time I have found the water, or being stretched out in the tent with the wind blowing outside, good weather and relaxed although a little cold. Really only moments and unrepeatable. There is a lot to tell. ........till the next time.

How I miss the desert!

It has only been a few days since Fabio and I returned from our desert crossing in Egypt and like I thought, I miss the desert. Not so much the fatigue, the pain in my feet, the heat of the day and the cold of the night, but I live with the memories of the amazing views, the star-filled nights that I described to my companion who could not see them, but lived with me and felt the grand sensation. I miss our great sense of peace and the serenity that the desert gives, the complete well-being that allows us to forget all the bad things that are happening in the news. In one word we were happy. This is the great magic of the desert, that only whoever enters can understand,and it only takes just a few days. I decided to return soon to the sand that I love so much, also together with those that want to be close to me on this fantastic experience and know first hand the incredible emotions that this place contains and the change it brings, physically and mentally in just a few days. It is a path that leaves it followers and the remembers the rest, indelible, for a lifetime.

It has only been a few days since Fabio and I returned from our desert crossing in Egypt and like I thought, I miss the desert. Not so much the fatigue, the pain in my feet, the heat of the day and the cold of the night, but I live with the memories of the amazing views, the star-filled nights that I described to my companion who could not see them, but lived with me and felt the grand sensation. I miss our great sense of peace and the serenity that the desert gives, the complete well-being that allows us to forget all the bad things that are happening in the news. In one word we were happy. This is the great magic of the desert, that only whoever enters can understand,and it only takes just a few days. I decided to return soon to the sand that I love so much, also together with those that want to be close to me on this fantastic experience and know first hand the incredible emotions that this place contains and the change it brings, physically and mentally in just a few days. It is a path that leaves it followers and the remembers the rest, indelible, for a lifetime.