Where is the sun?

It seems absurd, but ever since we returned from the desert, almost three weeks ago, we have only seen the sun two days here in Milan. All the others are a long sequence of grey rainy days, depriving color to the parts of the plants that are still alive, colored like a late autumn. It is true that we are in winter and that November is usually the saddest month, but the memory of warm days with blue sky and sun to warm the skin become all-consuming. “Luckily we work a lot” a friend said to me “otherwise how would we support such a climate without going into depression?” It is a sad thought that as an antidote to the sadness we can only work: we are really limited!

Technical limits

Some would think that I let the blog go on vacation however….it was the fault of my computer! A few days ago it decided to have a tantrum and I spent most of my time working on it, trying to convince it to work again. With Max in the USA to celebrate Thanksgiving with Lauren and the computer stuck, it was not a good start to the week!

Finally when it decided to work again, after my rage wore off, which inevitably accompanies this events, I saw what happened in a different light and to justify everything, I hoped to find a reason. Maybe it is not only a machine, I said to myself, also it needs to rest sometimes, since you control the everyday rhythms it is subject to. One thing is certain: the true limits are not in the desert, often we find ourselves confronting them everyday.

Wonderful Evening

The get together last night in Castellanza (VA) of CAI together with the cultural association IL PRISMA (The PRISIM) was a success. The arrival into the splendid Brambilla Plaza, the seat of the Comune, where I affixed my signature on the book of honors was very exciting. Later, more than 200 people, some even standing, watched a presentation of short films on my expeditions and one on Desert Therapy, which raised great interest. There were many questions from the audience, who followed my story very attentively. The evening ended with an emotional moment when Giulia, a woman in the audience who has followed me for a long time, read one of her poems, dedicated to me and to the desert.

Family Celebration

Lauren and Max leave in a few days to go to the US to celebrate Thanksgiving with Lauren’s family. For Americans it is the most important celebration of the year and this year Cynthia and Vic, Lauren’s parents, are able to spend the day with everyone. They are also going to celebrate Christmas that day, since the kids will return to Italy and celebrate the real day with us. We are happy that our Italian family and Lauren’s American family, even with the distance and cultural differences, have in common this sense of celebration where we hold tight to traditions and it is wonderful that Lauren and Max share these values. Joining together to celebrate is important and a tradition that the youth must continue: a precious occasion to see each other again and share moments of peace.

Flavors

What do you do on the sad, rainy days of autum? One suggestion is to spend time cooking and making jams and preserves of every type, with fruit and vegetables, or even tuna under oil or olives in brine. Together with Lauren, who also loves to cook, in our free time we make lots of jars, always trying to create new tastes. The last creation? Pineapple jam, wonderful with cheese and the favorite of Oscar.

At Christmas our jars become wonderful gifts to give to our closest friends, some of whom were also with us in the desert. Those who participate in Desert Therapy in fact have already tasted our home-made jam, durng breakfast every morning seated comfortably on cushions in the sand: an extra sweet treat.

Journey of the Spirit

Graziella, one of the five participants of Desert Therapy called me: wanting to let me know what happened after her return and her words confirm that what I had hoped for also happened to her. She told me about the change that happened inside of her, and the benefits that she discovered to face everyday. She left during a difficult period, with high stress and tension and after the week in Egypt passed she realized that her attitude had completely changed. “I am always calm and serene also if the same problems exist, I am able to see them with detachment and face them with a smile on my face” she told me on the telephone. “I don’t understand what happened, but just to think of the desert makes me feel good.” What joy to know that Desert Therapy is truly working!

MEDIA

Walking together in the desert allows a lot of time for chatting with the friends who accompany you. It is interesting to exchange opinions on various topics and to know the opinion of people who live in different places. Giovanna who has lived in Stockholm for more than 20 years, described for example how the Italian media is considered abroad. The most striking thing from our media is the negativity of the news, and the tendency to transform every event into a tragedy. It digs up suffering and pain without respect for the persons involved and dramatic events take up all the space on our news at the expense of the positive events which should take the spot-light, at least to generate more optimism in the public. Thinking about her words, I have to agree: after a fatiguing day of work, with many problems inside and outside the house, to be bombarded with catastrophic news can’t be good. And so, relive the desert!

Friends

A very beautiful thing is happening, that even the most rosy predictions could not have foreseen. The two groups of Desert Therapy are creating a big family in which there is space to recall the shared emotions of the desert and of everyday life. The e-mails that began the circulate between friends, the evening at Claudia’s house where also in attendance was Roberto C. from the second group with his wife (who is extremely nice) and the next event in Trecate organized by Antonio where almost everyone will attend, let us understand that the desert, apart from its many gifts, has given us a gift even more special and precious: friendship. To find new friends in such a particular place was a surprise for all of us, maintaining this is up to us.

Here they are

Here is the photo with our friends from Desert Therapy2, immortalized between the dunes at the end of the trip!

It is unnecessary say that the desert left a profound imprint also on them. At the return, some of them verified that they were more relaxed and less inclined to worry about everyday problems. The common feeling was one of great wellness and serenity. This evening the participants of the first Desert Therapy will have a dinner at Claudia’s house, and she has kindly also invited these new participants. Unfortunately some of them are very far away, Giovanna is even in Stocholm and therefore not every will be with us, but some will. Desert Therapy doesn’t end in the desert but continues and is creating new ocations for us to get together and pass a few hours talking together about the Desert and other things: it is becoming a big family.

Our camels

Our walk in the desert was always accompanied by a small caravan of camels. In reality we used dromedary, which are a smaller race in respect to those that travel with the salt caravan and are more famous. They are an important presence because they help us carry our backpacks when they become heavy and they become a means of transportation for those who become tired or simply desire to enjoy the scenery of the desert from up high. In particular, this time with us there was a pregnant female, ready to give birth. Obviously no one wanted to mount her and she seemed to understand our worry. She was the most cuddly and would let us rub our hand on her belly, where we could feel small movements. They explained to us that when the camels get close to the moment of giving birth, they cry: and on the last day of walking she had tears in her eyes. Have the calves been born? Probably they have. Who knows if next time there will also be the calf together with his mother to accompany us!

Every day

It is always difficult to return after an experience like we have just had, but in reality with the passing of time, you realize that the desert remains inside of us, a reassuring presence that helps us, day after day, to rise above the difficulties and the hardships of everyday. Also this time it is so. Often my thoughts return there, in the middle of white pinnacles, between the sand and the silence, but without regret: it is the awareness of having lived this unique experience that makes us well, to enrich ourselves internally. Just one little additional brick, which adds to all the others that have contributed to build our lives.

Marvelous

There are no words to describe the beauty of the White Desert in Egypt: it is simply marvelous as was the second Desert Therapy, which ended with success thanks also to the tight-knit group that was with us. Giovanna, Graziella, Roberto, Gigi and Pino were ideal travel partners, motivated and curious, who appreciated every moment of the trip sharing with us moments of great happiness and serenity.

Great job to Lauren and Max, who worked really hard to provide maximum comfort in the striking camps made in the midst of white pinnacles. The food was wonderful and plentiful, with a great variety of dishes as offered in a nice resturant, thanks to our Egyptian cook. The weather was hot during the day and comfortable at night, and the few minutes of rain which fell on our camp were a true gift: it has been years that this has not happened in the desert!

The memory of this experience will accompany our friends from far away: the proof is in the emotions of when we said our good byes with the hope to see eachother soon….maybe again together in the desert.

Tomorrow we leave (Oct 22)

We are only a few hours away from the departure of the second Desert Therapy and the emotions are strong.

Giovanna, Graziella, Luigi, Pino and Roberto are ready to walk in the magical White Desert.

The participants of the first edition have recalled again their unforgettable experience with wonderful gifts to our new travel companions. Anna M, Pinuccia, Antonio, Anna C. and Claudia have written letters of good luck to those who will face this journey, a symbolic passageway for the new arrivals into the Desert Therapy family. The letters are on line and at the return we will try to organize a get together so they can all meet each other in person.
On the site during these days a diary of the trip will be published with photos, and for the first time, it will be possible to follow us thank to the Spot, a new satellite system that communicates our position every minute. To use it, just check on the site. We’ll be back to you soon directly from the Desert…….inchallah!