A few years ago, for no reason and for many reasons, I decided to travel alone.
Naples. Someone in an orange raincoat knew where they were going. I didn’t…
A few years ago, for no reason and for many reasons, I decided to travel alone. As I usually do.
Where to go? Italy. It’s close. A cigarette away. I quit, but God how I loved smoking.
I found cheap last-minute tickets. As always. Where to? Naples.
I fly. I land in Naples airport. Stations, trains, buses… and it was raining. Everything felt weird. Miserable.
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Umbrellas and ponchos everywhere, in and out!
“Nah,” I said, “I’m not staying here.” I headed straight to the buses and jumped on a random one.
Because it was raining and I was tired, it seemed like a great idea: I’d sit comfortably, dry, warm, and enjoy the view.
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The view.
Except the bus wasn’t going anywhere specific. It just went. Hills, little hills. I arrived at night. Where? Matera.
M-A-T-E-R-A. The stone city in Italy. Not “Mother”. Matera. Though as you’ll see, Mother had a lot to do with it.
Turns out Matera was famous! They even filmed a James Bond movie there. Imagine that.
Anyway. I get off the bus. Who knows what time? Night. Five people with me do a quick run and disappear. The bus leaves. I’m alone in the square. And it starts drizzling. Perfect! Great.
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The square before they all disappeared.
I go to find food, to find a hotel. Which, as you can guess, I hadn’t booked. Because that’s how I do things. Nothing. Anyone who knows Paros in winter after 11pm gets it. No food. No hotel. No people.
The wandering begins and I think: “You idiot, where will you sleep now? On a bench? In the rain? You’re reckless, disorganized, putting yourself in danger with your stupidity and spontaneity.”
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Where did they all go!Anyone?
After I had that talk with myself, things got tight. Darkness, rain, shadows… so I pulled out the big guns.
“Mother of God, put me somewhere to sleep tonight and I won’t do stupid things again. I’ll be organized.”
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Organized. Like them! Raincoats and all.
Long story short, a person appears out of nowhere. Gives me a name, someone who has rooms. I call. Yes, the phone actually worked, thank God. My savior answers. I mean a woman. Eleven at night, in winter. And what does she tell me, guys? “Go two streets down and you’ll find my apartment that I rent out. The keys are in a key safe with code X.”
She answers. I mean, she answers! Eleven at night, in winter, and she has a room. In the “Kostos” of Italy. (Kostos is the ghost town of Paros in winter — you know, when everything closes and even the cats leave).
Matera isn’t exactly Kostos, but at that moment, in pitch darkness with the drizzle, it felt like it.
So I go, I put the code in the key safe and it opens!
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“Divine intervention”
I go inside the room… what can I say, just having light made it feel like a palace. And even if I didn’t believe in Mother of God, after what happened I would believe in that moment. What relief! What joy! What gratitude.
After I recovered a bit from the shock, I look right on the nightstand and what do I see? A flyer for pizza delivery. Are you kidding me? We’re eating too? Pizza at night? My self starts talking smart again: “The best pizza in the whole world!”
Ah, this is partly the introduction to my journey in Matera and surroundings. And the photos.
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Morning, Matera.
Other crazy things happened too, but I won’t bore you anymore for now!
