thoughts ...

 Just finished watching the META-universe presentation by Mark Zuckerberg.

Altough the level of technology behind it is something totally unimaginable, I wonder...

Is that really the future that awaits us? All sitting at home wearing VR goggles and 'living' in a virtual world, with 'real' virtual friends, virtually meeting, working, and socialising without ever seeing anyone in person? This prospect really leaves me deeply saddened.

I feel like being in one of those sci-fi movies where humanity is living underground with all sorts of (fake) commodities but cannot face to see the sun, and I'm one of the last un-technologised people still living on the surface of the planet...

But another consideration also comes to mind - if this is what the future has in store for mankind, the first person that comes to me attributing the current young people social unrest to the pandemic and the fact they had to stay home with little or no social contact, will receive a punch on their face.

That said, I'm going for a REAL walk, with REAL boots, in REAL nature, with REAL birds, sun, and clouds.

Lake walk

 24.01.2022

I was back around the Avigliana lakes this morning for a walk with my friend Pat. I really love this place! Except for a short tract on the actual tarmac road, the walk is very pleasant, on the lakeside and in the woods. Fascinating every time I do it. And I do it a few times a month.

The small lake was half covered with ice, which makes a fascinating sight.

With this cold and ice you also get some fancy patterns... this looks like a plastic sheet covering a fallen branch, but it's actually a thin layer of ice - quite amazing!

Another spot I particularly like is the rushes - this morning they made a nice reflection pattern...

So, another nice 8 km walk, that adds to my total - 146 km walked so far from Jan 1st! 😏

Jervis hut

 21.01.2022

Nice 12 km walk today in the Pellice Valley. A beautiful if cold day, with some ice patches along the road - no trouble going up to the hut, but we preferred to wear our crampons on the way down.

We had lunch at the hut, a delicious - if cholesterol-laden - polenta concia, washed down with a pint.

The hike took us a couple of hours both ways.

A nice and pleasant day out in the company of my brother and sister-in-law.

[more pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jVvd5SfUybfq7BTg8 ]

Walk - 17.01.2022

The sky this morning was just so clear and clean I just HAD to take a picture!!!

Walk - 15.01.2022

A nice walk up mount Pietraborga, gave me some nice vievs 😌

the woods in winter have a magic aura... 

a 'lovely' SMOG-CAP can be seen above Turin...

here's the top of the hill - going further up the mountain there's a trail to top.

Walk - 14.01.2022

The walk this morning revealed some frosty patches here and there, and some beautiful frosty items...

A walk around the Avigliana lakes

 05.01.2022

This morning started in fog. I set out expecting a walk in the rain, but when I reached Avigliana the sun was out, nice and warm. So I left the brolly in the car and set off along the pedestrian/cycle lane along the East bank of the small lake. 

I then crossed over to reach the big lake and followed its banks clockwise as I prefer to get rid of the 'crappy' part of the walk first - the part along the main road, that is. There's no real footpath and you always risk to be run over if you're not careful...

That dealt with, I was finally out of the road and passing through the tiny village (just a bunch of houses) on the SE part of the big lake. Finally, the best part of the walk could start, after about a km along the walls of a large manor house on the right (between the lake and the path) and some fields and woods on the left, I reached the abandoned dynamite factory and was on the banks of the lake again. 

The walk from here takes you to a small beach at the northenmost point of the lake and the walk along the East banks. The path follows the lakeside and you pass three walkways that pass directly on water - a very nice, if wobbly, sensation. There I saw some waterfowl that abound in the lake: ducks, scoots, grebes, and a few gulls. On this lake you can swim, kayak and sail, there's a sailing school and some pedal boats for rent too.

Reaching the end of the big lake I crossed the road again to finish the counter-clockwise tour of the small lake. By the time I reached the actual water, the wind had picked up and a fog had come down, giving the landscape an eerie tint. The sound of the wind-swept rushes was really charming. I also took a video, but all I got as a sound was the distant noise of cars rolling along the road, farther afield. Still, I got some good pictures...

This walk, which I do quite often, is about 8 km in length and is always a pleasant going, no matter what the weather. So far so good, walkwise, as I already walked 52 km since January 1. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself! 😎

[more pictures HERE]