There are no water fountains in Italian train stations or on there platforms, so be prepared. Also their public phones rarely work. After buying tickets you need to validate them before you get on the train (in a self stamping machine), if you don't you can be fined by the conductor. Trains can arrive at the platform at least half an hour before they are due to depart. This gives you time to calmly load your luggage and get a good seat. If you have to change trains in a hurry, you can load you bags near the exit. Station officials don't always get it right, so we've found it's a good idea to ask a couple of passengers to confirm it's the right train! As we abruptly found out while rushing for our first train connection, Italian stations don't have escalators, so sets of stairs need to be negotiated between platforms.

Most station platforms are lower than the train so luggage needs to be man-handled to and from the platform level. Are you starting to get my drift?!! The good thing is trains do depart on time and they are cheap. Another quaint observation is that there is a sign on some trains that asks you not to use the toilets near or in a train station. The reason? - the toilet empties directly onto the train line ...at least these toilets are free!! Also watch out for the different prices for tickets - the IC (InterCity)trains are the quickest and their tickets are expensive - the alternative is the regional trains, which are reasonably fast but make more stops along the way, and they are much cheaper.

All of this useful information has come at a cost to Maia and me. We have had a few differences of opinion, and lost our cool a couple of times while we were rushing between platforms, but we have now worked out a system. Maia buys the tickets, because she is the only one who speaks Italian, and I carry the heavy cases. This works well, or is seeming to at this point, only that we must look like a couple of hippie geriatrics limping around with our sore backs...the joy of it all!! We are now considering the option of buses, they are slower but you don't have to heave heavy bags up or down so many steps!!

Orta

Okay, back to Orta - The area around Orta is really beautiful. Many villas hug the tranquil shoreline. A public ferry carries passengers to various locations around the lake. We started our exploration after half an hour's uphill walk to a site dedicated to the life of St. Francis of Assisi. A series of ancient churches, halls and monuments perched high above Lake Orta on a pennisula, a very beautiful, soulful location with panoramic views of the lake and surrounding settlements.

There is a narrow cobblestone pathway leading down from the monuments to the lakeside village of Orta. This is a most beautiful walk. You pass between ancient stone walls that have within them elaborate multi-storey villas with commanding views across Lake Orta. An old church sits high above the town and leading down from it a paved narrow concourse leads visitors and locals to shops and eateries. (Check out our photos in the photo Blog).

Directly opposite the village of Orta is the island of San Giulio, reachable only by water taxis or public ferry. San Giulo is a monastery started by Benedictine monks in the 1300s. The grand monastery buildings are located in the central part of the island and between them and the surrounding villas that sit at the water's edge is a very narrow cobblestone walkway dedicated to meditation and silence - 'The Way of Silence'. Every 20 metres or so is a double-sided metal oval plaque engraved with a most reflective aphorism translated in Italian, German, French and English.

Damahnur

Our next 3 day stop was the spiritual community of Damanhur, about 2 hours from Orta. This is a must - many sincere souls dedicated to the advancement of humanity through meditation and spiritual practice with acknowledgement of all spiritual and religious paths, honoring their contribution to the advancements of mankind. Maia and I made wonderful contacts within the community and we both feel that there shall be opportunities in the very near future where we can be of soulful service. Damanhur promotes and researches the development of social reforms, education, renewable energies, holistic medical treatments, the preservation of artistic skills, innovative building designs and materials, conservatory developments, music, dance and all forms of creative expression. They also have their own currency.

The vision for Damanhur was started in the early 70's by Oberto Airaudi, who as their  spiritual leader and visionary still plays a very active role in all aspects of its development. Damanhur is growing in size and now consists of numerous villages in the region of Piedmont (Piemonte) with over 1000 followers and supporters. The  Federation of Damanahur has many centres in other parts of Italy, as well as centres in Serbia, Croatia, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, The United Arab Emirates, Germany, England, Norway, Mexico, Japan and the U.S. with expressions of interest now from Australia. Damanhurians work in close association with progressive individuals and organisations around the world, and are highly respected as innovative leaders in their chosen fields of  endeavour. A lovely aspect of Damanhurian life is that their members choose the name of an animal that represents their essence - I saw that one member had chosen the name 'wallaby'.

The Federation of Damanhur has its own university, and runs numerous courses throughout the year. Some of these courses are - 'School for Spiritual Healers', 'Reawakening the Inner Senses' and 'How to Create a Successful Community'.

The highlight of Damanhur was an explanation of the Damanhurian philosophy and its future objectives, then a tour of the magnificent Temples of Humankind. The Temples are a labyrinth of underground, hand chiselled rooms of varying sizes, which are still being added to. They were kept secret for the first 16 years of their existence.... But I will leave it at that, for words can never fully express want Damanhur meant to Maia and myself. Please visit their website and please forward their link to those who you believe will be inspired. (Please also read Maia's beautiful account of this truly amazing place.)

On a personal note, since leaving Damanhur in a physical sense, I have had a series of extraordinary dreams - Maia has helped me to realise and understand that these show that within my unconscious mind changes are happening. All in preparation for future inspirations. That's just great as any chance to get clear of STUFF is greatly appreciated.

We were both been moved, inspired, transported and left almost speechless after our visit to the Temples of Humankind. One of the highlights was our chance to play our instruments in the Hall of Mirrors, the final Temple we visited. In complete and total silence, surrounded by floor to celing mirrors, sloping towards the apex of  the room, where the ceiling was an enormous stained glass mandala, easily 20 metres in diameter, we sat. Maia played the hang first, so beautifully, so inspiringly, then I joined her. We played as one. The melody rose as did our hearts, united by the sacredness of the descending Grace, and the beauty and silence of the divine energy that pours into this vault.

Then in silence I prepared the drone native flute - I sat and what happened after the first note I cannot describe. It seemed that I was not the one playing; new sounds, with new fingering produced a chorus of climbing energy that transformed and expanded my consciousness. I feel totally blessed and honored to have offered the music of the Native American flute back to the Divine, from where it originates of course. Now when I play there is a greater inspiration, appreciation, purity, sweetness and beauty in the drone.

As we were leaving on our last day we were sharing our experiences of our stay with Damanhurians in the welcoming office. We had lots to tell and we once again had a chance to play our instruments. After Maia had completed her spontaneous performance one of the Damanhurian woman asked if I could help her with her Native American flutes, which she just happened to have in the office. She was having problems playing the two flutes she had, having just received them by post from the US. With some instructions and examples of basic fingering positions, she was overjoyed to hear the delightful sounds of her own flutes...especially as she was joining that evening the Damanhurian musical group - don't you just love synchronicity?

Vinchio

14/10/08 - Italy

Putting all of this aside after collapsing on yet another bed in our travels - this time in the town of Perugia - we wouldn't swap our experiences for the world. We have just left Assisi ...this is an absolute must for any traveller. What a delightfully beautifully town with the most extraordinary religious history. It was here that the great 12th century monk Saint Francis of Assisi founded the now world-wide Franciscan order. An order of poverty and humility where monks (dressed in dark brown robes, sandals and a white cord around their waste) through service and prayer dedicate their lives to realising God. This town draws pilgrims from all over the world, who come to honor Saint Francis in their visits to the great religious sites in this town perched high above the farmland below, and the Basilica where his tomb lies. It is common to see groups of nuns and Franciscan monks walking quietly between the historic sites.

Most parts of historic Assisi are surrounded by high stone walls, and inside these walls, stone dwellings, archways, narrow cobble-stone roads and stone churches hug the undulating hillside. One can only imagine what life must have been like back when this town was built.

When I was a lad at Indooroopilly High School I studied ancient history. One of the early civilisations that I was interested in were the Etruscans.This region was one of their strongholds and is full of their early history and architecture.

As a re-inspired photographer, almost every turn in the twists and turns of the streets of Assisi holds the potential for an award winning photograph. One becomes almost overwhelmed with the number of stunning shots that are available - I know my sister would get a blister on her shutter finger photographing the varieties of textures that surround you. We have posted a selection in our blogs - take a peek.

However before staying in Assisi we caught the packed local school bus with  its route running along the picturesque high winding mountain road leading out of the town to the isolated Spiritual Community of Ananda. We went to Ananda to do a course in Vibrational Healing and although the course was not quite what we were hoping for we had a wonderful and soulful time. The Anunda community is an absolute delight to visit. 

They have  developed, and are expanding, their strong progressive spiritual community whose buildings overlook the rural landscape below. They warmly welcomes pilgrims, those attending their courses or those who are looking for refuge for the night. They make their own bread, cook delicious vegetarian meals, have a wonderful choir, a gift shop and they are beginning to develop organic subsistence farming. We made some very meaningful contacts and anticipate that we may likely have more to offer to this community (and vice versa) in the near future. We were both blessed to be asked to give performances with our instruments during our stay. Of note was our performance in their divine temple - a highlight for both of us.

16/10/08 - Italy

As we are budget travellers we need to be watching the rapidly falling $ against the Euro. It would be easy and also expensive to book through a travel agent and stay in swanky Italian hotels. We are constantly on the look out for youth hostels with cooking facilities, one and two star hotels or rooms for rent. In doing this we are seeing and experiencing Italy by the boot laces, and have been blessed with so many great experiences.

And even though we both need a chiropractor for our backs we are now looking back with the fondest memories at our combined experiences to date, and are looking forward to what the future will bring. Also as Maia is sensitive to any artificial chemicals in food and is wheat intolerant (now that's real tough in the country that invented and makes the best pizzas) we look for Eco shops that sell healthy and/or organically grown produce. Once we find one we stock up on the basics for snacking and cooking.

Now I don't want you to be feeling sorry for us. We have also been dining in traditional Italian style, thanks to family connections of Maia's.  We have been warmly welcomed into a number of homes where we have experienced the best of traditional Italian cuisine. Maia did warn me the gracious hospitality and the food would be something to remember, she is so correct. 

Also worthy of mention is our cunningness in minimising the amount of lifting at train stations. It took us a while to realise but at the end of many platforms there is a pedestrian way across the tracks, used by railway staff and workers. And even though there are signs in Italian saying 'Do not cross the tracks' we blindly wheel our luggage across when we need to be on the other platform - it sure beats using the stairs, and is a lot quicker when you are connecting with another train. And if we are ever questioned I shall act innocently and ask in English "what is the problem?"

Hi all - we have now been at Torri Superiore Ecovillage for one week. For this whole time Maia has been laid up with the flu, while I have managed to miss the worst of it. We are tucked away in an isolated rural valley surrounded by mountains terraced by generations of hardy olive growers. At first glance this topography was not at all appealing, but now I am rapidly warming to its history, ruggedness, charm and beauty.

We are within a stone's throw of the French border, in fact the other day myself and a delightful Scottish family (who were staying for 10 days) went for a hike to the next village - about a 4 1/2 hour round trip. On this rugged walk we climbed to the top of the mountains that surrounded us. From this high vantage point we could clearly see the barren mountains on the French side of the Italian/French border (what a view!!)

As a point of interest, shortly after the start of the Afghanistan conflict Afghanistan refugees landed illegally by boat on the coast 13 kms from here, and walked up passed Torri on their way into France! How they knew of this high mountain pass no one knows, but what they did do to prevent being sent back was to throw their passports away once they landed on Italian soil!

Meandering through 'our' valley is a permanently flowing stream...its soothing sounds echo in our room day and night. The permanent community here at Torri consist of several families, some with young children, in all totalling around 14 people.

It's so strange to be living in a fortified stone village which is over 1000 years old. It has so many twists and turns, alleys and stairs. There are no right angles or evenness of width anywhere, room shapes were determined by the stones available. The whole solid free-form structure of over 160 rooms is stone - it's totally self-supporting (no timber). All ceilings are arches (the curve of one ceiling becomes the supporting arch for the floor that rests upon it, and so on it goes over several stories), it is really beautiful and so simple in its construction.

The community grows most of their own organic produce, have their own sheep (used to have goats for milk and cheese), donkeys, chooks and terraced vegetable gardens. They have their own olive groves (they make their own olive oil - it takes around 6 kilos of olives to make one litre of oil), and they are also experimenting with new crop varieties. These terraces are hundreds of years old and many different types of vines have been grown on them. For the most part, there is very little good soil but plenty of rock, but they are determined to make a go of it, and I am sure they will!

So far my daily tasks have ranged from washing dishes, picking olives off the trees (this will continue for several weeks yet), spreading compost in the chook house, and we've also been taking photos (for our own interest) and providing them with copies for them to use to promote the ecovillage. I am also running morning meditation sessions (Monday to Friday) for guests and community members. We are  beginning to make some great connections with the 'locals' and are beginning to feel part of the place.

Our backs are still causing us discomfort. We have been given the details of an osteopath in Nice (France - about an hour away by bus and train) who we hope to visit asap.

The BIG news is that my new 'D' drone flute has arrived safely from Oz - and what a flute it is! Matt, my dear friend from Spirit Song Flutes, made this flute especially to match Maia's hang drum, and they sound so beautiful together. This new flute not only is deeper than my other three flutes, but it is heavier and requires an even bigger set of lungs to crank it up. But I am developing this capacity fairly quickly, as well as the ability to hold this heavier instrument while I reach for the fingering holes.

We play together regularly, and may I say that the 'D' is being very patient with me as I tune into its beautiful energy, vibration and deep, deep notes. The subtleties and sweetness of sound are evolving as I become more used to handling this grand-daddy! Combine this with the delicate 'raindrops from heaven' sounds of the hang, and we have a unique healing sound that we plan to share with audiences in our travels and beyond.

16/11/08 Torri - Olive picking time.

Firstly we popped across the border into France yesterday to get our backs corrected - yippee!! The chiropractor was a lovely woman who used to play the classical flute and whose Indian husband plays the tablas professionally  - small world isn't it?

Well it's been a while, over the last two weeks I have been busy fulfilling my daily work requirements by picking olives. I really enjoy the work, and I will certainly miss this area when we continue on our travels. You work steadily throughout the day, it's a very social event with members of the community and their playful children dropping by for a chat and to help on their daily walks along the mountain tracks that lead to the olive groves. The area is extremely beautiful, we are surrounded by the high mountains and now as winter really sets in, the sunny days are filled with the coolness of the mountain air. We normally start after breakfast around 9am and finish at dark around 5.30pm (we normally walk back for lunch which is about a half-hour round trip). One or two of us start on a tree by firstly picking up the fallen olives. Then we spread large nylon nets around the base of each tree to catch the falling olives, which fall into the net as you slide your hand down each branch, removing the olives in the process. Higher olives are picked by climbing up into the trees, reaching the branches by hand or hitting the branches with a stick to shake the olives loose, or shaking the branches to remove the ripe olives. The olives are dark purple or lime green, with varying shades between. The trees are around 300-500 years old, and have been pruned heavily five years ago, reducing their height to around five metres (any higher and you can't reach the olives). Once three or four trees are picked the nets are carefully gathered up from the outside edges, forcing the olives to the centre. Then the olives are poured into large plastic containers, loaded onto the small tractor-trailer ready for sorting back at the Eco Village. A nearby olive press in the small town of Torri processes all the olives in this valley. Each grower's olives are washed and removed of leaves and small twigs before arriving at the olive press.

Each grower's harvest is tipped into the crusher, going through a process of washing and crushing to produce organic cold-pressed virgin olive oil. The oil and water are separated via a centrifuge, and the waste is used as chook food or fertiliser. It's interesting to note that the freshly crushed olive oil is cloudy in appearance, and can vary in colour from lime green to a light purple. I love the strong flavour and smell of the fresh oil. In other regions the pulp waste is re-processed with chemicals and hot water for the production of lesser quality olive oil. I can only assume the best quality virgin cold-pressed olive oil that you buy in Australia has been filtered to remove the cloudiness of the freshly crushed oil.

We have also picked the best looking olives for table olives for the Eco Village. These olives are normally the largest or least blemished and darkest in colour. Once these are sorted again by hand back at the Village they are soaked in a fresh salt and water solution for many days until the bitterness is removed. I was lucky the other day on my photographic wanderings to be given a tour of the only remaining stone grinding olive press in Torri. This traditional method, no longer used in Italy, produced fresh olive oil via a water wheel that turned two spoked wooden cogs, which then turned a large circular stone grinding wheel around the inside of a large stone tub, crushing the olives. The pulp was then scooped into wicker baskets and placed under a hand operated press, squeezing out the oil and water. 

The 'work' in the olive groves is very peaceful and I will certainly miss this and the surrounding mountains - but we have another focus on our travels. This experience has been unforgettable and gives me a great insight into community living and how a group of dedicated individuals can work so co-operatively together for the betterment of all: not dissimiliar at all to my life as a student of Sri Chinmoy's and working with others in promoting his peace activities throughout the world. I have had the blessing of witnessing Italian rural life and a greater appreciation for their culture and hard work. I am particularly fond of the use of land in all areas of Italy; there are virtually no lawns, people utilise any open areas for growing vegetables. Interestingly, opposite the Eco Village is an area dedicated to the growing of Australian wattles for the sale of their flowers!!  

I highly recommend to those wishing to experience the oneness within this well established community of over 30 years, to vist Torri Superiore. Besides the adventure of the travel they are always looking for a hand around olive picking time. The area is really beautiful and very central to other ancient regions of Italy, and also very close to France (10 minutes by train from Ventimiglia) and the many beautiful towns built in the scenic bays along the Mediterranean coastline. The area is also very close to many famous multiple day mountain walks that criss-cross the mountains along the French and Italian borders. 

As a point of interest the nearest town to us is Ventimiglia. This coastal town, 20 minutes away by bus, was the scene of the 20th victory by Augustus, the great Roman Emperor, and has been named after that - and from what the historians say, it was a definitive victory. This area was also invaded by the Germans in the Second World war, then bombed by the English after Mussilini turned in support of Germany.