Steps

I mentioned earlier the constant steps we face here--everything seems uphill no matter the direction we take! Metaphorically, there are steps, inclines, forces against which to push each day to carry enough food home in sacks; getting clothes washed and dried; getting to work and getting work done; figuring out transport, directions, getting enough of the right change, it always seems to be "uphill." Problems to solve, mostly, big and small. The situation makes us aware of how automatic we can get our lives at home by knowing the culture, the language, the rules of all sorts and by having others in the community with which to share ideas or information. Those things all take "steps" to accomplish here.

On the weekend we took a trip to Monte Bre nearby. It has a finiculare (a cross between a SF cable car and incline railroad) up to the town. The round trip was $20 each and the water we bought at the top was $4 a bottle (for the little 12 oz. size) which is not atypical. We were headed to Monte Bre but the steps got to be too much. The ones in the photos took us only part way and we had to abandon the plan.

Here are four of five (I forgot to photograph one since I was trying to get my breath and needing a drink and I'm in pretty good shape) segments of the path: (while the perspective is lost a bit, imagine all at about a 15% grade. Double click each picture and look as far up the stairs as possible to see the end of each segment.)