Private road

The journey continues.

In the first few days, we realize that finding a place to sleep in this beautiful country is not that easy. We have already heard about it, but we rely on our years of wild camping experience and besides, it won't be that bad, after all, we are in Southern Europe, where many things are not taken so seriously...

But of course, it turns out differently: not only in the Alps and by the sea, apparently, all of Italy is privately owned. Simple field roads are hard to find, and if we do find one, there's a sign that says 'strada privata' - sometimes with a gun pictured. Only riverbeds give the impression of being unoccupied zones. So we look for accesses that are often well hidden, on narrow and difficult-to-find paths. However, with the current weather forecast, absolute caution is required: the bone-dry riverbeds can turn into raging streams at high speed during heavy rainfall. And so we watch the constant lightning in the sky around us very closely and expect at any time to have to quickly leave our sleeping place, so as not to be surprised by the floods, which at least gives me here and there an uneasy sleep.

It is the end of September and the night starts very early. It is already pitch dark at 8:00 pm and unfortunately, it quickly gets chilly with the setting sun. So it is not surprising that we soon lie in the robber's cave and only hear a few snorers.

That's why we are not woken up by the local hunters, we are both awake and enjoying the first coffee at seven o'clock in the morning to wake up. We listen daily to the shooting around us. Sometimes a few dogs gather around the Kangoo, but they are often commanded by the beeping of their recall devices.

On the internet, we learn that shooting birds is still common in Italy. Pigeons, ducks, lapwings or larks, blackbirds and thrushes often end up in cooking pots. It can start as early as the beginning of September, only on Tuesdays and Fridays do migrating birds and wild campers get a break. We read that there are voluntary supervisors who monitor compliance with the regulations. However, we cannot judge whether their influence is sufficient to prevent protected species from being shot.

At some point, we are annoyed by the shooting noise that lasts until late at night. Soon, you will be ecstatic about every loud thunder rumble.