The walking holiday is going well, despite the weather. Not deterred by rain we even had an afternoon of white-water rafting on the Brenta river. The description doesn’t quite convey the experience, as we had to jump down three waterfalls into the basins beneath.
It did cross my mind that I might not be up to it. After all, I did find the first day of walking to be depressingly difficult, and I didn’t complete the full route. So I did recover my self-respect with the rafting. Today we did what the Italians call a vis ferrata, or an “iron way”. This is a miuntain route where difficult and exposed routes are aided by the installation of iron pegs and cables. For several of our group this was the first time they had attempted one. In fact, I was the most experienced member. It was pretty strenuous, but it went well …. despite the rain once we reached the top.
I have been thinking throughout the day about the cycle of generations. The group with which I am walking started in 1985, and two of the folk with whom I am walking now are the children of one member. As the years have passed several members of the original group have “retired”, and I am now the oldest member. I have had to ask myself for how long I can manage to take part on an equal footing with young people who could be my grandchildren. I don,t think that this question arises in relation to art, but it certainly does in mountain climbing! At least I led the way with the waterfall leaping.