In Comacchio: the twice around

May 14, 2023

It’s another of those days that we’ve been seeing so much of lately and expect more of in the days ahead: rainy. We’re glad that we don’t have to bike anywhere today and grateful for any breaks that come along to let us get out and explore. The first one comes right away, if we act on it. I hop on the bike for the nine mile loop around the near end of the lake that Rachael’s mapped out for herself as a walking route. I want to take the bike because nine miles is a full walk for me, but I want the time to take it slow and keep an eye out for the birds.

And I do see some birds, but the ride is frustrating. It really would be better as a walk, because two miles of it are a sloppy trail that I have to walk in the grass because the path is too slick for cycling. And, about halfway through the loop it starts showering and I have to stow away the camera for safekeeping. Still, it’s great to see some birds and a pair of new species for the list.

Dozens of trabucci line both sides of the canal at the mouth of the lake.

I’m not sure what this is, but maybe a fish unloader/sorter? Dump the catch of the day into that hopper to be lifted up a conveyer belt for sorting and packing?

Not the best biking surface, but this is as good as it gets for the next two miles. At least this is still gravelly and bikeable. The mud comes later.

Biking doesn’t really work anymore - at least not on this bike in these conditions.

I don’t really mind walking though. Plenty of reasons to stop.

#151: Eurasian oystercatcher. It’s raining now, but I pull out the camera for a quick shot because I can’t help myself. Hopefully it will be fine.

I think I know this one. I’ll bet you do too.

#152: Pygmy cormorant (initially misidentified as a shag). Another hasty, rain-exposed shot.

It’s still raining when I get back. Rachael’s already been back awhile and warmed herself with a shower. We talk over plans for the rest of the day and decide we’ll go out for lunch together and hope we get another chance for an outing later in the afternoon.

Our chance comes when the rains end about four and look like they’re done for the day. We decide to go out for a walk together, starting along the same loop I biked this morning. The goal is to make it around the bend and to the point where I started seeing flamingos, which she’d like to see also.

We’re but two blocks from the room when I realize I’ve made the same error I made yesterday and stepped out without the camera again. Rachael looks disgusted, but hands me the keys so I can rush back and pick it up while she waits impatiently and taps her foot on the pavement.

The beginning of the walk is great, along a paved bike path and past a flat wetland cut up by small channels with stilts wading in them. It’s longer to the outlet of the lake than I remembered though - three miles - and I can’t remember how far beyond that I started seeing flamingos, but it’s looking like by the time we get there (and if they’re even still around) we might as well just keep walking the loop.

Nine miles is more of a walk than Rachael wants since she already packed in seven this morning; so after some discussion she decides to continue straight on to the sea which looks like it’s just ahead, while I decide I’d really like to walk the full loop. We separate here and plan to meet back at the room when I finally show up. She’ll get there first of course, because she’s a faster and more focused walker and because it looks like her walk is shorter - but as it turns out, it’s farther to the shore than it looks and she’ll end up covering nearly as much ground as I do.

Stilts! They’re surprisingly common here, and we see dozens of them in the next few miles.

A colorful old tank, just before the point where we separate. This is also about the point where Rachael turned back on her rain-shortened morning walk.

Crossing the canal at Porto Garibaldi that’s the outlet to the lake. Not long after I’ve crossed it I’ll be on the footpath that follows the west side of the channel to the far end of the lake.

It’s great to be back here again later in the day, with the sun out this time.

I stopped for a shot of this ruin this morning, but it’s really beautiful in this light.

#153: Common tern. I was especially excited about this bird perched on a cable above the channel, because I’ve been seeing them fleetingly flashing across the sky like swallows and swifts, too rapid and far off for a shot.

Oystercatchers again, and likely the same pair I saw at the same spot this morning.

I wanted to take a photo of this boat earlier, but not enough to expose the camera to the rain.

Another structure that photographs better in this light. It looks like we’re losing the sun though.

They’re still here, but it’s been further than I remembered. I’m five miles into the walk now, and it’s shorter going forward than back.

Mostly they’re too far off for a good shot, but this one isn’t bad.

Suddenly I hear a commotion behind my back and turn to see they’ve all left the lake and are noisily heading north. I almost can’t get the camera out quick enough to catch them. I’m sorry Rachael isn’t here to see this too.

There’s not really the sunset I’d imagined, but briefly it casts a warm glow across the fields.

I’m thoroughly pleased with my decision to walk this loop, though I’m keeping my eye on the time and remaining distance. I’m not concerned yet because sunset is just before eight thirty now and I’ve still got an hour and a half to cover the last three miles so I’ll be fine if I walk steadily the rest of the way. It should be easy enough to do because I’ll be leaving the path soon and just following the road the rest of the way with less likelihood of finding things to divert my attention.

The phone rings. It’s Rachael of course, presumably calling to check in, let me know she’s home, and see how long I’ll be. I know she’s there already because I’ve been tracking her progress - she’s been maybe a half mile away from me as the crow flies, but on the other side of the lagoon.

It’s not that though. She’s quite upset because she’s locked out. I get a sick feeling in my stomach as I reach into my pocket and find the keys there, where they’ve been since I took them from her to go back to get the camera. I can’t believe I forgot to hand them back to her afterwards, but there’s nothing to be done for it now but for me to upshift to my highest walking gear and hustle as fast as I can for the last three miles while she heads off to a gelateria to keep warm for the next hour.

In other circumstances this would have been a pleasant, atmospheric walk at the end of the day. There’s just me and the birds, and the peal of church bells carrying across the water from town at 7:30. I can’t enjoy it though when I feel so terrible about the situation and when I’m pushing myself to maintain a four mph pace - how does Rachael do this for twelve or more miles at a time, I marvel?

It’s just passing eight when I come to the bridge at the entrance to town. I call Rachael to let her know I’m near so she can head back home, and she heads off in my direction. In a few blocks our paths cross and we walk the rest of the way together.

As we walk home and later when we’re back in the room we compare notes on our experiences. After we left each other she continued to walk to the sea, to the end of the jetty at Porto Garibaldi before turning around and backtracking to town again. In the end, she walked nearly as far as I did this afternoon - and for the day as a whole she topped sixteen miles, not counting our walk to lunch. For myself, my nine miles was enough - well more than enough really, after pushing the pace for the last three miles. I’m really starting to hurt by the time we make it home, and head straight for the ibuprofen once we’re in the room again.

The big question I have for her is whether she was lucky enough to see flamingos. She surprises me by saying she did indeed - a huge flock of them passed overhead on her way back to the room. She shows me the photos from her phone as evidence, and I realize it could be the same large flock that I witnessed from the other side of the water. It’s confirmed when we check the time stamps on our photos and see that hers was shot a minute after mine.

The view north from Porto Garibaldi, from Rachael’s walk.

The harbor light at the end of the south jetty.

The harbor light at the end of the north jetty.

Same flock that I saw, just a minute earlier.

This is a hybrid of our two hikes. I took the clockwise loop around the lagoon, and after we split up she continued to the shore before backtracking. In the morning I biked this same loop, while she took nearly her same walk but turned back sooner.

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Ride stats today: 11 miles, 100’; for the tour: 1,148 miles, 58,400’

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2023 Bird List

151. Eurasian oyster catcher

152. Pygmy cormorant

153. Common tern

154. Grey heron

Today's ride: 11 miles (18 km)
Total: 1,143 miles (1,839 km)

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Keith Adams"She’s quite upset because she’s locked out. I get a sick feeling in my stomach as I reach into my pocket and find the keys there, where they’ve been since I took them from her to go back to get the camera."

I went to graduate school several hundred miles from where my then-girlfriend (now wife) lived. I'd occasionally take the train up to visit for a weekend. After one such excursion I drove us back to the train station in her car. 45 minutes or so into my return journey I stuck my hand into my jacket pocket. You can guess what I found there...

Somewhat surprisingly to me, she never made an issue of it and never even mentions it when we're reminiscing with friends.
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11 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Keith AdamsWow, and she still married you! How hard was it to get her car back?
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11 months ago

Keith AdamsTo Rachael AndersonYes, I'm very fortunate and the definite beneficiary of the union.

She was sharing an apartment with her sister at the time, who obligingly brought the spare keys for both car and apartment. Crisis averted.
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11 months ago