Today I woke up in the port of Civitavecchia in Italy. I had a trip that I had been looking forward to today but it was nearly too much for me.
Civita de Bagnoregio, Italy.
I woke up this morning not feeling brilliant but eager to join my trip to see Bagnoregio, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy. I had some scrambled egg & bacon for breakfast before going for a coffee in the main Atrium of the ship. At 8:45 am I joined the coach for the trip, once again many of the people on the trip turned up late & we left about half an hour late for our trip.
The trip to Bagnoregio took us through some beautiful landscapes & I enjoyed the journey there. Once there we were dropped off in a car park near a public toilet so that everyone could use the toilet before we walked to the bridge that crosses over the valley to Civita de Bagnoregio. We were soon walking up some steep steps into Bagnoregio where we then began walking towards the visitor centre.
The climb up the steps seemed to take more out of me than I was expecting it to. I was still puffing like a steam train & had fallen to the back of the line of tourists walking through Bagnoregio. After a while, we stopped off at a monastery where our guide gave the group a talk about Bagnoregio & the Monastery. Unfortunately for me, the guide only gave the information in French even though he spoke perfect English. Luckily for me, there was a small shop here & I was able to buy some bottled water as I was getting very dry. Whilst the guide gave the rest of the tour the information I took the opportunity to sit down & get my breath back.
We were soon on our way again & walked down a long incline to get to the visitor's centre where we got our first view of Civita de Bagnoregio. Everybody had a few minutes here for a photo opportunity before we continued. By now I was feeling very dehydrated & a little lightheaded. I took a couple of photos & then asked a girl from the ship to take a photo of me. Before we moved off again, I decided that I wasn't feeling well enough to continue. I didn't think I would make it across the bridge & up the path into Civita de Bagnoregio so I stopped the guide & told him this. He told me to walk down to the bridge with him & he would make a phone call to get a car to take me across.
I struggled down the very steep hill to the bridge but my breathing was becoming very difficult, & my legs had started to feel like jelly. By the time we got to the bridge across the valley it was obvious I would not be able to continue. The girl from the ship asked me if no one had told me how steep & difficult the trip was & seemed surprised when I told her they hadn't & that it was advertised as a medium-difficulty walk. When we got to the bridge the guide told me he hadn't been able to get a car for me, he told me they would be about 80 minutes & that I could wait there for them to return or make my own way back to the coach pick-up point.
I sat down for around 20 minutes until my breathing settled down & my head stopped thumping. I finished off my bottle of water & started walking back towards the visitor centre. I had only gone about 20 paces before I had to sit down again for 10 minutes. Once I got my breath back I carried on up the steep incline. I had not gone another 20 paces before my breath got very laboured again, my head was thumping & I felt very dehydrated. I tried to continue but my legs gave way & I stumbled to sit on a wall at the side of the road. As I sat on the wall panting an Italian lady came to check if I was alright. She was from Rome & rented property to tourists & spoke perfect English. She waited with me until my breathing became easier & then stepped into the road & flagged down what looked like a small farm cart decorated with red cross & medical logos. She spoke to the driver in Italian & got him to give me a ride back to the visitor centre.
The medic cart dropped me at the visitor centre & I got two more bottles of water to drink. I was feeling terrible by now & sat there for about 20 minutes just getting my breath back. As I sat there the Italian lady who had helped me, walked past me as she climbed back up the hill & checked on me again. Once I had finished one bottle of water & my breathing had returned to a more normal level I very slowly made my way back to the place where the coach would be picking us back up. It was a very slow walk & I had to stop, it seemed every 20 or 30 paces, but I eventually got back to the pickup point. I used the toilet near where the coach was parked then sat on a grass hill next to the coach until the rest of the tour returned. They were all late back but it gave me time to rest & recover more, but I still felt tired, dehydrated & had a bad headache.
The journey back to the ship went quite quickly & I think I must have fallen asleep a couple of times before we got back. I got off the coach & returned to the ship. Not once did the guide ask me if I was okay after he returned to the coach & I felt his actions in leading me down the steep hill to the bridge & leaving me there were disgusting, I could quite easily have been very ill & if it wasn't for the kind lady from Rome who helped me when I collapsed, I would not have made it back to the coach alone.
Once I got back on board the ship I went straight to my cabin & within minutes I fell asleep. By the time I woke up the ship had left port & it was about 10:30 pm, I had missed dinner so I went straight back to bed to sleep.
I was glad I went on this trip because I really wanted to see Bagnoregio & that I did, but I really need to realise I can't do as much as I used to do & that I need to rest more between days when I do a lot of walking or have to do any sort of vigorous exercise.