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Michele Angileri

Forra della Lavandaia

One of the most special, beautiful and panoramic places of Catena Costiera Range is surely Guardia Piemontese. Its history is special: the village was fouded in XIII century by Waldensians settlers coming from Val Pellice, looking for a quiet place to live and profess their religious faith. They lived in peace for a couple of centuries, till they were massacred by the Spanish of Kingdom of Naples, by mandate of the Church of Rome. Centuries have passed, there had been the unification of Italy, emigration, schooling, but even today the dialect that is spoken in Guardia is Occitan ...

The geography of Guardia is also special. The village rises on a hill overlooking Tyrrhenian Sea almost like an airplane. Down, on northern side, the majestic rocky peaks of Torrente Bagni gorge (no canyoning interest) mark the place where thermal waters come out from the volcanic depths of earth. Where they reach the sea, the stack known as "Scoglio della Regina" soars over the blue clear water. High up the mountain is covered with lush forests, seemingly impenetrable, of secular trees.

And among these wonderful natural beauties there is also a gorge, narrow, beautiful, technically simple: the Lavandaia narrows.

Name Forra della Lavandaia
Area Calabria
Nearest village Guardia Piemontese
Elevation loss 105 m
Length 750 m
Highest cascade 6 m
Rock Conglomerate
Rating4
Shuttle Possible
Explored by "Le forre del Tirreno" canyoning team; spring 2016

 

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I remember ...

My friend Piero, who works as a teacher, carries the spirit of his profession even in recreational activities, explaining the ways and the places in which they take place, with the engaging enthusiasm of a full time educator.

I too was a school teacher for 20 years, but I did the opposite. After having spent a week illustrating, explaining and involving pupils, some motivated, some not, I wanted to relax myself not explaining anything, not involving, perhaps learning. And if there was something to explain I was willing to do so only with absolutely motivated "students", truly hungry for knowledge.
Because without a true motivation any lesson ends up being perceived as a stream of empty words, or as a ritual aimed at establishing an asymmetrical emotional bond between the one who stands to master and the one that accepts to be a pupil.
And, you know, I am interested in canyons: such rituals and emotional ties I willingly leave them to others.

Copyright © 2002- Michele Angileri. All rights reserved.