On foot from Villasor to Nuoro only for Livia. Livia is a little girl born in London twenty-two days ago, her grandfather, Giuseppe Aru, the traveler. As soon as he returned to Sardinia from his trip to the British capital, where he had gone to meet and "welcome the world" to his granddaughter, he decided to go through the intense emotion of becoming a grandfather for the first time with a walk of 200 kilometers up to Nuoro: «You walk on the road - he reflects - but the real journey is what you do inside yourself. This is why I want to be alone in my travels on foot ».

Almost 68 years old, originally from Oristano, Giuseppe Aru had moved to Villasor at the age of 17: his father worked in the sugar factory. He, on the other hand, was a stationmaster: in Cagliari the last fifteen years of service. From 1985 to 1990 mayor of Villasor, experience replicated from 1993 to 1997. In 1998 he graduated in psychology at the University of Cagliari. «Walking - he continues - helps introspection. We think of everything: this time, however, I think of Livia. I hope that when he is the right age to take a walk with his grandfather and I will no longer be a young boy like today, we will be able to admire the beauty of our Sardinia together ».

Sore feet

Having left Villasor on Sunday, Aru arrived in Sadali with sore feet on Thursday evening, during the week in which tourists and barbaricini returned for the summer holidays disappeared, so that traveler with a rather bulky backpack on his shoulders did not go unnoticed, all inside of the only open restaurant in which to dine. "Upon arriving in Sadali - he says - I risked skipping dinner: out of four restaurants in the town only the one along the state road was open". What about sore feet? "My friend Salvatore, owner of the b & b where I stayed, gave me a rosemary ointment, indicated precisely for the fatigue of sportsmen". It worked, he smiles, "also because I believed in it too much."

Towards Gadoni

On Friday, early in the morning, Giuseppe Aru set off again for Gadoni, around 12 a.m. stop on the outskirts of Seulo to eat a sandwich. The new grandfather has always been passionate about nature and life in the open air but, as often happens, working life, especially if combined with political commitment, leaves little room for everything else. Then the debut as a skilled walker came after retirement: «Last May - he remembers - I left Villasor for Sorgono, 200 kilometers round trip in search of myself and my limit. Would I have been able to reach the goal I had set myself without throwing in the towel, maybe halfway, calling someone to come and get me? " How did it go? "I've done it".

Organization

How do you organize a trip like this? «The stages - replies Aru - must be commensurate with the training. In one day I travel from 27 to 30 kilometers: I study the itinerary favoring the countries that are not crossed by state roads, and if I find alternatives in the countryside I prefer them, naturally after having studied them first also with the help of Google Maps. The season must also be right: in September it is still too hot but in October the rains often arrive. The equipment must also include this. I overnight in advance in each country where I stop, I have to be able to wash myself. If a sandwich is good for lunch, dinner must be in a restaurant. Usually I also choose the days of the week to arrive in each country: often on Mondays in many of our countries everything is closed ».

Towards Nuoro

The schedule foresees the arrival in Nuoro for tomorrow, a visit to the city and possibly to Man, then by train to home, with little Livia from now on always in her heart.

Paola Mura Ruggiu

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