Non contenti della partecipazione alla 6 ore di San Gregorio... per vivere, appena poche ore dopo essere rientrati a casa, ci siamo rimessi in cammino per raggiungere Camporeale, ove il 10 maggio mattino si sarebbe svolto l'Ecotrail delle Cantine di Camporeale, giunto alla sua 2^ edizione e prova B-side del Circuito Ecotrail Sicilia 2015.

Qui, io ho fatto le foto, mentre Maureen ha partecipato alla gara, come modo per scrollarsi dalle gambe la fatica del giorno prima, ma anche per rinfrancare il suo animo e il suo cuore, dopo essere stata ingabbiata per 6 ore in un circuito stradale (per quanto senza noia, ma con la gioia della sorpresa).
Maureen se l'è presa calma, perché voleva divertirsi e godere per ogni metro del percorso trail di 16 km, predisposto da Luigi Montalbano.

E ha pienamente centrato il suo obiettivo! Ciò nondimeno, ha avuto anche la soddisfazione di essere la seconda nel podio di categoria.
Ma non è questo quello che veramente conta.

Ciò che importa, soprattutto, in questo tipo di gare è "trarre nutrimento per la propria anima".

Di seguito il suo breve commento (tratto da un post più ampio,pubblicato nel suo blog).

Chi volesse leggere questo suo testo, non avendo una buona conoscenza dell'Inglese, può ricorrere a Google Translate.

(Maureen Simpson Crispi) And guess what, a few hours later we were up again, heading off to the lovely Camporeale EcoTrail, one of Aldo Siragusa's lovely trails, not far from Palermo. This was a [more or less] 16 km trail heading off out of the village climbing up for about 3 or 4 kms into the mountains, and then round and about and back.
The perfect little ending to a weekend of running. My legs were of course a bit tired from Saturday and so I took it fairly easy. Also, at least the first 3 or 4 kms of this trail were single track, and quite technical. As much as I LOVE these kinds of trails and relish them, I am not good at running them. I am a bit like Gabriel the toddler trying to traverse 'big' steps at almost 2 years old. As for going down, well, I tend to stand aside and let the gazelle like Sicilians scamper down and then take my sedentry place somewhere behind them. If there are a lot of uphills, not too technical, I am lucky because I can claw back some time and catch up a bit. But I had a great run, I loved being in the mountains and smelling and feeling all the wonderfully colourful and arromatic Sicilian plants right in front of me and under my feet. I am also often pleasantly surprised to see some familiar leaves and branches and petals, from home in South Africa, here in Sicily!
So it is a great treat and my soul gets its food. It's like a bit of home in home for me.

But it doesnt end there! After the race, was the 'pasta party'. For 5 euro's per person you literally got a cultural banquet and feast. It was outdoors, I think in the grounds of a restaurant or guesthouse, I am not sure. but there were wooden beches and tables, and big wine barrels as standing tables, wine and bread and tables laden with food.
Maurizio went and came back with 2 enormous sandwiches full of prosciutto and formaggio. Delicious! I thought, for 5 Euro's that was the lunch and I was delighted, and full!

But low and behold, then, he came with plates of pasta and more plates of sliced cheese, which we naturally ate. Then, it carried on, there was salsiccia AND bowls of freshly made racotta straight from the hot warm vat, being ladled out by the farmers themselves!

It was a fantastic day, and Gabriel even got to play football with some really sweet boys who shared their football with him, even though he was much much littler than them, and stopped them from playing their own game. They were even calling him little affectionate names like 'Gioia' and 'Piccolo' and being quite protective and encouraging him with his ball skills! [which is a challenge, as they haven't quite had time to emerge yet!]
I thought, how lovely it is, that Gabriel will grow up in this kind of community where little children are given a voice and noticed and loved.