Speeelunk!

One lovely October afternoon, I left the cozy comfort of the school's library after an enthralling Saturday class followed by a few hours of studying and ventured to the other side of town to check out Bologna's underbelly. 4 great people accompanied me: Anni, from Denmark, Alessandra, from Germany, and Daniel and Rachel, both American. We were excited for our little guided tour of the canal system above which modern-day Bologna's infrastructure stands.

We had no idea what we were in for.

Upon our arrival, we noticed that there were wet boots laying around and helmets. Oh goody! Helmets = fun!

Some rustic-looking men emerged from the street, wearing waterproof pants and boots. They hadn't shaved in a few days and were more than a little dirty. Little did we know, for the next few hours, we would be at their complete mercy.

"Are we going down there?"

'I think so...'

"With them?"

'Uhhh...'

Then came the moment to remove our shoes and put on the knee-length rubber boots. Alex did it first and screeched as her foot went directly into a soggy abyss... the chilly water soaking her

sock. Her sacrifice enabled us to improvise and we found some plastic bags and wrapped up our feet before donning the boots. We were further surprised by the helmets with exposed velcro, giving our scalps the most lovely massage treatment... right.

Then we went into the hole in the street... into complete darkness. One man in there shone a flashlight, more in our eyes than in our path. We stumbled through inch deep water, unable to stand up straight. After scaling down a small ladder, we were mostly able to stand straight and walk through increasingly deep water that was making us a bit nervous. Tea lights around the walls of the tunnel illuminated our path. "Isn't there supposed to be a boat involved somewhere here?"

Our lingering question was answered when we came upon an inflatable dingy raft. We hopped aboard, and the man who had been leading us grabbed two ropes and did his best mule

impression as he pulled us along. Noticing apples hanging from strings, I came to the conclusion that these were sacrifices to giant Bolognese rat gods to allow us to traverse their canals. We changed rafts once when the elevation of the tunnel changed. We weren't sure if we would ever see light again...

Luckily we emerged between some buildings on the north end and went under a quaint bridge with a well-known restaurant and many interested spectators waving to us. We exited the rafts and removed our super cool garb to be happily reunited with warm shoes again.

Then it got even stranger.

Our tour guide led us across the piazza where the street literally opened up after he pushed a magic button. It looked like a big fish in camaflague opening it's road-resembling mouth in hopes of snacking on some unsuspecting students who are niave enough to think "oh cool, the street opened! wonder what's in there?"

So in we went, down a ladder, and the street-fish closed its mouth. We were given giant candles to light out path and this time walked under the city on a path that had once been a vibrant canal in this city. Inside, a stream ran alongside us and we could see old sewer holes that used to dispose of Bologna's fine cuisine... There was also a sculpture made of scrap metal in the shape of an angel and more of those mysterious apples.

Since we were in the dark and holding giant candles, we decided to be monks and stayed at the back of the group chanting what we believed to be greek hymns... mostly impressions of monty python monks and fraternity letters.

Guess street-fish had enough of us, because at the end it opened another orfice... we won't speculate what this one is if we entered through its mouth... and released us on the south side of town. We were adequately damp and chilly and decided to end the activity as many activities in this land end, in a cafe, having cappuccinos (even though it was far too late in the day for such things, espresso is just over too quickly when you are cold!). I feel like I know my town better now and must say that despite the chills and dampness, it made me feel like Indiana Jones to adventure underground and end up back in the library a few hours later studying with no one suspecting a thing. No cool religous relics or battles with Nazis though... sigh, next time.