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Arrival
After two weeks of walking and 250 km crossed in complete
autonomy in the white desert of Egypt, Fabio and I
at 14:28, today November 28,2008 cut the finnish-line
banner in the zone of the oasis of Dakala. A path
following very high dunes of fine sand and dangerous
rocks, where the wind was unforgiving. We faced temperatures
that rose in the day to almost 40 degrees Celcius
and dropped to 0 at night as we slept in our tents.
We had to put up small shields to protect us from
teh fine sand. We walked side by side, finding the
same rhythm. My eyes guided the walk of Fabio; the
voluntary strength and courage of Fabio alleviated
my worries about this huge responsibility to guide
him. We had support for thirst, we had to find the
water resupplies using the GPS, and every night we
had to put up camp, and prepare dinner. To survive.
And the next morning we took down the tents, did the
necessary packing, prepared again our heavy backpacks:
we carried 20 kg on our back during the whole trek.
We spoke. I described to Fabio everything I saw, even
a mirage. Fabio transmitted his love of poetry to
me. An equal exchange, as I had expected. We respected
the desert that had allowed us to pass. The project
New Frontier has closed its first chapter today. A
long path still mut be discovered. A program that
has just been decided for the future months, that
in the spring with the Minimatathon for the disabled
will actually be happening organized in Milan with
the help of the Commune. Because our experience is
for the service of everyone, to show that if you decide
to, you can overcome your physical or psychological
problems large and small. Our service does not stop
there, but we are also helping scientifically and
technically to allow the study of the physical body
and how it is affected with new materials; Our experience
is divided. And we will be sharing our stories, to
encourage those who want to push beyond their limits.
Because the limit is only inside of us. One more time.
Today. I want to thank for the last time all of those
that made this expedition possible. The support team,
the main sponsor No Limits, the sponsors Ferrino,
La Roche-Posay, Tecar, Garmin, Intermatica, Geomat,
Enervit, Focus Himalaya Travel, Frigor Trasporti Orobico,
Lions il Comune di Milano who have assured the continuation
of this project and to everyone of our friends, because
we have never lacked in support. |
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27/11/2008
The next top last day in the desert
Today was the last difficult camp before the end
of the adventure, the heat today was very high.
It reached 38.3 degrees Celsius and it was not an
easy pass. In any case we arrived at the last camp
at 4 pm and after putting up the tents for the last
time, we enjoyed ourselves, with dinner under a
wonderful sky full of stars that I described for
the last time for Fabio.
Early tomorrow morning we will start the last piece
of our journey and we will meet the team awaiting
us in Dakhla.
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Drinking tea around the fire
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View from the base camp
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Last camp with the jurnalist
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26/11/2008
Two days at sunrise
Another very fatiguing day. We walked until 4 pm
corssing between sharp, cut rocks. The continuous
ups and downs are due to the fact that the ground
is covered with rocks and the roughness has made
me tense all day. I fear for Fabio, I am afraid
he will hurt himself. It is not easy to guide in
these conditions. And it always turns out that at
four in the afternoon, when we have reached the
point of the water resupply, we are able to exclaim
"mission accomplished." The heat accompanied
us for several hours. Fabio is getting more and
more used to the uneven ground and travels now with
more ease. I must say, that after 13 days have passed
together, his presence is absolutely not a weight
and also there are times when he is a great help
to me and a lot of times he is self-sufficient.
Now we have two more days to walk, but the biggest
news is, the blisters on my feet are now a distant
memory; we are almost at the arrival where we have
long awaited to see the support team that helped
us, with careful attention, and made our journey
easier. Good bye until Dakhla….
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Last wiew of the deep desert
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the arrival
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Last water supply
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Riding along
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The support team |
The final part that Fabio and Carla will encounter |
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25/11/2008
A very difficult terrain
We are at the thirteenth day, neither one of us
are superstitiously, but even though we are crossing
our fingers! The day was sweltering and the trek
particularly difficult. We have left the zone of
dunes made of fine sand and entered an area of rocky
land. To guide Fabio in this place is more difficult
than usual. And also more stressful also from an
emotional point of view. I feel very responsible
and don't want him to fall. However, Fabio keeps
demonstrating a great athleticism and always strengthens
us. Luckily everything went well and the schedule
for the trek has not changed. The atmosphere, also
if sometimes it presents obstacles, is splendid.
And our philosophy is in fact, that to protect the
environment takes all of our strength. The disposal
of the trash has given us a little problem. We burn
what we can, but are compelled to carry with us
what is not combustible or what would cause pollution
if we burned. Yesterday we succeeded in cleaning
the rubbish with one of the points of water resupply
and we asked the support team to come by and pick
it up. With the option I left the card for the little
camera I have carried with me, to let them download
the pictures, that I have taken and send to everyone.
The morale is very high, we know that we are close
to our destination and we are know that this expedition
is not ended at that point but it will serve also
from the scientific point of view to test the innovative
material that we have been using, the tent from
Ferrino and the clothing from No Limits.
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Soccer game Egypt vs. Italy
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Setting up the base camp
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Daniele find the track with the gps
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To the next watersupply
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24/11/2008
A perfect association
The twelfth day began considerably
well, my feet are not too painful like
they were the night before; the rest
and the small intervention of a slight
cut on my right pinkie toe, to release
the liquid held inside proved helpful.
We trekked from eight in the morning
to three in the afternoon with very
short breaks. During the transfer a
moment of crisis. The search for water
was more difficult that usual. A half
hour of worry, but then everything resolved
itself in one of the best ways possible
and the tension went away. After we
made some attempts with the Garmin GPS
system to go straight, straight to the
water supply. Fabio stayed very close
to me and provided moral support letting
me now he never lost trust in me. We
have become a perfect team! We went
through a changing landscape of high
dunes and the ups and downs that consume
our energy, that prove however conquerable.
The temperature is very hot and Fabio
is especially effected by the heat.
These efforts make us sweat a lot and
naturally consume more water than we
thought would be sufficient… We
reached the water point in the evening
and are refreshed with the last of our
energy food…freeze-dried food.
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An almost great dinner
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Some desert fruit and lemon
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Animal tracks in the sand
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Casino
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Daniele lucky day |
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23/11/2008
The charge Fabio
It is the beginning of our last week.
The walk continues in the predicted
time, even though today I had to tend
to an infected cut that developed on
my right foot from a blister. Every
evening, after we make camp, have dinner
and put away our materials, I spend
a good half hour taking care of my feet
for the next day. Fabio has proven himself
to be a good travel companion and a
tireless hiker. During our breaks this
shows, he always has a great enthusiasm
and provides me with an enormous charge.
During the long starry evenings and
during our breaks I want to explain
to Fabio not only the sensation of fatigue
but also those that are more subtile
that bind me to the nature. Although
the fatigue and the pain are alive at
the moment I feel in total balance.
This is a gift from the desert.
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A fake skorpion
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Oscar with the lucky mouse
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Creative Renato
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Daniele read to relax as usual
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Our guides sometimes play like us |
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22/11/2008
Sensations
The rhythm is good, except in the last
few days; unfortunately when we have
slowed down due to the gross condition
of my feet. Fabio on the other hand,
always has a good sense of humor, like
a rock and follows without any problems.
The hot weather above all in the middle
of the day has made the support team
decide to increase our daily water resupply
amount. Today I had a mirage that I
described to Fabio. The day is full
of sensations, because we have found
the skeleton of a camel bleached white
from the sun. The nights spent thinking
are freezing. The temperature reaches
about zero. Fabio looks to describe
his feelings: reaffirming to me often
that he feels close to the poets he
most loves: Foscolo and Leopardi. I
live in absolute peace and my heart
is happy. Bringing me back to reality
is my feet that continue to have more
pain…
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Tramonto
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Si fa il punto della giornata
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Radici nel deserto
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Alba
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Accampamento in mezzo alle dune |
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21/11/2008
Sensations
The rhythm is good, except in the last
few days; unfortunately when we have
slowed down due to the gross condition
of my feet. Fabio on the other hand,
always has a good sense of humor, like
a rock and follows without any problems.
The hot weather above all in the middle
of the day has made the support team
decide to increase our daily water resupply
amount. Today I had a mirage that I
described to Fabio. The day is full
of sensations, because we have found
the skeleton of a camel bleached white
from the sun. The nights spent thinking
are freezing. The temperature reaches
about zero. Fabio looks to describe
his feelings: reaffirming to me often
that he feels close to the poets he
most loves: Foscolo and Leopardi. I
live in absolute peace and my heart
is happy. Bringing me back to reality
is my feet that continue to have more
pain…
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Una piacevole sorpresa
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Si sgonfiano le gomme per un'aderenza
migliore sulle dune
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Resti di cammelli
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Daniele controlla le mail
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Daniele parla con le guide |
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Ancora isabbiati
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20/11/2008
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Another watersupply for Carla and fabio
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Hot bread on the car
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kitchen
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the flag for supply point
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19/11/2008
A mouse in the desert
Another day has passed without
any major inconvenience, with the exception of my
feet that unfortunately continue to get worse, the
blisters between my toes have broken leaving to skin
open. We have just trekked about 100 km. The walk
therefore is getting more difficult and we must take
unplanned breaks to change the bandages. Fabio is
demonstrating a great physical and also
psychological strength. Fortunately the temperature
is not as extreme as we thought. Yesterday at camp
there was a white and beige mouse without fear.
Sometime also the encounter with a little mouse
makes you want to say a lot. We are living an
incredible experience that I will try to retell to
everyone when I return.
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Sunset |
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Renato does laundry |
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Oscar enjoy the last minute of the day |
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Daniele relaxes |
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17/11/2008
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Getting
cold
A relaxing day, without unforeseen obstacles,
today. It is very hot and the fatigue is beginning
to be felt. Even though we have done seventeen
km, walking together until 5 pm, when we decided
to stop and make camp. The temperature in
the day is increasing, and it drops a lot
at night. The night is very cold, it gets
to 0 degrees Celsius and it is not easy to
sleep. The technical equipment, provided by
No Limits, was studied and prepare with thermic
isolation to help us, but it is still hard
to rest. The climactic situation is stable,
also the wind has calmed down. The fourth
water resupply provided by the support team
far in advance was sufficient, but the "treasure
hunt" to find it is always a delicate
moment. This is the point where vision is
necessary. From the morale point of view,
we are still very energized. I am never very
tired and would repeat the unique and unrepeatable
experience that we are living. The scenery
is splendid with dunes that reach very high.
I describe them to Fabio and try to translate
the sensation into words, which takes a lot
of concentration. Fabio is doing wonderfully,
we walk together, I only have to guide a little,
sometimes I think that he arrives in my thoughts,
without needing to make a gesture: he knows
where to go. He follows me, acknowledging
that it is serene and that he know it changes
my experience to be together. It is a great
load, but it is also a complete partnership
that makes me grow.
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Laughing to relax |
Tae in the desert
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You never know what
you can find in the desert |
The base camp study
Carla and Fabio's position |
.JPG)
Daniele (the head of
organization) |
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15/11/2008
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In the
desert this also enters
The temperature during the day is very high.
We reach points where it is over 30 degrees
centigrade, and the nights are always getting
colder. It is painful, the backpacks are still
very heavy: more than twenty kilos. They cause
us to suffer. Today we traveled 13 km. The
view is changing, in comparison to the zone
in which we began. The land fortunately is
flat, but less compact, and we must slow down
the speed at which we walk: we sink. There
is a little vegetation, some shrubs. Almost
nothing shows signs of life. We have come
into contact with one fox and seen many tracks
that look like those of camels. But there
is no sign of human presence. Fabio is very
strong, he does not have a lot of difficulty
and we are good companions. Where it is possible
we walk as a pair, we go at a comfortable
and steady pace. At 4:30 we reached water
supply number three and here the unforeseen
happened. An unexpected blast of wind took
the Fabio's tent. I was taking off my shoes
to look at a sore spot I had on my foot, just
full of blisters in one area, and I ran after
the tent. I ran barefoot in the desert almost
a km, but the wind was too fast for me. There
wasn't another solution to turn to for a tent,
which are always made by Ferrino, and alas
it was the light weight tent that was to be
home to Fabio to the end of the desert. Fabio,
understandably, could not cross the gap, but
as we always say: in the desert, it is in
control of everything.
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Getting the water supply
ready |
Carla help Fabio to
setup tent
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Fabio wait new tent |
Set up the new tent |
Anti-glare |
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14/11/2008
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| Twenty
kilometers!
The
first night in tents, alone in the desert
was very calm. It maybe the emotion, it
maybe the fatigue, it maybe the relaxation
that comes over you when you see the complete
objective you have long awaited, but in
any case we slept like a rock. Wake up at
sunrise. The normal pattern: fold the tent,
organize the things we used. Depart. The
temperature in the day is rather high, around
30 degrees, the climate is dry and we sweet
a lot. The night in this area gets to 5
degrees centigrade. The tents provided by
Ferrino, protect us very well and we are
not cold. The backpacks are still heavy,
more than 20 kilos, but we have all we need
to live the whole time. But we still have
a lot of strength and it has allowed us
to travel about 20 km on the second day.
And my feet feel it as they seek revenge
with small sores. But I was prepared for
this.
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relax |
Problems with generator
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Trying to repair |
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13/11/2008
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Departure
After a long preparation at 1:20 pm our adventure
began. In the heart of the White Desert, on
a land, that for now is compact we have begun
our walk that should be 250 km heading south.
We are relaxed and full of energy also if
the moment of the departure from the team
is always emotional. Long hugs and some tears
fall as we leave the team and Egyptian companions.
Great appreciation too for the first appointment
with the directions on the GPS Garmin leading
the team to the position of the first water
resupply. Everything is done. On the first
evening contact with the satellite system
with the team: we are well, we found the water
on time and are ready for the first night
in the desert, truly alone. Above the sky
and stars are incredible. The desert is white
and almost shinning also at night.
Finally we understand why it is called the
White Desert. The passage is breathtaking,
spectacular, without comparison and the list
of adjectives continues. This morning we left
the oasis of Baharya for the last stretch
to the departure site. This stretch of about
200 km left our mouths open. The desert is
composed of blinding chalky, white, forms
that almost look like snow, in all sorts of
amazing shapes. Some of them are almost a
meter tall and look like a pinnacle. They
reflect the light onto our skin making the
radiation more intense. We are relaxed, though,
and not burned, Prof. Antonino di Pietro of
the University of Milan has done all the dermatological
tests and Roche-Posayl has provided all the
sun screen we need for this climate. The time
goes quickly, also though the off-road vehicles
don't drive on a street, but on a trail created
in the sand that continually changes direction
to go around the existing terrain. In the
afternoon we arrived where we will set up
camp: the last night together. Early tomorrow
morning we will arrive at the departure point
and after a few last preparations we will
finally be on our way.
The temperature during the day is about 30
degrees, and at night about 12: it is wonderful.
We are all calm that the work we have done,
though truly a lot to organize the departure,
was done in the best way. The atmosphere is
relaxed and the emotions of the team continue.
We are truly in a special moment.
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Last check |
First steps in the
White Desert
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Start!!!!
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Carla and Fabio first
camp |
Carla and Fabio with
the Milan flag |
12/11/2008
The last day in civilization.
Cairo is convulsive, a very chaotic city,
with its contradictions and its fascinations.
It wakes up early but not too early. At
nine thirty we are all ready and leave the
hotel. The first stop is to buy the last
things, the gas for the stove that we will
use to cook on, and other general things,
above all we must not forget the sweet local
dates. Nutrients and digestible snacks make
up part of our diet, made of freeze-dried
foods and dietary supplements from Enervit.
We mustn't neglect anything: from now everything
will be more possible, reinforcing how much
we have worked in the process of putting
together this expedition.
After a quick lunch finally
we will leave the city heading south,
towards the oasis of Baharya: we await
350 km of travelling on a asphalt street
with little local traffic. The view is
dry, the sand is beige, dominating everything.
Half way there we stop for a short break
in a local bar to drink the sweet mint
tea and then we continue on: we arrive
in the oasis at seven in the evening:
it has just become dark. It will be the
last night in a bed, for tomorrow we begin
living in tents. Dinner and shower. The
morale is high among the team members.
We are also with three off-road vehicles
and four local officials other than us
five: in all there are nine of us together
to face this adventure.
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Ready to go |
Start area
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team |
White Desert |
to the white desert |
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11/11/2008
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Leaving!
Now there is no more time.
There is no more time for getting ready, there
is no more time for preparing, there is no
more time for saying good bye.
We are leaving.
After a year and a half of preparing, of hoping,
of delusions, of excitement, the big day has
arrived. One more time we check: the bags,
the tent, the food, the medicine, the camera,
the satellite phone system...one more time
everything is ready.
The time has arrived for encouraging words
that we give each other, now that we need
to face the desert. Now that it is the moment
of truth. Just as we knew: we are here without
an moment of crisis and the crisis arrive
almost always at the first day, we have a
moment of insurmountable joy, the joy of feeling
an equilibrium with our bodies and with our
mind. And then we will be in the desert, which
we know to respect, and it will respect us
and allow us to pass.
We will have the silence, the complete sensation,
the heat, the cold, the noise, the oder and
the aroma. But above all we know that this
is a more beautiful moment, when we can no
longer turn around, when we begin our dream,
when it is totally in our heads that this
new expedition is being realized.
A adventure that we want to tell you about
daily, on the blog, in newspaper articles,
on radio programs and through pictures upon
our return.
And in closing, a thanks for being with us
in this time of preparation, thanks for being
with us in the desert and also thanks for
awaiting our arrival.
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on boarding |
tea time
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Carla and Fabio |
Ready to go |
Cairo sunset |
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10/11/2008
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CHEERS FOR THE DEPARTURE |
THE TEAM READY FOR DEPARTURE |
THE GIFT OF ORIANA |
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