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Thoughts and threads of passion and experience that have woven the fabric I call my life. Sharing experiences, memories and ideas so that they are out in the world for you to find when the time is right.
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A view of the beautiful blues of the Adriatic Sea from Otranto, Italy.
Next morning we managed to catch the alarm and headed to the beach to try and capture the sunrise. I read on a quote that you should try to catch at least one sunrise a year, so I guess we tried, but it really wasn't much of one. There were very big clouds to the east, and they blocked what would likely have been a magnificent show. It was very cool out along the water, I was very glad that Cecil thought to bring a towel. We joked about 'City of Angels' as we sat there waiting for the day to begin, realizing neither of us can remember if the angels went to the water for sunrise or sunset, so I guess we'll have to take the time to watch i once again. We headed back to the apartment after about an hour, had our coffee and decided it really was too early to get going, so went back for a nap for an hour or so prior heading back to the beach. On the beach there were a lot less people, but the lifeguard on duty was very determined that we sit in assigned seating. The wind was much stronger and although I didn't attempt to tackle the waves at all, Cec strode out into them after a while. However even he found they were too strong for him! We enjoyed an hour or two of just soaking up the sun, rare for either of us. While sitting there I did a bit of a meditation, enjoying how the rhythm of the waves moves along with my own breath. What kept surfacing for me was my need to continue clarifying my own passions, and building my life around those. I'd recorded them on my iphone, and made a commitment to myself to revisit where I'd left off and expand with my markers, building upon the passionate life I already get to enjoy. I promised myself that I'd walk the talk more fully with each new day. They were clearer for me and I knew we are well on our way moving in the right direction. After an hour of reading Mitch Albom's 'Time Keeper', we headed for a long walk down the beach in search of a vendor that might be still open to serve lunch. It was a long walk to find one, as most of this area was closing down after the summer season. It was amazing to us that so much of what we'd enjoyed is a season that only lasts from May until the end of September, yet the weather was still so gorgeous here, and the sea so warm. The question kept rising, what do people do for the other 7 or 8 months of the year when all of these resorts are closed down? The one we found had a limited menu, but we were able enjoy a Corona, a white wine, some freshly made Bruschetta and Cecil had a salmon panini that he said was one of the tastiest meals yet. It was a lovely view from the deck and we enjoyed the moment, closely watched over by a server who looked all the world like my friend Keith did when I first met him. Very uncanny! After a while, we made our way back to our own resort,and decided it was a good time to get out of the sun for a while. We remain two of the whitest species on the beach, but I know that spending more time there would only take me from white to red, not to the beautiful bronze that is displayed by so many others on the beach. It's a funny place here. Anything and everything goes as far as who wears what. I am beyond a doubt the most overdressed person along the stretch of sand, and though I look at so many around me knowing that if they can wear those small two piece outfits, I should be able to as well now, I have no desire to even try. My mother obviously raised me to be much too modest. I often do wish I were braver.
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A gorgeous day in Otranto, on the beach soaking in the beauty of the Adriatic Sea.
As the sun peaked in through the slats of the doorway, it was pretty clear we'd missed sunrise. The alarm was set, but the volume on my cell was turned all the way off so we missed hearing it, which was really disappointing as we really wanted to go catch it. Tomorrow. After coffee and figuring out the hot water (everything is different it seems), we headed over to the beach for the morning. The first hour or so was very relaxing. The wind was brisk, but the weather was +25, so it still felt warm. I stayed on a chair and enjoyed my book while Cecil went out and wrestled with the waves for the early part of the day. 
Cecil making his way out into the sea against the crashing waves!
It wasn't long before the privacy and enjoyment of the surf was interrupted by the men who paced the beach selling their wares. I got bamboozled into buying 5 bracelets and a ring before the morning was up, and although I made the final decision to purchase, I'm a little miffed at the constant intrusion of privacy that led up to that. Tomorrow I will be tougher. We stayed on the beach until noon, then headed back to our apartment to dress for lunch, thinking we'd go to Alimini 1, where they have a restaurant. When we found that it was closed, we decided to carry on to the Universal restaurant down the road instead. At first we could find no one there that spoke any English, so we wrestled with our translation book until we could figure out what to eat. I must have done something right, as I had the best meal I've had since arriving! After lunch, we continued our search for a mini mart to buy a few groceries. Otranto was completely shut down as was Maglie, so we finally ended up finding a mall in Lecce that was open. Not only did we find beer, wine and groceries, I also found a camera connector for the ipad, which left me very excited to look at some of the pics I'd taken! 
Waves of the sea crashing against the ancient seawall in Otranto, Italy.
We left the mall thinking it would be a fairly easy drive home, but somehow we were confused about where exactly we'd ended up, and when we finally arrived back at home it was almost 7pm, actually coming back into Otranto from the south of all things! Even with the GPS we were confused! As we finally arrived in Otranto it was obvious there was something exciting happening in town but we were too tired to explore it. We made our way home for a dinner of dried bread and cheese, took a couple of shots of the sunset, and settled into the apartment with our wine and beer to relax for the evening and get over the busy traveling day. 
Ruins on an island along the coastal highway running south of Maratea.
The morning started out about 7:30 when someone's car alarm went off, continuing for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality it might only have been a few minutes. Cecil was excited to get on his way, as he often is when traveling, and had us all packed up to go before 8:30. I am much slower, but pushed to finish my coffee and notes and get ready so he didn't leave without me! It was a much longer day than we'd anticipated. We left Maratea around 9am, and still didn't arrive in Ontranto until close to 6pm. The day was great though! Although there was lots of driving, there were also lots of sights to see. We headed down the coastline to the south, then cut across the mountains, and made our way to the gulf. 
Beautiful blue waters along the coast at Amendolara, Italy.
The water on the gulf was amazing, the blues and turquoise colors, melding together in the most brilliant shades! The mountains in the background only added to the beauty. We stopped at a little town just past Sabari, and had a drink by the water. We walked the beach for a bit, with the intent of stopping for a lunch of leftovers, but as we drove along, we headed away from the water. The idea of stopping to eat inland seemed a waste with so much beautiful scenery behind us. We continued on instead, seeing more agricultural land than we could imagine. 
Some of the miles and miles of fig trees along our travels.
Taranto was a vast seaport, but the smell in the area was quite putrid to those of us who are accustomed to the acres and acres of open farmland that we are usually surrounded by. I don't know if it was the oil refinery or the steel works. The seaport colors were just as beautiful, but the industry took away from it all somehow. We continued to meander along until Lecce, where we ventured off the busier roads finding our way to San Caldalto. Once there, it didn't take too long before we decided that rather than stop there, we might as well make our way down to Otranto. 
Our first Otranto sunset upon arriving at Serra degli Alimini 1
The last leg of the journey was a cacophony of frustration, as the RCI address and directions left us in the center of Otranto, with no resort in sight. We finally pulled off and went into a small cafe where fortunately a young lady there spoke enough English to help us to know that the resort was about 10 kms back. We finally found our way, and gratefully, they let us check in one day early, as things are slow. We checked into a cute little two bedroom apartment, with no living room, but that was okay. It was actually quite a bit nicer than the Maratea accommodations, although parking is more challenging. Wifi was free, power included, there were lots of dishes. Best of all we were only 100 meters from the sea. After check-in we checked out the sunset at the beach enjoying the view across the Adriatic, and imagining the sites of Greece across the water. Later, after a couple of drinks at the little bar we called it a night. It was an early one, but after a long day we headed to bed with full intentions of getting up to enjoy the sunrise in the morning. 
Cecil soaking up the sun on the black sands of Maratea.
We decided that as it was our last day at Maratea, we should head down to the beach. It was an amazing hot day, and the wind was gone. We headed down a little after 10, and this time got off at the first beach, know as Black Beach...as the sand is completely black from the volcanic ash/stones that make up this part of the Tyrannean Sea. Just as we were getting down to the beach, a young lady who had followed us down started talking to us in excellent English. Her name is Patrizia, from Rome, who is staying at an apartment at the resort that her dad owns. She was a wonderful conversationalist, and very helpful in understanding things about the language and culture we are uncertain of. We had hoped to meet up with her again to give her our card, as she had some wonderful ideas for language learning for our retreat, but sadly it was not to be! A beautiful lady! 
Cecil loving the sea...me not so much, so better just to take pictures :)
We ventured into the sea, Cecil as always braver than me. As I got out to my hips, a big wave came in and swept me off my feet, rolling me around in the salty water. I panicked, thinking only of my glasses after my adventure at Lake of the Woods in June, and in grabbing and holding on to them, I could not get my footing before another, then another wave came and rolled me around. Cecil almost drowned out where he was, as he was laughing so hard, watching my butt end and legs rise up then disappear again in the graceful manner to which we are accustomed to seeing me! After the 3rd roll around in the water, I got to my feet and decided that maybe it was better to stay out. It later occured to me that I could have taken my glasses off and left them on the beach with my new 'Maratea' towel....next time. Some days I am just a little slower! We went back and laid in the sun until early afternoon, then headed to catch the last bus back up before they shut down for the siesta. At our apartment I took a much needed shower to wash off the sand and leaves that were pasted all over me. I had stones dropping out of places no stone should hide, and realized how the water had truly rolled me around on the beach. We still laugh each time we think of it, as I'm sure the other vacationers watching do...I do leave an impression! 
My enjoying capturing our last sunset at Maratea. Cecil capturing me.
When we finally headed down for supper, 'Peter' the waiter/manager who has been so amazing all week served us for our last meal there. We have always found him to be wonderful at explaining dishes, customs and words, and have been very luck to have had him here for the duration of our stay. Later, we headed down to the stage to take in the entertainment provided, which we'd missed out on all week. It started with the kids being led in dance routines, as we'd seen earlier in the week. After that the young people that lead the afternoon dance classes performed a series of skits and songs for about an hour and a half. They must have been very funny...not understanding the language, we missed out on the storyline and the humor, but the crowd around us was laughing, and many of the children were doubled over..so I think much of the humour was directed to them! We returned to our room and called it a night about midnight, knowing that today will be a long day of travel heading on to Otranto...but excited for the next leg of our jouney! 
Staircase leading up from our outdoor seating at Rossofermo Wine Bar...wonder where it leads...
Upon reaching Maratea, we grabbed the chance to go back to Rossofermo Wine Bar, the little side street wine cafe, for another taste of last night's Chardonnay as well as the gourmet beer that Cecil enjoyed so much with Keith. We decided to have our supper there, a selection of chewy salamis (which was really various dried meats, bacon and veal) with cheese, and a Capri salad. The meal wasn't our the best, but the location, ambiance and company was unsurpassed. 
The making of a perfect memory!
Sitting there, we both felt that we were sitting in a movie production of our life's most amazing moments, perched on the little red pillows, with the shaky wooden tables before us. Spending time talking with Grandpa Banana, who is a musician who has committed himself to returning to Italy twice a year, for the rest of his life and learning all he needs to to be able to do that. He has also played at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, so he was certainly familiar with our corner of the world! He and his wife were from San Fransisco. Looking up the stairs that led to only imagined possibilities, then down the streets to the colorful rows of Italian dreams, all was perfect. Before leaving town we found the perfect beach towels that would serve both our hopes for more hours enjoying sand and sun, as well as something that will always take us back to this place....and a couple of lovely, Italian cotton tunics that put my spirit right back in the center of Maratea every time I put them on. Great way to end a very busy and eventful day...that neither of us will ever forget! The icing on the cake, was the full Italian moon shining down on us as we returned to our lodging. The makings of one perfect memory! 
Long live the King! Elvis painting on side of house in Belsita, Italy
After another rainy night, we headed out for a tour with with Joe and Cyndy, folks we'd met from Iowa, to explore Joe's heritage. It was to be an adventure to find his roots in Belsita, Italy, to the south east of where we're staying and the town where his Grandmother had immigrated from. The GPS systems here seem to continually be just far enough off that you miss 80% of the turns that need to be made to get where you're going, and today was no exception, so a ride that should have taken an hour and a half ended up taking almost 3. But, alas, we eventually did reach our destination, bouncing along in an older, yellow Fiat convertible, that has definitely seen better days. Although Joe said it wasn't all that important to him to make this trek back to trace his heritage, the excitement on his face and in his voice at finding the town that his grandmother was raised in told a different story. Being as involved in Ancestry as I am, I can only imagine what it meant to him to pull into that little town and see the sites that were relayed to him as the cornerstones of the family history of grandmother's birth and upbringing. As we piled out of the little yellow convertible, we found ourselves in what we imagined a little Italian village to be. No on understood our questions, as we asked of the where-about of the one cousin that Joe knew still lived there, although we knew by the huge painting of Elvis on the side of the building that we'd reached the right place. Four bewildered gentlemen looked back and forth to each other and again at us, understanding none of our English, just as we understood none of their Italian. Finally one of the men, who drew on one of the strong, pungent cigarettes that are so common to the area, nodded his head and pointed to behind the building saying 'Anglisia...' motioning to us to follow him. Out back, under a red and white sun umbrella, enjoying a 'Peroni' and waving a cigarette, was the local English Speaker, who just happened to be from Toronto Canada, enjoying his annual holiday in his home town. As we talked, he warmed to us, and let us know that cousin Tony was in Germany at his daughters, and we'd missed him. He told us that the man that had led us to him was going to be travelling to join Tony in a few days, as they enjoyed their card games together. This information allowed our friends to provide a note and a small gift from them, with their regrets for having missed him. As we continued our conversation with the 'Torontonian' we thought how ironic it was that we traveled across the world to have a man from one province away translate all we needed to know about this never met cousin. He shared that he came here every year for a couple of months in the house he owned, and how he could not live here as it was too expensive. A point that still has us baffled, as much of what we'd experienced seemed cheaper than home. After a beer at the local watering hole, and a red wine from a beer capped bottle that led me to believe that it was the product from one of the owners own grape vineyard, we continued our travels. We tried desperately to find the local cemetery, around back streets and farm roads, where grapes hung heavy, and olive trees abounded. A lone cow grazed in one yard, and in another a pen filled with laying hens guarded by anxious dogs let everyone know that the lost 'touristo's were there. We never did find the cemetery, and left town, just a little disappointed, but still happy to have found the place and seen what we had. We headed back to the crossroads where we had a late lunch at 'Oklahoma bar and grill'. It was very difficult to figure out our luncheon options, with us speaking no Italian, and the staff there speaking little English, but eventually we ended up having a very satisfying lunch that included a starter of tomatoes/toast and potatoes, pasta dishes, one of tomatoes/basil and pasta, the other of pasta, beans and bacon...then at the end of our meal, two large tomate and Mozza salads. With the beer and wine, the bill still only came to 21 Euro. There was a rush to get the rental back to Maratea by 6pm, so we GPSed our way to the coast highway of SS18, that allowed us to see the beautiful colors of the Thyreanian sea, all the way up from Paola to Maratea, with only a stop or two to stretch our legs along the way.  View from the top, overlooking Maratea Left the residence 'early to go to the 'Caves' for a tour. It was a little disappointing as Daniella from EuroTours had told me we could take pictures. We arrived and of course we could not. It was 20 Euro for a tour that was to be 90 minutes, and we were done in 70, so that was a bit of a rip off as well, as much of the time was just spent backtracking over places that we'd seen already. Live and learn. It was all okay but I think the caves in Cuba were more interesting to be honest. Outside the caves, we spent time at the shops, and had fresh figs for the first time. They were delicious, as were the fresh grapes being sold by a local vendor who also had her own olive oil and homemade wine on hand. Upon returning back to the residence we had lunch and an afternoon siesta to get ready to go on the evening tour of Maratea. It started out at the Christ the Redeemer church on top of the mountain. What a trail up that was, it leaves you white knuckled going up there, but oh my goodness what a view! We rode up with 3 older Italian people, Carla, Maria and Mario, who all spoke enough English to help translate for us with the driver. They were wonderful! After the top of the mountain, we headed down to Port o'Maratea which was beautiful, then into the town square for an hour or so. In the town I found a few skirts at "Edourdo's" shop, then we bought some wine for later this week. Before leaving town, we ran into Keith and Helma the couple from Austalia, who were having a drink on a side street, which was such a cool little corner, with pillows on the cement and the ambiance of the region. It was perfect! It was exactly what my dream of Italy was, captured in that little corner off the street. We returned to have our dinner here at the residence, this time sampling the pizza. All was good, nothing that really left an impression, but all was fine. Back at the apartment, Cecil enjoyed his homemade wine from the lady at the Caves, I enjoyed a calm, beautiful evening. Life is very lovely, we are blessed!  The Tyrrhenian Sea viewed from Club Residence Pianeta, Maratea After a good nights sleep, a 9am rise. In our shopping the night before, I thought I had bought vanilla yogurt for breakfast, but turns out to be vanilla pudding. Definitely should have learned more Italian, but a tasty start to the day. As we enjoyed the morning sun with olives, cheese and coffee on the patio,Cec noticed a little collection of lizards of some sort that seem to reside in the plant boxes on the patio. Not exactly sure what they were called, but they sure move in a hurry. If he hadn't noticed them before I did, I sure they'd have given me a heart attack! Before 10am it was already very, very hot out. I didn't expect such heat...now looking back, I wonder to myself what is was that I did expect! Our Sunday was a lazy day. We headed down to the travel booth about 11 and found a couple of options of tours to take, as well as possible options for a rental car that would get us to Otranto the following week. After figuring out a few things, we grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and planned to go to the beach. Beer in the Resort mini-mart is 80cents, suntan lotion is 13.00 euros...so not everything is reasonable! We took our expensive lotion and our water and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus that takes you down to the beaches. After sitting on the benches for about 15 minutes, we got thinking that it was time for the drivers' lunch break, so we walked back to our apartment for lunch...and to look at the schedule that informed us that the lunch break doesn't happen until well after 1, so after gobbling down our olives and cheese we headed back to the bus stop. We caught the 12:30 that took us down the windiest, steepest trail I have ever ridden on. The view was amazing, but the look over the edge of the road a little unnerving! The first stop at the bottom, the man seated across from us got up and off the bus, so I jumped up and followed, Cec jumped up and followed me... unfortunately, we were not at the beach, as we were the only two that jumped off at the little bar/restaurant that the two trails leading up from the beach meet at. So, what else, but to have a beer, and an ice cappuccino and wait for the next bus. When it came, we hopped on, only to find out it went about 20 feet then turned around and headed back up the hill to the resort, so I guess were were very close to where we needed to be, but just didn't know it. We decided to wait until the next day to venture down again. After returning, we had a couple of drinks at the bar then we headed up to the room for a siesta, that lasted almost 3 hours. I can't believe how tired we were, in the afternoon heat it seemed like the sensible thing to do. That evening we made our way back down to the main reception area to do a little more research on getting a cab to take us into town to do some exploring. Waiting for the restaurant to open, we had a great, and very interesting conversation with a couple from Sidney Australia. They have travelled to Italy 3 times now, and had lots of good information on Venice for when we hit there. They had a rental and had done more exploring than us, but seemed as nervous of the other drivers as we were after yesterday's experience! However they confirmed for us that it's possible. We'll see. There was some relief provided in the conversation as they did confirm for us though that we're not the only ones that found having to make our beds a little strange, as well as having to phone the front desk to find out where the cutlery was hidden. No one ever thought that kitchen tools would be stored in the bottom of the fridge I guess! Throughout dinner we were entertained by a young woman who sang just beautifully. Although it was close to the end of the tourist season there, there were still lots of activities going on for visitors. In the morning there was water aerobics going on in the pool, the afternoon offered dance lessons by the restaurant, and in the evening plays and activities going on down in the amphitheater. My only wish was that I'd thought a little more about what the weather would be like, so I'd have been better prepared...for some reason I didn't take any of my sundresses, and very few cool clothes...not sure what I thought the weather might be like...but never thought it would be as warm as it was. But it's all good! |
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