10 October 2006

This will, perhaps, be a brief travelogue, as it is getting later into the evening and it has been a long day here. But, I thought I’d do a recounting of a single day. There isn’t really a typical day, but several elements of routine have developed, making it feel more like we are settled here. I started off the day with a walk along the path to the beach with Manny, which I do nearly every morning before breakfast. It is always a treat to see the early morning sun peak up over the ridge and light up the town of La Maddalena around the bend. This morning’s was a pre-dawn walk, as I was heading off to catch the 8am water taxi to Santo Stefano, where the Navy ship is based. So, it was darker than normal at the outset, but soon a beautiful light bathed everything around, the cormorants were doing their usual morning fishing in the shallows and Manny was, once again, contemplating going in after them, but quickly retreated.

With a brief stop at home to put a small cappuccino in my large, American-sized coffee mug, using my revived skills as a barista and our hand-me-down cappuccino machine, I headed to the port to catch the water taxi. Dawn was still just breaking and, as the water taxi pulled away, I spotted splashing in the water, only to notice that there were dolphins alongside the boat, a rare sighting around here. I went out to Santo Stefano (dubbed "the site" because it is where the ship is kept) to meet with a few people who work in the Navy's Environmental Department in order to learn both about the native plants and animals and about the Navy’s environmental plans for closure of the base here.

After returning home, having lunch on the porch, and doing a bit of reading and work for my class, I went for a run down the beach and up the path to Punta Sardegna, followed by a brief plunge in the still-warm water. Later in the day, one of the Environmental Officers called me to meet him, his wife and some friends at Guido’s, a cafe at the port, for an end of the day drink and to watch all the people coming and going from the ferries. Several hours later, in true Italian fashion, I wandered down the railroad tracks back to our house, Manny in tow, and watched the sunset over Punta Sardegna before Chad returned home for dinner. Now, I am sitting in our living room looking out at the lights across the way, listening to music on our stereo, which is hooked up via transformer to the mostly reliable Italian electrical system, and thinking of how much our lives have changed in the last couple of months, yet how many things already feel familiar.

3 October 2006

I am sitting on our porch looking out over the tip of La Maddalena towards the island of Spargi and then on towards Corsica, which you can barely see the top of through the warm afternoon haze. I just finished a lunch of leftover homemade mushroom lasagna from a Sangria party we went to this weekend and a fresh persimmon (locally called kaki) picked from a tree in our yard. We have been enjoying sunsets from the porch and had our first dinner cooked on the grill over the weekend. Our house is in a complex of condiminiums that are right on the water and are about a ten minute walk from town and the ferry landing either along a lovely waterfront path (and a patch of pines that offer a rare and welcome shady spot) or through town along the railroad tracks. On Sunday, we met the groundskeeper here, Pietro, who told us that we are the only year-round residents, so it promises to be quite quiet. However, with our proximity to shops and beaches, we will have our pick of being social or taking refuge in our cozy place against the much-tauted winter winds.

Speaking of the winds, it is an unusually calm day here (molto tranquillo) and has been for the last several days, giving us an opportunity to use our long neglected kayaks. On Saturday and Sunday, we explored the coves both west and east of our house and found hidden spots to swim and picnic. The coastline is dramatic with wind-carved granite rocks of all sort of strange forms, including a bear after which Capo d’Orso (just the other side of town from us) is named. We have found the beaches full of treasures - thousands of mini shells nestled among the large grains of rocky granitic sand, many of which we have collected to decorate our seaside abode.

It has been a week since our household shipment arrived and we have tucked everything away in the many storage nooks in our house, and have hung the art of our various friends and family on the walls. While, at first, the arrival of our shipment was a bit more daunting than exciting, now that we have the mountains of boxes and packing paper gone and things put away, it is nice to be surrounded by familiar things.

Moving has been the greatest occupier of our time lately, but we have also spent some time getting to know the town of Palau, where we now live. I continue to be amazed at how patient the Italians are with my poor language skills. I have now met several shop owners who have taken the time to help me find something and then have introduced themselves and wished me a buona giornata (good day). I am hoping that these are the places that will stay open year-round, as we have already seen many places close for the season (including a wonderful gelateria, much to our dismay). It is nice, though, to be able to walk through town and frequent the local shops and restaurants without the crowds. The tourists that are here now are mainly English and German. They are somehow able to easily recognize that I am not an Italian and are eager to strike up a conversation with someone who speaks English. We feel so utterly spoiled by this place, so please please use us as an excuse to get here.