The mornings, however, are still quiet and I can let Manny romp down the beach before the sunbathers arrive. One morning recently, I raced down to the rocks by the campground to watch three dolphins swim by. I had spotted them out our window and threw on shoes, grabbed Manny and arrived just in time to see them surface only a few feet away in perfectly glassy seas. It was a truly magical moment that I unfortunately did not capture on film! I have had a few other recent very close encounters with nature here amidst all the hustle and bustle. While working on the computer one afternoon, I heard a thump and went out into the living room to find a small black and yellow sparrow lying on the floor which had flown right into our front window. I grabbed a towel and tossed it over him in order to pick him up and take him outside, but he flew into the window again. This time, no towel was needed and I picked him up with my bare hands and carried him out into a shady spot in the yard, worried that I had scared him to death. I waited and watched, keeping an expectant Manny inside so that he would have a bit of peace to recover. And, sure enough, moments later, he flew off and hasn’t been seen since. Later the same week, I was down at the beach and saw a young crow with wet feathers standing on a rock and heard his mother squawking above. Thinking I would
try the same technique, though concerned about his large size, I covered him with my beach towel and waded with him back to shore. Though not injured, he was absolutely calm and let me touch his black shiny feathers during my inspection. As I had to return to our house, another woman on the beach promised to watch him. I later found out he had flown off safely. Similarly, we have enjoyed listening to our resident blackbird sing his heart out on the peak of the house in front of ours while watching from our porch as the sun slowly sets (at nearly 9:30 now) over the fort on Punta Sardegna. He often out-sings the pop music which is broadcast on the radio of the campground bar next door and he seems to have an endless repertoire.There is a wonderful festive atmosphere to summer here, as the people who have come are all on vacation and a bit of their gleeful freedom is bound to rub off on us year-rounders who supposedly have jobs to attend to during the day. In talking with a few of them, we have produced much consternation over the fact that Chad goes to work for the whole day five days a week and doesn’t come home for lunch! “Peccato,” they say, meaning "too bad". Recently, we have had neighbors from Parma who, each evening, meet Manny at our gate with a fresh crosta di formaggio leftover from the cheese they’ve eaten with lunch, and another neighbor from Naples who invited us over to try his freshly-baked Torta Coprese, a chocolate and almond cake. He then offered to teach us how to make it. “Free cooking lessons, it only costs a smile,” he told us. We have become the collective grandchildren of our complex and have been treated with amazing warmth and hospitality.
In fact, several weeks ago, we tried to include our neighbors in a party we had for some friends leaving here, but they laughed and said they were too old, “Come i nonni,” they said, meaning they were like our grandparents. In preparation for the grande festa, we embarked on an expedition to collect cozze (mussels) off the barrier around the ship at Santo Stefano. They grow in 
massive clumps there and someone must periodically “clean” them (and then eat them). So, with snorkels and a floating cooler, we collected nearly 10 kg of mussels, ripping them off in clumps with our hands and paint scrapers. Nearly three weeks later, my hands are still healing from the many wounds incurred (and we are still eating leftover frozen cozze!). The other main dish for the evening was Jamaican Jerk Chicken, grilled by Chad. Our landlord and his wife, who joined us for a bit of the party, bearing homemade wine and a delicious pear torte, raved over the unusual flavors and begged us for the recipe. So, this week, armed with a show and tell of all of the particular spices and ingredients, we joined him for a cookout at his house where we had Sardegnan grilled pancetta and salsiccia and a small demonstration of how to prepare Jerk Chicken. It is sometimes easier to communicate via food than through language.
In addition to cozze collecting, I recently went on a clam hunt at some nearby mudflats with my friend, Naomi, in an attempt to provide dinner for that evening. We found many more crabs scuttling over the seemingly empty clam holes and children chasing them than we found actual clams. But, with about 30 of the tiny arselle (of which I collected a grand total of 8), we returned home and supplemented them with store-bought clams for a delicious pasta on the terrazza. Naomi and her husband had invited me to dinner the week before when Chad was in London. On another night while he was away, I decided to have a few Italian friends over for an impromptu dinner of Thai curry (take a look at one of the previous blog entries to read about buying the ingredients). I invited Paola, a marine biologist, and Massimo, a guide for the Parco National de la Maddalena, to try curry, which is not to be found in Sardegna. As they took their first bite, I saw the color rise in their cheeks and watched them down their glasses of water. I had forgotten that the Sardegnan palate does not include particularly spicy food. Nonetheless, they politely cleaned their plates and claimed to have enjoyed it, though it was “un po piccante.”
One expedition we took this month was to the Golfo Orosei, on the east coast of the island. We had friends visiting from San Diego, so we decided to go exploring with them. Arriving at the agriturismo where we were staying, we saw the proprietor butchering a freshly-slaughtered lamb, which we quickly realized would be our supper. The owners were wonderful people who ran a neat inn with only four rooms and made a superb dinner with the lamb, homemade ravioli with fresh ricotta, and house wine from the fall harvest. We enjoyed this immensely, as we had undertaken quite a long hike in th
e afternoon from one beach to the next. The path ran along the cliff tops above dramatic limestone caves at the water level, which we explored upon our arrival at the second beach. After contemplating hitch-hiking on the tourist boat heading back, we instead bucked up after a refreshing swim and repeated the hour-long hike back to the car. Needless to say, we slept very well after our adventures and a big meal! In the morning, much refreshed, we had a breakfast of fresh yogurt and bread with homemade butter and honey from the farm's bees and departed with a promise to return soon to see more of the area.
Another interesting cultural event we attended recently was a polo match in nearby Baia Sardinia. Somehow acquiring VIP passes by simply showing up and acting as if we were supposed to get
them, we were able to rub elbows with the elegantly dressed spectators in the stands and enjoy a nice view of the games. It was an excellent people-watching opportunity, though we didn’t manage to befriend any of them well enough to be invited into their luxury boxes, all of which were stocked with champagne and lovely looking antipasti. Unfortunately, the tournament was cut a bit short by a torrential downpour, so we fled into the nearby restaurant for several cafés until we got the courage up to dash out to the car and head home.
Closer to home, we have finally gotten back under the water and have started diving here. After a quick refresher, Chad was diving
again for the first time in 15 years. It’s not a bad place to start again where the water is so clear that you can’t tell how deep it is and there is bright light down to nearly 100 feet below the surface. Half the fun of diving has been exploring the islands in a gommone (the small motorboats used around here). Underwater, we have seen wonderful sea life including the famous red corals of the area, eels, lobsters, octopus, and an amazing number and variety of fish. It is a whole new dimension to the environment here and we are looking forward to seeing much more of it over the summer and into the fall.
In indoor life, Chad has been keeping busy at work, but not too busy to return for an evening swim before dinner and for weekend expeditions. And, I am teaching a biology course online for students from places as far away as Turkey, Germany, and even a few stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been very interesting to read about their experiences and teaching online has allowed me plenty of time to play outside here and to get to know our new summer neighbors. We are very much looking forward to another month here and also to our upcoming August return to the States, which will be our first trip back since our arrival here.
massive clumps there and someone must periodically “clean” them (and then eat them). So, with snorkels and a floating cooler, we collected nearly 10 kg of mussels, ripping them off in clumps with our hands and paint scrapers. Nearly three weeks later, my hands are still healing from the many wounds incurred (and we are still eating leftover frozen cozze!). The other main dish for the evening was Jamaican Jerk Chicken, grilled by Chad. Our landlord and his wife, who joined us for a bit of the party, bearing homemade wine and a delicious pear torte, raved over the unusual flavors and begged us for the recipe. So, this week, armed with a show and tell of all of the particular spices and ingredients, we joined him for a cookout at his house where we had Sardegnan grilled pancetta and salsiccia and a small demonstration of how to prepare Jerk Chicken. It is sometimes easier to communicate via food than through language.In addition to cozze collecting, I recently went on a clam hunt at some nearby mudflats with my friend, Naomi, in an attempt to provide dinner for that evening. We found many more crabs scuttling over the seemingly empty clam holes and children chasing them than we found actual clams. But, with about 30 of the tiny arselle (of which I collected a grand total of 8), we returned home and supplemented them with store-bought clams for a delicious pasta on the terrazza. Naomi and her husband had invited me to dinner the week before when Chad was in London. On another night while he was away, I decided to have a few Italian friends over for an impromptu dinner of Thai curry (take a look at one of the previous blog entries to read about buying the ingredients). I invited Paola, a marine biologist, and Massimo, a guide for the Parco National de la Maddalena, to try curry, which is not to be found in Sardegna. As they took their first bite, I saw the color rise in their cheeks and watched them down their glasses of water. I had forgotten that the Sardegnan palate does not include particularly spicy food. Nonetheless, they politely cleaned their plates and claimed to have enjoyed it, though it was “un po piccante.”
One expedition we took this month was to the Golfo Orosei, on the east coast of the island. We had friends visiting from San Diego, so we decided to go exploring with them. Arriving at the agriturismo where we were staying, we saw the proprietor butchering a freshly-slaughtered lamb, which we quickly realized would be our supper. The owners were wonderful people who ran a neat inn with only four rooms and made a superb dinner with the lamb, homemade ravioli with fresh ricotta, and house wine from the fall harvest. We enjoyed this immensely, as we had undertaken quite a long hike in th
e afternoon from one beach to the next. The path ran along the cliff tops above dramatic limestone caves at the water level, which we explored upon our arrival at the second beach. After contemplating hitch-hiking on the tourist boat heading back, we instead bucked up after a refreshing swim and repeated the hour-long hike back to the car. Needless to say, we slept very well after our adventures and a big meal! In the morning, much refreshed, we had a breakfast of fresh yogurt and bread with homemade butter and honey from the farm's bees and departed with a promise to return soon to see more of the area.Another interesting cultural event we attended recently was a polo match in nearby Baia Sardinia. Somehow acquiring VIP passes by simply showing up and acting as if we were supposed to get
them, we were able to rub elbows with the elegantly dressed spectators in the stands and enjoy a nice view of the games. It was an excellent people-watching opportunity, though we didn’t manage to befriend any of them well enough to be invited into their luxury boxes, all of which were stocked with champagne and lovely looking antipasti. Unfortunately, the tournament was cut a bit short by a torrential downpour, so we fled into the nearby restaurant for several cafés until we got the courage up to dash out to the car and head home.Closer to home, we have finally gotten back under the water and have started diving here. After a quick refresher, Chad was diving
again for the first time in 15 years. It’s not a bad place to start again where the water is so clear that you can’t tell how deep it is and there is bright light down to nearly 100 feet below the surface. Half the fun of diving has been exploring the islands in a gommone (the small motorboats used around here). Underwater, we have seen wonderful sea life including the famous red corals of the area, eels, lobsters, octopus, and an amazing number and variety of fish. It is a whole new dimension to the environment here and we are looking forward to seeing much more of it over the summer and into the fall.In indoor life, Chad has been keeping busy at work, but not too busy to return for an evening swim before dinner and for weekend expeditions. And, I am teaching a biology course online for students from places as far away as Turkey, Germany, and even a few stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been very interesting to read about their experiences and teaching online has allowed me plenty of time to play outside here and to get to know our new summer neighbors. We are very much looking forward to another month here and also to our upcoming August return to the States, which will be our first trip back since our arrival here.
