Day 7 A Boat Trip and Dolphins

The sun greeted me when opening the window shutters. The sea below was calm. So calm, the surface looked like a sheet of paper. Not a single tiny wave. Like a big deep lake. Amazing.

Like every morning I spent some moments on the balcony to observe the sea. In spring there is a chance to see dolphins. I have seen them before, and today, I felt, they must be near! But nothing yet. 

Time for boating.!, said Carlo. We had just put 'Ella' to water two days earlier and I haven't seen 'her' yet.  

I picked a few jackets, a blanket and a cashmere scarf and hat I found in the corner of my wardrobe. We are going on a short ride, said Carlo when he saw me with my bursting beach bag. 

Well, the trip was even shorter than that! We had just left the port of Vibo Marina and were heading towards Pizzo, when Angelo suddenly remarked: "We have no more gasoline!" He insisted the tank was at least half full last time... Angelo, when was last time? Could it be possible that they empty the tank for safety reason while the boat is stored during winter?, I was just saying ...

We immediately turned around and luckily made it back to the port. Funny, if it's not the 'Guardia di Finanzia' that stops Angelo and fines him for not having all documents on board, it's the gasoline (or lack of it) that stops him.

Boat trip April 2015

How awesome would it have been to have dolphins swimming along the boat? Maybe another time.

For lunch, our son went home with Angelo to eat with 'nonna' while we were driving back to Pizzo. We were invited by a friend at a restaurant at la marina. We were sitting outside in the sunshine and observing the first brave bathers in the sea. The view of the beach in front of us, and a glass of wine made it a perfect spring day.

Later in the afternoon we needed to meet our kitchen planners in Maida. We spent there a couple of hours, and while it seemed endless, we still managed to decide on 2 kitchen designs! One kitchen is a bit more complicated from the layout this time, as it will be built around and above the vaulted ceiling of a lower stairways.  

While we were out, our son stayed at home. When friends came over and they went together on the balcony, he all in a sudden spotted whales! He told us about a huge water fountain and their fins that came out of the water. Oh, wow, I couldn't believe it, but it happened before that whales were seen in the bay. The kids were talking 'balena' (whales) - but when I talked to the mum, she clarified they were seeing two 'delfini' (dolphins). Haha! - I knew it! I knew they were near. Wild life spotting from our balcony!

A day later Dolphins were spotted in Tropea (I saw a photo on FB and shared it, but my son insisted that "his" dolphins were way bigger!). I was told that there will be more dolphins and tuna in the Tyrrhenian Sea this year due to the appearance of black algae (very yummy for them) after recent volcanic activities.

This was our last day in Pizzo. And we are quite happy with what we achieved to decide during that week of a short holiday. 

For our last dinner we invited the grandparents and while sitting outside in the restaurant in the piazza (first time it was not too cold for sitting outside), a couple of friends we haven't seen yet passed by. I called their name and waved them over to our table, and since they had no plans yet, they joined. How lucky we were. Such a lovely and mild evening. If only we would not have to pack yet. 

Pizzo in April

"Questo mare e pieno di voci e questo cielo e pieno di visioni"

 - Pizzo Marina

We had a wonderful time in Pizzo this April. The first days, it was rainy and cold, and when the wind blows it feels even much colder. But after a few days the sun came out and spring was back. Without wind it then feels even warmer! We enjoyed lovely 20 degrees and up.

Everyday we saw people at the beach, even locals were sunbathing, and of course the usual crazy tourists from the Northern Europe who jump fearless in the beautiful clear turquoise but ice cold sea. Our son was one of them. With lots of aaah and iiihh screams he bravely swam at Pizzo Marina and even at La Seggiola, where the water was cleaner than ever without the usual little fishing boats around.

We enjoyed relaxing days in Pizzo, cleaning and ventilating the house, eating at la Nonna's house, trying the first

tartufo

ice cream of the season, inviting friends for dinner, reading books, spending a great time with visitors from Germany, going on little excursions, opening the boating season, buying local olive oil, making new friends, and participating in the Holy Week's Easter Processions.

We also went fishing, but the kids realised that they don't want to kill any of the caught fishes. We had to liberate the poor creatures (to my content) or the children would not touch any cooked or grilled fish at dinner. :-)

rainy April days in Pizzo

harbour project is still on ice ...

Spring in Calabria with little yellow flowers and olive trees

brave kids swimming at la Seggiola and Pizzo Marina

a reading session in the warm sun - warmer than inside the house!

a morning walk to the

commune

and stunning view of Pizzo from above

discovering a new great little restaurant in piazza: Il Cappero Rosso

best pizza in town at Il Cappero Rosso (photo: "Pizza Nera")

Beneditione

on Palm Sunday in piazza

most impressive the

'Affrundata

procession on Holy Thursday night from Dome San Giorgio to Chiesa San Sebastiano in Pizzo, centro storico

bye bye Calabria - with window seats on the left we spotted Capri and Ischia and Ostia antica near Rome. On a clear day, the vulcanos Stromboli and Etna (Sicily) can be seen as well.

During our stay in Pizzo, I posted on

our Facebook page

some more photos and videos. Check it out if you like. - One more month and we will be back in town! A presto!

Pizzo Calabro - Spring Impressions

Old train station in Pizzo.





Since yesterday my parents are in Calabria for the first time. And they saw Pizzo and the house for the first time. I hope they like it.

Unfortunately the weather is not very spring like. It is rainy and fresh... I hope they will get some sunshine the next days, because everything looks so much friendlier when the sun shines on it!

It is not that the house and the location need to please my parents, but I would like to hear that they will come again - when the house is ready and the weather warmer.

Update from the Project

Hello again.
Me too, I have been waiting for a new post.
But I was not in the mood.
The last 10 days were about payments and money transfers and increasing workmen prices that need to be discussed. The financial things really bring me down, back to reality. The project is so romantic and fascinating - until it comes to the payday. Yes, we run out of money - and in order to continue and to pay open invoices, I needed to transfer some of my 'pension fund' (what reminded me of my blogger friend's situation last year in Marrakesh). Of course, nobody gets a free renovation. Even if you do it yourself, you need to buy material and equipment.
I am not going to lament any further. But I wanted to mention it because some people apparently tend to think that we are a cash cow or crazy rich people.
We are not.

Now, it is time to post some nice impressions from the project.
This morning I got another beautiful picture via email from Angelo. It is 'our' wild fig bush growing near the fence over the abyss. We will have some figs to harvest this year.



This is our garden (above) with the growing lemon tree on the right. We got some new plants. Not in the garden but on the 3 square meters behind the fence. It is still our property but too close and too dangerously hanging over the abyss to be part of the garden.

There is the long awaited Bougainvillea plant with beautiful fuchsia blossoms. There are one or two Bird of Paradise plants. One jasmine plant. Several types of agave and cacti. Also some herbs, thyme and rosemary are planted near the fence to be reached easily when needed for cooking. So far I have not figured out all the new plants.

And now, please guess who was planting all these plants behind the fence over the abyss - it was raining before, and it goes down 54 meters - guess who ??!!

My mother-in-law!

I want to state here that I did not knew about her plan before and that I kind of disapproved it afterwards. What if she would have slip? Although sitting here in China, I would have felt responsible. Thank god she is doing fine. Look at her, our stylish gardener: jacket, jewellery, lipstick...

Una Pianta di Limone and Dolphins

This morning I was greeted by a pianta di limone, a little lemon tree in our garden !!! Bellissima !!! I feel overwhelmed! It is not only a sign of spring, it is a mile stone in our renovation process! We have our first inhabitant: My little lemon tree! This is so sweet of my in-laws ... Grazie Lidia, Grazie Angelo!


This little lemon tree is a special one: "Questa pianta è una qualità di limone che fa sempre fiori e frutti in continuazione. Come vedi dalla foto c'è un limone maturo altri due in fase di crescita e fiori su altri rami." - This plant will always carry fruits and flowers, like in the picture! - And I confirmed via email that my little lemon tree can be planted right there in the corner of our tiny garden.


But this was not the only surprise that Angelo had sent me over night. The other pictures showed dolphins seen from our terrace yesterday! They can be seen quiet often at that time of the year. ... Oh, Calabria sounds like paradise... (I uploaded the pic in small size, because you hardly can recognize anything.)