7-15-10
(Since there is no Internet connection these are back dated and will post when I get a connection)
Today is the day we are leaving Sardina. I’m sad to
go- but also a bit relived because I thought I was never getting out of this
place. I didn’t sleep much last night because of the heat and wonder how am I
going to survive India?
This is all a test to get me ready for that. I talked to my cousin Joe who
lives in Germany
and want to visit him in the near future since I haven’t seen him in about 9 years.
At the same time I can see Germany
as well. We said our goodbyes to my Aunt and cousins. My cousin Anna takes us
to an old friend of my dads that I guess used to be the captain of the yacht
that my dad worked on as the chef when he was in his glory days in Ponza. I
guess rich people would charter a yacht with crew and go to all kind of exotic
places. My dad got to travel all over the world working on these yachts.
We arrive to his place near the port and I’m in love
with the house and property. It’s an eco friendly dwelling with passive solar
lighting, solar heated water tank and solar panels for electricity on the roof.
Also he has an amazing garden that is all organic. I’m told to stay away from
the cute dog because he has a tendency to snap. The cat likes me right away and
follows me around most of the time i'm there. His wife fixes us all some food,
fresh tomatoes (the first of their crop) fresh mozzarella, fresh arugula from
the garden, some cucumbers, local red wine- local cheeses and some other stuff
I cant recall. I was in ecstasy eating all the fresh tasting veggies all from
their garden. I’m still smiling now as I write this from how fresh everything
tasted. It’s been a while since I had food that tasted the way it was intended
from the earth.
We get a ride to the sea port to board our boat that
will take us to the mainland. Of course I wanted to fly and take the 45 min
flight but since my dads first love will always be boats, we are taking the 9
hour ride throughout the night and should arrive at 7am. Sitting in this bed in
our cabin with air conditioning feels great and sure I’m going to get a good
nights sleep (finally). The P.A. keeps paging some guy to go to the main desk
and says we are leaving port soon (in Italian of course). I keep thinking they
are going to call our cabin or someone is going to rush in because I accidently
hit an emergency do not push button the first 5 minutes of me being in the room.
I can’t help it- I was pushing everything looking for the light switch. It’s
been about 30 minutes since then and no one could care less. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of travel
with dad and I need all the rest I can get.
We are taking a shuttle from the port to the train
station. Then a train to Formia, a taxi from out taxi friend Gian Carrlo to the
port, taking a speed boat to the island where we will be greeted by family and
driven up the windy roads to our destination. It’s always exciting when the
boat approaches Ponza because the port is one of the most beautiful ports I’ve
ever seen.
