Lepre di Mare

One day while at Marzamemi Chiara and I decided to go scuba diving. We were suppose to be looking for hidden treasures (old Roman ceramic containers) at this one site. Well we kind of got distracted and followed an animal neither of us had ever seen before. Attached is a website with a video of what we saw. Once again I could not fulfill my childhood dream of discovering an animal and naming it. Enjoy!
http://video.google.it/videoplay?docid=-6589014304755201036&ei=EAvdSIzoGYmwiALiwM2ZCw&q=lepre+di+mare&vt=lf&hl=it

Pepmobismo!

I saw Barbie's real house the other day!!! That pink is intense! I wonder who really lives here?

Resco

We found a dog. Chiara and I went to go see a new tourist attraction; an old farm house that apparently had 2,000 year old mosaics underneath it. Long story short we found this little guy. I was hesitant but he now lives with us in Aci Castello. When I first say him I said he was such a rascal. Chiara liked the name and well now his name is "Resco." He is so sicilian though. The first time we saw him there was a van leaving the property and he ran after the van trying to bite the bumper off. On a good note he is very intellegent and well aware of his surroundings. Sometimes in his own world like me but Id rather have a curious, happy dog than a pain in the ass. I think he is around 7 months right now. He gets his next vaccine on Oct 4. And in case you didnt know...of course they make pasta for dogs in italy. Classic!!!

One day Chiara, Cora, and I went on a hike up in the mountains. The hike was called "Cava Grande"...which means Big Canyon. Instead of a usual hike up and easy down, it was the other way around. First we painlessly hiked down, enjoyed the pools, and then made the long hike back up. I was last of course. But we had fun in the freshwater pools. And the color of the mountains were a beautiful soft cream, and the water was so clear.

Marzamemi

After the sailing trip I had spent about 10 days at the summer house of my friend Chiara. The house is on an island; a short boat ride from the shore. Its about an hour west of Catania. Most of the time was spent fishing in the morning, snorkling or diving during the day, and relaxing in the sun. The house and location has everything to offer. Its beautiful here.

First Sailing Trip

The two main islands I went sailing around are called Ponza and Ventotene. You can find lots of info on them off the internet. My favorite was Ponza, with an ancient port, aquarium, and tunnels. It took us about 9 hours sailing the first night on the boat, and it was really ROCKY! Absolutely amazing. That next day we ended up at a deserted island and beach and by noon we were surrounded about another 50 boats. Boats as big as houses, boats Ive never imagined existed in real life. We relaxed, swam through grottos and tunnels, and saw tons of fish. We rented scooters, sailed and slept at different sites of each island. I didnt have to do much in terms of sailing since there were 3 professionals on the boat. We had no problems and had perfect weather. We visited old ancient Roman ports, went fishing everyday, and ate homecooked "sea" food every day. I enjoyed the life on a boat. I was out at sea with friends for about a week. I have lots of photos to share, but here are a few.

Matteo Micelli

My friend Martina has a brother that is well known for his sailing excursions and boatbuilding skills. Martina's brother, Matteo Micelli, is actually famous for crossing the Atlantic Ocean alone. Matteo set sail in December of 2006 solo on a 2,700-mile passage across the Atlantic between Gran Canaria (Africa) to Guadaloupe in his 180 kg (397 lb), 6 m (20 ft) beach cat (Biondina Nera) “Black Blondie.” Fourteen days after the start, Matteo landed in Guadaloupe, beating the previous record by an impressive 10 days. Nevertheless the day before I left for the sailing trip I had the privilege to meet Matteo and have a quick tour of his office in Ostia, a suburb of Rome on the water. He was also the person who helped set up the sailing trip. Too bad after 2 days he had to leave; he was great company. And by the way the boats he built where the size of houses.