One week of sun, sand and wind:Fuerteventura!

The week in Fuerteventura turned out to be a very timely spring-getaway from the weather in Europe. From the far eastern plains in Russia, where Carlo was visting his brother, to the western parts of Holland - the winter swept over Europe with one last blanket of snow and ice. Almost to say "I'm down but not out - not yet". By the time we returned to Munich all snow had vanished and we were greeted by temps in the high 60's.

Fuerteventura surprised with the total lack of vegetation. There were a few minute and very determined spring flowers peeking out between the rocks, yet besides a few bushes nothing would ever have a chance to grow in such a dry climate. Almost as in California-all palm trees and other large tropical vegetation had to be irrigated..even some of the cacti we saw along the highway, which were planted there, did not survive...

Located off the coast of Morokko and West Sahara you wouldn't expect anything less, I suppose. This said, the sun was something we completely underestimated and were rewarded with being burnt to a crisp. My legs earned the knickname "Glowsticks" because they seemed to glow in the dark!!! (At least the sunburn made it feel like that).

Overall, the island is governed by water and wind. Perfect for sailing and windsurfing. The kitesurfers were all in the north of the island and we didn't see a single one, as we inhabited the most southern part. The wind proved too much for some of the tourist-rented catamarans and quite a few tipped over...which was almost painful to watch, as many of the people inside had a hard time getting the mast out of the water again!

We opted for renting mountainbikes and took a 25km bike ride over the hills en route to the southern tip of the island. We were told it was a level, easy ride. HA! Maybe for someone who is in peak physical condition!!! It was a strenous, yet beautiful day!

Easter Greetings!

Wishing you all a very happy Easter Sunday! Carlo and I will be spending the day in very different ways, as he is spending time in St.Petersburg with his brother and I will be en route to Fuerteventura, Spain to spend a week with friends!

Wherever you are, hope you will have a happy day!!!

Ganzirri, sunset over the mussle pond

On the way back to Messina, we passed the half sweet-half salty pond where thousands of mussles are being grown. The pond is fed by a channel to the open sea. The light was amazing!!

Last light at Carlo's beach

On our way home we stopped at the beach in front of Carlo's parents summer house. We could see Stromboli in the distance, slowing coughing up white smoke from its belly.
There were little flowers covering many of the dune-like areas. Overall, Sicily was full of flowering trees and shrubs. Little white and yellow flowers were covering the hillsides and greeting us from the smallest crevices.

Oh, and another cheesy attempt at taking a picture of ourselves - with our huge sunglasses on... i promise... no more !!! :-)

The long-awaited visit to the beach...at the "Pilone", Faro

Since Carlo and I both miss the Ocean, or a large body of salt water, in our lives we had to take a quick drive to the beach. The same beach we visited 6 months ago, only in our bathing suits instead of down coats. Nevertheless, the sunshine and blue water made up for the chilly wind. It was lovely being there.

We saw hundreds, if not thousands, of seagulls letting themselves drift with the very strong currents. In the summer I always wondered why there were no seabirds around. Obviously, this must be the time for them to gather here!! They were flying in huge swarms and landing on the water only to quickly take off again after having drifted around for a bit...

P.S. "Pilone" refers to the giant electrical tower which once connected Sicily to the mainland. There are no cables running across the straight now, but the huge red and white towers remain on both coasts.

The straight of Messina-always a sight!

One of Carlo's friends moved into an apartment with a gorgeous view of the straight of Messina. We came to check out the new place and could not believe the view!!!
The ferry, which traverses the sea over to Reggio di Calabria every 20 minutes, docks right below his balcony and you can observe the cars being "spit" out by the ferry almost like out of a giant mouth!

On the "autostrada"...

Lunch in Arcireale

Here some pics of Arcireale and our fantastic lunch right next to the water. Thank you Flora and Antonio for a great day!

First visit to Sicily this year!

Carlo and I visited Carlo's parents for a few days last weekend, with me arriving a couple days early. As usual we had a lovely time with family and friends, fantastic food, and Sicily's own wild landscape to feast the eyes on.
We had come to scout out some locations for a possible wedding reception and found Villa La Limonaia...which was truly a gorgeous setting. Mt. Etna behind and the sea out front... we are trying to decide how we would like to celebrate the day, yet have not been able to reach a decision. After touring the grounds of the villa we drove to the nearby town called "Arcireale" where we decended all the way to the beach, where we had an amazing seafood, fish, shrimp lunch. Delicious! Thank you Flora and Antonio!

SNOW!!!???

Very unexpectedly, we received the biggest snow we've had all winter on the day I was leaving for Sicily. My newly planted flowers suffered a bit, yet they all made it through.. It was a cool, crisp morning which we had waited for all winter!