Cinque Terre

Jes and I spent the beginning of this week in Cinque Terre. A world famous destination (and a bit of a tourist trap) Cinque Terre is a beautiful stretch of coastline in northwestern Italy. The name, which means 5 lands in English, comes from the 5 villages spaced out over about a 15 km stretch of Big-Sur-esk coastline. We stayed in the lowest town, Riomagiorre, and hiked between each all the way to the furthest north and beyond. The towns themselves were packed with tourists, and some of the lower trails were more like freeways, but when possible we choose the higher trials. They were often quite confusing, and sometimes precarious, but were really the only way to get away from the crowds. The view from the mountains was beautiful, and walking through the terraced orchards and vineyards was very enjoyable. We must have climbed 10,000 stairs. Good thing the sea was nearby! The water was warm and clear, and we took every opportunity to go for a swim. 

Monday night we had an awesome at dinner at what we think is the last authentic Italian restaurant in Chinque Terre, Osteria a Cantina de Mananan. The food was unbelievable, and the service was... Italian. To date it was the food best we'd had in Italy, but beware, to insist on ordering in English is liable to get you denied service. We saw a few people get the cold shoulder. For us it was fresh pasta with a traditional pesto, local pesce, cozze (mussels), and pana cotta con miele.

Un Altra Saluti

Top Row: Jes, Me Ruben. Bottom
Row: Helga (Chris's Friend), Chris, Kate (Another WWOOFer)

Bruno and me. He wasn't there for the group photo...

I am getting tired of goodbyes. On to another month and another adventure. Tanti Saluti Christiane, Ruben, Bruno, and all of the other fantastic people I have met in Cagli. Grazie mille per tutti! It's been another unforgettable experience!

Facciendo Pane / Lavorare in il Bosco / e piu

I've made several entries about my free time, so here's one about the work. Forgive my disjointed topic jumping...

During this time of the year, most of the work in the winter gardens is weeding. We joke that we spend more time and energy uprooting unwated plants, than encouraging wanted ones to take root. I guess, this is the reality of mechanical weed managment. Every 4 or 5 days we make a pass through the garden with our zappas chopping off the weeds and loosening the soil. We follow this up immediately with water. It's a good system because the water soaks in to the loosened soil nicely (here there is a lot of clay), and the freshly chopped weeds drink less, leaving more for the veggies. Currently, we are also transplanting plants and seeding the summer garden. There are about 160 pomodori (tomatos), as well as peperoni (peppers), zuccini, melanzana (eggplant), and several types of beans. I don't have a picture of myself working in the garden, but here is one of Jes. A surprise change in travel plans landed here her with me for the last week at the farm.

Coral fencing in Italy is quite different than in the US. It's janky. You could call it okie-rigged, if only we used duct tape. We use a heavey iron rod to dig out a post hole. The posts are just branches from the woods, all different lengthes and diameters, some of them very crooked. To connect them, one or two wires does the job, maybe even string in some places. The gates are where things get really creative. I've seen everything from pallates tied with rope to box springs serving this purpose. I guess if it works, it works!

Every year Ruben thins out their woodland. The trick is to have enough sun on the forest floor for young trees to grow, but not cut faster than the trees are replaced. This optimizes the wood production, and keeps the forest in a nice healthy state. They use some of the wood for their own firewood, and sell the rest. This year ruben felled about 40 trees. We have to load all of this wood and bring it the house. It's heavy work, as some of the trunks are around 2 feet wide. But the forest makes a nice office. I can't complain! When we work in the forest we are usually joined by Ruben's friend Moreno, an avid backpacker, and fellow english speaker. Today was his last day of work. Tomorrow he flies to spain to spend a month packing on the Camino de Santiago, a 1,000km trail through the heart of Spain.

The other day we took about 65 kilos of wheat berries to the mill to be ground. 20 years ago this was a comon practice. Now, there is only one mill in the vicinity that will grind small quantities of flour for individual farms. After an hour drive, with several stops to ask directions, we arrived. It was an interesting little place. Full of noisy machinery, it was sort of rimenicent of a small print shop. Instead of smelling of ink and acetone, it smelled like bread! I've read a bit about the process of harvesting wheat berries and grinding them , how to get different types of flour, ect, so it was facinating for me to see the process in person. Chris has already made pizza dough with the fresh ground flour. È buonisimo! Yesterday we made a starter for the yeast, and today we made 20 loaves in the woodfire oven.

Que Bello Giorno/Pizza 2000

 


Yesterday (Sunday May 15th) was awesome! It was the 1 full day Jes would have with me in Cagli, and it rained pretty much all day. Yet, for me, I think this will be one of the most memorable days of the trip.

The morning was beautiful, warm and sunny. I gave the tour of the farm and the gardens, and we walked down to the lake, pointing out the wild cherry, fig, and apple trees on the way. I go to this lake often, but as we approached there was a peculiar stirring of fish, frogs and birds. Never before had this lake seemed so alive. We sat on the dock watching the coming storm, listening to the wildlife. Small fish were surfacing so often, at times it looked like it could have been raining.

When the weather began to look threatening we headed back to the house. The plan for the day had been to climb Mt Catria. But due to the impending rain, we decided to head to a nearby Canyon called Passa de Furlo instead. In my past experience it has only rained here for short periods, so we stopped for panini, hoping it would pass quickly. No such luck. We drove back and forth through the canyon, wishing we didn't have to be highway tourists. Passa de Furlo is gorgeous. It reminds me of Kings Canyon in California. It is very narrow with huge rock walls rising up on both sides. The river is dammed at the east end, so for the last half kilometer you are driving next to a narrow little lake. Right before you leave the canyon, the road passes through a tunnel that was carved out by the Romans. Apparently this canyon lies on an ancient route from Roma to Fano, one of the most important sea ports of that time. I can only imagine what the canyon must have been like that long ago!

The rain lightened up, so we decided drive up a windy little road that was supposed to lead to a trailhead above the canyon. But as we climbed the weather worsened again. Near the top, we came across 4 stranded hikers, soaked to the bone, and completely lost. They had climbed up from the opposite end of the canyon, and lost their way due to the low visibility caused by the rain and fog. So, we gave them a ride to their car. They were very nice old folks–English citizens now living in Pesaro. They were very thankful we had come to save them. With lots of thanks, they insisted on us taking their phone number and made an invitation to stay in Pesaro any time we'd like, with a promise to open a very special bottle of wine on the occasion. Too bad we have no time!

At this point Jes and I decided to cut our losses and head for shelter. So, we drove to Urbino. Urbino is the largest town in the area, home to a university, and some very impressive architecture. While it is no match for nature, it was worth the visit. Of course, once we got to the town the rain let up. We spent a few hours walking around the historical center, and discovered a few interesting shops, parks, gardens, ect. Tiny little walkways wound between brick buildings. They were often quite steep, and lined with moss. It was such an strange and fascinating urban-scape.

Finally we headed to Aqualagna and Bruno's restaurant, "Pizzeria 2000". The name, and the fact that this restaurant is near the autostrada made me wary. I was halfway expecting something along the lines of and Italian take on Pub and Sub. We pulled up in front of a low, long purple building with a neon "Pizzeria 2000" sign. To our surprise we entered to two shabby sheik dinning rooms, with formal white table clothes, wine glasses, and all the decor of a fancy joint. The menu had a long list of very interesting pizzas, and an option for a 4 course meal (antipasti, primi piati, secondi, dolci). In the nearest dinning room, Bruno was tossing pizzas into an enormous wood-fire oven.

We ordered a pork chop and some fried greens, and a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, spinach, roasted potatoes and salsice. Dessert was chocolate and mascarpone. It was fantastic! Bruno is a pizza master. After dinner he came out of the kitchen with a bottle of limoncello and sat down for a chat. As he was getting up to go back to work he said, "questa note, non paggi". "Non paggiamo!?" we exclaimed. We tried, but to no avail. È gratis. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, he ran out with two "Pizzeria 2000" t-shirts. I cannot believe my fortune. I have found such genuine, kind people here. Millè grazie Bruno!

Mt Petrano

Cagli is a the base of a plateau called Mt Petrano. It's a very unique place. The drive to the top takes about 20 minutes from Cagli. You wind through dense forest getting occasional wide views of the country side below. Nearing the top, the forest gives way to grassland. During the week, you will see many locals mushroom hunting around it's edges. This area is famous for its fungi and truffles.

Jes and I drove up to the top saturday evening, hoping it wouldn't be to crowded. We ended up being the only people on the mountain! t's an incredible place. The plateau is at least 1 km wide and maybe 2 or 3 long. Gentle rolling hills covered with wildflowers stretch out in every direction. The grass is trimmed short in the early spring by grazing cattle, so now it is like an enormous lawn. To the east there are incredible views of the Umbrian Alps, and to the west the Marche campagna and the Adriatic Sea in the distance. So, beautiful! In the winter, Chris says it is all covered in snow. I have never seen anywhere else like this. Really, the photos don't begin to do it justice!

Zuppa di Herba

On this farm, my work has been very diverse. In a little over a week, I've done a little bit of everything; weeding, watering, harvesting, gathering herbs, preparing new land to be planted, making soap, installing coral fencing. One thing I have found particularly interesting is Chris's solution to pests: herb soup.

Here are the ingredients:

- Ortica (stinging nettle, this is the most important ingredient)

- Farfara

- Equineto (horse tail)

- Cousolida Maggiore (comfrey)

- Acchilea (yarrow)

Mix with water, and let it sit in the sun for around a month. It becomes quite a stew! The soup smells like a mixture of fresh cut grass and barnyard yuck, and as you can see below, it looks delicious. The bee's love it, but I keep it at a distance when possible.

When applied to the leaves of plants, whether it be garden veggies, herbs or a wild cherry tree, this concoction is quite effective at deterring pests, and protects against a myriad of diseases. Being made of decaying plant matter, it also makes a great soil amendment. You could drink it if you really wanted to! But trust me, you wouldn't want to...

Either way, I am definitely going to be trying this at home.

Pesciamo in Italia

I did not expect to be fishing in Italy. Yet, here I am, watching my bobber, not entirely sure I want to catch one of these half meter carps. When you walk down to their private lake, you arrive at the near side where a small area has been cleared of trees and brush. The grass cut, so it makes a nice little area to sit and fish. The lake is small, and sort of murky, but still, its a nice place to sit, think, and practice my Italian. By the way, "fish" = "pesce".

Fishing with Bruno is a crack-up! Its quite a different method than any I've used before in the Sierra Nevada. We use bait and bobbers. Contrary to my typical strategy of stealthily dropping my bait in an optimal position and waiting silently, hoping to catch an unsuspecting trout, Bruno starts his fishing routine by stomping loudly on the metal framed dock. This must be to wake the pesce up. Then we casts out six or seven different poles baited with corn, polenta, pasta, whatever. Next he tosses out handfuls of bait into the water around each bobber.

We haven't had much luck yet, but I have enjoyed the sessions anyway. "È tranquilo", says Bruno. I have to agree.