Dante's Inferno

I have made it to my third farm of the summer. One more to go! This farm is called Frutasè and located in Cumiana, a small village outside of Torino, in the north of Italy. They grow tons of things as well as raise chickens and donkeys. The donkeys are not currently on the farm, though. They are being used to go through a month long trek through the Alps. The farm also has one mule and a horse.

My favorite of the animals, though, is Dante. He is a HUGE black lab who is full of love. Whenever you come in the door, he comes galloping towards you and just so much as knocks you over. He sits everywhere he's not supposed to and gets in everybody's way, especially Malena, my host mother. He is always in the kitchen when she's trying to work. From the garden I can hear "BASTA (stop) DANTE!" at least once every hour. It's a great comical release from the work that we do, which brings me to the Inferno part of this post.

On the farm, we are setting up synergistic gardens in the greenhouses. Synergistic gardening is pretty much what it sounds like. Because of how we set up the bed, all the plants in that bed work together to replenish the soil and stop most of the weeds...aka do a lot of the work for us! Well, in order to begin the bed, we had to dig a large trench along each side that will eventually be lined with hay. Digging in the middle of the day in a greenhouse is not really a walk in the park. By lunch, every piece of clothing I had on was drenched in sweat. Nothing a good shower can't fix!

Getting lost is part of the journey, right?

I went on my second bike ride around the area. This time I decided to ride into the city of Bologna (about 10 km away). As any good traveler does, I google-mapped my trip and it gave me two suggested routes: along the main highway and along a country road that follows a winding river. Which one did I choose? Why the country road, of course. I'm not in Italy to just follow highways, I want to see the country! I wrote down the directions, at least I thought I did, and set off with all the necessary accouterments for spending the day in Bologna...everything except water, but I'll get to that in a bit.

The ride was going great. The road was just shaded enough to be cool, but the trees were scattered enough for me to see the beautiful scenery. I was listening to a great podcast about organic food and my mind was at ease. Then, I turned right. I was following the directions that I had and the road seemed to match up, Via di Paleotto. This is great! I can successfully navigate my way through the Italian countryside on a bike. However, you know what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch. The road was an uphill battle, literally. I road for about 25 minutes on what felt like a 45 degree incline. The road was getting less and less like a road and more and more like a path, then a driveway, then a Do Not Enter sign. Are you kidding me?! I biked up this mountain for a Do Not Enter sign? No thank you. And what did I want once I made it to the summit? A nice drink of water. I searched in my bag for my trusty water bottle, but to no avail. I left it at home. Great.

Well, trying to stay positive, I thoroughly enjoyed the speed and rush I got going back down the mountain. As I came back to the junction where I turned right, I did some exploring. Evidently, there are two Via di Paleotto's. I made sure I took the right one this time and continued on my journey, without the massive incline and frustrating dead ends.

In Bologna, I visited the archaeological museum (which was amazing!) and tried a gelato place I've been meaning to check out. Good stracciatella gelato was just what I needed after a exhausting bike ride. All in a day's work!

My first (and hopefully not the last) Italian bike ride

I'm currently waiting for my clothes to finish in the washer so I can hang them up to dry. I am very excited. This is the first time I've actually washed my clothes in a real washing machine since I came to Europe. Now before you think I've been a smelly mess for the whole trip, think again. I've been hand washing them in bathroom sinks where ever I go, but this is the first time I don't have to do anything!

There is a Dutch couple staying at the agirturismo right now that have biked all the way from Holland. They are on their way to Rome, and the trip so far has taken them a little over two weeks. Today I had a half day off and was inspired, so I went on a bike ride through the Apennine countryside. It was beautiful. Right outside the farm, there is a giant field of sunflowers and each one of them faces east toward the rising sun over the mountains.

I set out with my iPod, a camera, a bottle of water and my (new) cell phone (in case I got lost) and hit the road. I spent about an hour and a half navigating the country roads around la Provincia

di Bologna. I managed to seek out one of the only (relatively) flat roads in the region, which apparently is the major highway in the area; however, the road consisted of two small lanes with very few cars and the occasional motorcycle. It is times like these that I'm thankful for the isolation of the farm.

I ended up about 20 kilometers away from the farm in a little town called Pianoro. The sun was about to set, so I decided to turn back around and head home.

The hills literally came alive as the sun was setting behind them. Each dip and valley of the trees and terrain was magnified by the growing shadows of twilight. When I got home, there was spaghetti with pesto waiting for me. Yum! All in all, it was an excellent afternoon.

Traditional Dancing: a little bit historical, a little bit silly

I've had the opportunity to be able to compare and contrast traditional dancing from Greek and Italy. Each has its own style and grace, humor and spunk, originality and authenticity. Here are examples of each. The Greek dancing was at the closing party of the archaeological dig in Pylos. The Italian dancing took place at a festival called The Festival of Beating Wheat (yes, I'm not making this up) which celebrates the wheat harvest in the area of Bologna. I hope you enjoy!

La terra e bassa

The ground is low.

You don't really think about it until you have to, but the ground is very low. Bending, kneeling, crouching, and crawling: I've done it all. I climb into bed with sore knees and an aching back and fall fast asleep, only to be woken up too early the next morning. 

With a low ground also comes fresh air and homemade meals. I guess there is some give and take. 

I have arrived at my second farm (still in Bologna) called Il Cavicchio. It is an agriturismo located just north of Bologna in a little valley covered in sunflowers. The owner makes his own wine and grows his own vegetables that he uses in the dinners for the guests. I've been put to work weedwacking...pretty much the entire farm. I get to choose my own hours, though, which gives me the freedom to see parts of the town during the day and work in the mornings and evenings when it is cooler.  He has a piano and a bass. We've put together a little musical group where I try to bang out the melody on the piano and he tries to figure out the notes on the bass. It's just great music; however, I wouldn't recommend that either of us quit our day jobs. 

My first introduction to WWOOFing

I finally made it to my first farm, Angirelle, in Monterenzio, Bologna. It took 3 buses, 2 trains, and 1 flight. The farm is tucked away in the rolling hills of the Appenine mountains and it has an amazing views. Everything could be the picture on a postcard.

The farm is run two families, have two children each. All under the age of five. It makes for a very loud household. Stella, 4, and Flavio, 2, belong to Ester and Fabrizio. Sara ,3, and Elia, 11 months, belong to Corrado and Francesca. I'm starting to learn a little bit of Italian, mostly from reading the kids' books.

As for work, I work in the vegetable garden weeding or watering or harvesting for about 3 hours in the morning. After lunch and siesta time, I help out Fabrizio set up his irrigation system for the entire farm. It's a big task to accomplish but after we are finished, we no longer have to water each individual plant. We can just flip a switch and watch it do our work for us. I've only been working a few days, but I've already grown (pun intended) a new appreciation for everything eat.

Become an Archaeologist? Check.

Today was the last day of excavation and I do not want to leave Pylos tomorrow. Three weeks is definitely not enough time to spend in this wonderful place. I have learned so much on this trip. Hands on experience and Responsibility are the best teachers. It's hard to think that three weeks ago I had no idea the difference between a stone and a sherd or Munsell codes and soil textures. 

Yesterday and today I worked in the lab cleaning, sorting, and analyzing pottery sherds and bone fragments. I can now tell the difference between Late Mycenaean fine ware and Early Mycenaean gray orange plain ware simply by the feel of the dust off the pottery. Similarly, I've learned to recognize pathologies in certain bones of domesticated animals and can identify different modifications within species and between species of animals. I love zooarchaeology (the excavation and interpretation of animal remains). Maybe my new specialization?! Although I do find it a little strange, being a vegetarian and yet still enjoying playing with ancient animal bones.

We have a send-off party tonight and there will be Greek dancing and the works, which means throwing plates and shouting a lot. And why am I'm leaving this place again? Yasas (goodbye in Greek) for now, Caio tomorrow! I'm setting out for Italia!

A Gaggle of Archaeologists Go Beach Hopping

This week we spent our free time in the afternoons beach hopping all around Pylos and Messenia. 

We visited Methoni, which has an amazing Venetian fort and lighthouse.It’s menacing, scary, and bold but nonetheless beautiful. Fun Fact: it looks remarkably like Helm’s Deep. A little intimidating, but we managed to conquer it. 

By conquering it, I mean we did a little trespassing and climbed to the very top of the fort. No one was hurt and no one got arrested…or at least held over night, only fingerprinted. Just kidding Mom! 

From the peak we had a priceless view of the ocean and coastline. The water is almost too blue.

Tuesday we went on a boat trip all around Navarino Bay (the bay in which Pylos is located). We went to Delikli Baba and Sphakteria, two islands with absolutely no current human settlements and extreme cliffs. I’m talking sheer 200 feet high…and no guardrails. 

From the islands we had a great view of Pylos across the bay. Looking out over the water, it is no wonder why there were constant battles and conflicts over this area. It’s fertile, beautiful and almost magical. 

After visiting the islands we went to what is called “The Golden Beach,” and it definitely lived up to its name. Priceless.

On Wednesday, Yeleva was our destination! A quant little coastal village with water you wade in for 100 meters before it reached your waist. There, we invented a game called Water-Kickball. Needless to say, we were the entertainment for the locals eating at the coastal cafes. A lot of falling, splashing and laughing, with few points actually being scored.

We also traveled to Voidkilia, which is a partially enclosed beach that resembles the shape of a shell. It is said that it’s the most beautiful beach in all of Greece, and I cannot refute that in the least. At the opening of the inlet, there are some crazy cliffs that are perfect for jumping off into the water. It was about a 15-minute swim to get there, but it was worth it! From the top of the cliffs you can see how the water refracts the sunlight, making a rainbow in the water, following the coastline of the beach. While archaeology does not pay very well, we sure get to work in a great office.