Lone Trekkin'

All of these pictures are from a simple walk on the main road that runs perpendicular to La Casa delle Acque. Sicily is truly a dream of the most lively & loving culture, mixed with amazing food, and unreal scenery everywhere you go. What more could you want? 

Although the country is bankrupt and the unemployment rate is around the 50% mark, the people seem to be unaffected by it. Poor in worldly possessions, but rich in life. 

 Orange trees for days.

Paterno wrapped in a mystical tornado of clouds.

Living it up in Paterno

Snow-tipped Mt. Etna.

Lets just say I got bored one morning and made my breakfast into a pizza. Yogurt bianco, muesli, and fresh pomegranates. 

The morning starts off by feeding the animals and turning off the irrigation for the orange trees. Because one person can do all that it's basically whoever wakes up first. Feeding the chickens, hens, and geese is a great way to start the day. Straight up battles.

Some other work we've done is helped out the neighbors to harvest olives, helped Nirav pack some boxes to be shipped to his customers all over Italy, harvested almonds, pomegranates, lemons, and avocados, put compost-y manure around young orange trees, and a lot of side jobs here and there. There is no replacement for hands on work out in the fresh air and warm sun. So refreshing. 

Unfortunately the day we picked lemons and avocados I didn't bring my camera, but it was so cool. I've never seen avocado trees. They are giant and perfect for climbing. I felt like I was in an exotic rain forest. To harvest them one person had to climb a long ladder or the tree itself and use an extended clipper while the other person would catch them (or get hit in the face, haha Amanda). Nirav, as well as a lot of other people, have deals (or not) with other land owners. For example, a while back Nirav found this abandoned piece of land that had loads of lemon and avocado trees, so he got in contact with the owner and he now harvests all the goodies then gives the owner a share of the money from the sales. According to locals there are also gypsies that ride around on horses (I've heard plenty on the street right by La Casa delle Acque) and steal food from abandoned properties, but sometimes they are not abandoned!

Two face on the prowl.

The world trekkers. We took the pic because Christian, Lovisa, Laurence, Ben, and John were all heading off to other farms in Sicily. Amanda (far left) and Ruth (far right) just arrived separately but they are both from the United States. That's always good to hear! Epic times my friends. 

Chestnut shells to use in the garden to stop slugs.

We drove up like we were going up to Mt. Etna and stopped in the forest to pick chestnuts, and well nothing is better than free stuff (especially food). I'm blown away by how many fruit and nut trees there are in Sicily. It's not uncommon for me to be on a walk and find an almond or fig tree on the side of the road and just go to town. 

Paterno. That's a normal sight to see. All dudes! I don't know where all the women go, but not out in the town that's for sure. 

Exploring Paterno.

On one of my days off I went to an internet cafe in Paterno to buy my GreyHound ticket home, and the day before one of the neighbors made homemade bread in the old school oven. It was exceptional. I cut up an entire loaf to take with me and also brought some heavenly olive oil (from olives we harvested and pressed within two days). Anyways, after I bought my ticket I timed it so it would be right when the local high school was getting out. I posted up on a bench enjoying my superbly simple lunch and watched the interactions going on, to really soak in the culture and gauge it with my own upbringing. Afterwards walking home I was in one of those untouchable moods, like put a wall in front of me and I'll break through it with my bare hands. 

Volcano sunset from La Casa delle Acque. Fittingly, seeing as we're right by an active volcano. 

The Olive Press

Heading to the olive press! 

How it works here is we harvest at least 25 crates within a two day period and then head to the olive press. And only the first pressing is used, which results in an insanely fresh and potent olive oil. It is divine. See, when you go to the supermarket, the majority of the olive oil is also from the second, third, and fourth press, etc. Not to mention a lot of times they use chemicals to extract more of the oil. This is inferior in every way. Also, a lot of so called "olive oil" is actually diluted with other vegetable oils. I love real food, so fresh you can taste and feel how vibrant it is. 

Time to sort.

Finishing up the sorting. Afterwards we drove back to La Casa delle Acque so I didn't get to see the actual pressing but it was a great experience to gain first hand knowledge of how it works. 

A new wwoofer arrived named Mozart (second from the left). He's from Brazil, and when he first arrived he seriously looked like Morpheus from The Maxrix. Same glasses and everything. The dude is hilarious. He's retired and traveling the world like a boss. Also, everyone in Europe seems to know at least a few languages. There is a different feeling here that one simply has to experience to know. At a later time someone new introduced themselves to Mozart and he said "I'm Morpheus."

Olives in a sort of brine to turn them into edible delights. They are pushed down with fennel flowers to keep them in the liquid and to impart a very subtle flavor. 

Catania

Another day at the organic farmers market in Catania!

Nirav decided he wanted to go to the market this day and we gladly tagged along. We had been picking pomegranates the past couple days so he had lots of goodies to sell. A thing to note about food here in general (especially produce), is that it is shockingly cheap, the reason being primarily because everyone has a garden or farm or orchard or has a family member who does, which results in the fresh produce, nuts, and even dairy products with a small price tag. I bought like 6 oranges for 1 euro, and these are no oranges picked unripe and shipped across the world, they are local and deliciously ripe. And I've had more pomegranates here than I've had in my entire life, they are so good picked right off the tree. Support your local farms! 

After exploring the market for a bit we journeyed down to the main town square of Catania. I love how literally everyone has a balcony here, I don't know why but it's awesome to me.

Mmmm we bought a bunch of different granitas and enjoyed trying them all out. Lemon, chocolate, pistachio, coffee, mulberry, and almond. Simply put they were outrageous. Fresh whipped cream on top, my favorite was chocolate and pistachio.

Later that night we fired up the old school oven and made homemade pizza. The taste was great but the dough was tough and some of the pizzas had ash on it. That's what happens when the wwoofers try and do something like this ha. It was fun though. At a later time one of the neighbors came over and made pizza and bread like a master.

Puppies!

Little Grandpa.

I had to dedicate a full post to these little pups, because well look at em! The first three pictures are
from when I just arrived at La Casa delle Acque and the rest are when they are a little bigger towards
the end of my stay.

Mrs. Brown! 

Ready. Set.

Jump!

Look at that grin. Classic.

Bunch of baby fluffy bears if you ask me.

Had to be real sneaky to capture nap time.