I reached into my pocket for the house keys and realized he was gone. I stopped dead in my tracks, my mind racing back over the past couple of hours. Up one street in the old town centre of Iglesias, a peek into a kitchen store, a tour through a book store, down another street, up and down the aisles[…]
Read moreMonth: February 2019
A day to remember
As we stood atop the high sea cliffs, the air was still crisp and damp. The morning dew made the orange-pink granite of Capo Pecora all the more vivid against the gently undulating, blue-green Mediterranean Sea. In the distance, a lone, stunted tree rose above the undergrowth, permanently bent to 90 degrees by the prevailing winds. The sea air carried[…]
Read moreLast days in Tertenia
We left the house early to walk over to the Wednesday market. The sky was blue-blue, but the air was especially crisp and cold, perhaps only 5C. Based on the forecast, we’d been wondering if it would be too hot to climb at southwest-facing Quirra, but that morning it seemed unlikely to be a problem. We could see our breath[…]
Read moreThe small life
I met an old man strolling outside the imposing church at the heart of Tertenia. I was surprised to see anyone around the church; it was the middle of a weekday afternoon. He said he was there for a funeral, and that he went to funerals because it was a chance to see people from the town and surrounding area.[…]
Read moreIn search of comfort food
Ulysse declared that he needed pizza. On a hard climb the day before, he’d had two fingers in a snug pocket and had not fully extracted them before trying to make a big, powerful reach upwards. I heard the crack from where I belayed 20 m below and then he slumped onto the rope, cradling his right hand. At first,[…]
Read moreWould you eat something that looks like it could fight back?
“Bravo!” said the woman at the till as she picked up the bag of persimmons that I’d managed to correctly tag with a price. As this grocery store is near our house and very well run, with nice produce and not a lot of any one thing, but almost one of any thing, I’ve visited it quite often. Sardinians expect[…]
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