Spring walks and salted cod

Walking through the beech woods

We managed to fit in one more trip before Easter. Our wonderful marina owners, Anna and Luca, whisked a small group of cruisers off for another magical mystery tour in the Abruzzo mountains. Thankfully, this time, the temperatures were a good 15 degrees warmer than our last foray into the Apennines. Our first stop was the nature reserve, Zompo lo Schioppo. We set off on foot on a circular trail through the beech woods full of spring flowers just coming into bloom. Twenty different species of orchid have been discovered here but sadly not by us! The trail took us to the Zompo lo Schioppo waterfall, one of the highest natural waterfalls in the central Apennine mountains. The waters exit from a sheer cliff face falling from a height of over 80m and flow downstrean to the village of Morino.

The gang!

Zompo lo Schioppo

The old cemetry

Our next stop was the mountain village of Civita d'Antino, an ancient walled stronghold perched 904m high overlooking the wild and beautiful Roveto valley. It was "discovered" in 1883 by the Danish artist Kristian Zahrtmann who was captivated by the quality of light and the magnificent scenery. He established a summer school for aspiring Scandinavian artists and over the years he was joined by some 80 painters, many of whom became famous. We walked through the alleys of the old town and followed a rough footpath to the old cemetry, a stone-built roofed corridor with inscriptions on the walls commemorating the dead who were interred under the floor. Adjoining the building there is a narrow grassed strip of deconsecrated ground where non Roman Catholics were buried including a few of the Scandinavian artists who died there.

View from the cemetry

Civita d'Antino

Civita d'Antino

Salad with cod and strawberries!

Time for a well earned lunch and we retired to the aptly named, Antica Osteria Zahrtmann, a small rustic restaurant with vaulted ceilings serving local cuisine. The restaurant opened especially for us and we sat down to the most amazing salted cod menu. We started with a mouth watering cod and strawberry salad which was followed by pasta with a cod ragu and finally a cod and truffle risotto! A deliciously perfect end to a lovely day.

Antica Osteria Zahrtmann

Civita d'Antino

Happiness is......finding two olives in your martini when you're hungry

Chestnut Grove

Our friends, Rob and Heaps, have recently swapped a life of bobbing for one of flat calm. We hopped on a plane to Greece to find out what life on land was all about. We met up with them at Athens airport, jumped into their hire car and raced south to Kalamata on empty roads. Apparently all the traffic uses the long way round rather than pay for the fast and plentiful toll roads. Kalamata lies on the Peloponnese peninsular in southern Greece and at the head of the Messenian Gulf. It is also renowned for its olives. The Peloponnese has always been a special area for us and we have enjoyed cruising this quieter part of Greece. It was strange not to be arriving by sea. Once we'd reached Kalamata we continued west towards the coastal town of Petalidi and up a bumpy track for the final journey to Chestnut Grove.

Heaps and her olive trees

Beating the Bounds

The boys hard at work with the chainsaw

Solar panels going up

Larger Kalamata olive and leaf on the left

The house is off grid so not much change from a boat. Just a lot more solar panels and a much larger generator. We had lots of fun outside making bonfires, chainsawing logs, and learning about compost heaps and of course, olives. We Beat the Bounds most days. Beating the Bounds is an English ceremony dating back to Anglo Saxon times. It involves walking the boundaries of the property beating the ground with sticks to establish its outer limits and ensure a good harvest. The grounds include numerous fig trees, a recently discovered lime tree (essential for the G&T's) and a large olive grove which produces olives of both the eating and oil variety. We are now experts at telling the difference between the trees. The Kalamata eating olive is plump, dark and from a tree whose leaves grow to twice the size of other olive varieties. Kalamata olives, which cannot be harvested green, must be hand-picked in order to avoid bruising. Looks like Rob and Heaps have their work cut out! They are already cooking with their own olive oil and no doubt come summer the vines will be bursting with grapes and the wine production will begin in earnest. 

View from the terrace over the bay

Local vines

View from the terrace down to Petalidi

The views from the terrace over Kalamata bay were stunning. The weather was a bit mixed but thankfully the mountains across the bay eventually showed themselves. We had a lovely week catching up with old friends and sharing their new found paradise.

The mountain tops finally show themselves!