Day 7 A Boat Trip and Dolphins

The sun greeted me when opening the window shutters. The sea below was calm. So calm, the surface looked like a sheet of paper. Not a single tiny wave. Like a big deep lake. Amazing.

Like every morning I spent some moments on the balcony to observe the sea. In spring there is a chance to see dolphins. I have seen them before, and today, I felt, they must be near! But nothing yet. 

Time for boating.!, said Carlo. We had just put 'Ella' to water two days earlier and I haven't seen 'her' yet.  

I picked a few jackets, a blanket and a cashmere scarf and hat I found in the corner of my wardrobe. We are going on a short ride, said Carlo when he saw me with my bursting beach bag. 

Well, the trip was even shorter than that! We had just left the port of Vibo Marina and were heading towards Pizzo, when Angelo suddenly remarked: "We have no more gasoline!" He insisted the tank was at least half full last time... Angelo, when was last time? Could it be possible that they empty the tank for safety reason while the boat is stored during winter?, I was just saying ...

We immediately turned around and luckily made it back to the port. Funny, if it's not the 'Guardia di Finanzia' that stops Angelo and fines him for not having all documents on board, it's the gasoline (or lack of it) that stops him.

Boat trip April 2015

How awesome would it have been to have dolphins swimming along the boat? Maybe another time.

For lunch, our son went home with Angelo to eat with 'nonna' while we were driving back to Pizzo. We were invited by a friend at a restaurant at la marina. We were sitting outside in the sunshine and observing the first brave bathers in the sea. The view of the beach in front of us, and a glass of wine made it a perfect spring day.

Later in the afternoon we needed to meet our kitchen planners in Maida. We spent there a couple of hours, and while it seemed endless, we still managed to decide on 2 kitchen designs! One kitchen is a bit more complicated from the layout this time, as it will be built around and above the vaulted ceiling of a lower stairways.  

While we were out, our son stayed at home. When friends came over and they went together on the balcony, he all in a sudden spotted whales! He told us about a huge water fountain and their fins that came out of the water. Oh, wow, I couldn't believe it, but it happened before that whales were seen in the bay. The kids were talking 'balena' (whales) - but when I talked to the mum, she clarified they were seeing two 'delfini' (dolphins). Haha! - I knew it! I knew they were near. Wild life spotting from our balcony!

A day later Dolphins were spotted in Tropea (I saw a photo on FB and shared it, but my son insisted that "his" dolphins were way bigger!). I was told that there will be more dolphins and tuna in the Tyrrhenian Sea this year due to the appearance of black algae (very yummy for them) after recent volcanic activities.

This was our last day in Pizzo. And we are quite happy with what we achieved to decide during that week of a short holiday. 

For our last dinner we invited the grandparents and while sitting outside in the restaurant in the piazza (first time it was not too cold for sitting outside), a couple of friends we haven't seen yet passed by. I called their name and waved them over to our table, and since they had no plans yet, they joined. How lucky we were. Such a lovely and mild evening. If only we would not have to pack yet.