The village

This is the first time, given an opportunity to climb a steep hill to get a great view of the surrounding, I have not risen to the occasion. My leg is dragging me down. I pushed it too hard yesterday in Spilt. I did wander around the village and the port. I stopped at one point and took off my sneakers and socks to wade in the Aegean. I plunged in and immediately my boys ran screaming up to my liver. Holy shit it was cold! It took several hours of coaxing for them to return to their nature place and order was restored.

From what I can see, the island is very nice. There is a protected bay where the small boats dock. Hills rise up all around the village. I wanted to get up one side or the other but it is not to be. The oldest part of the village is all stone. Stone streets and stone houses. The streets are too narrow for cars and there are no sidewalks. Very nice. The newer part of town, new being a relative term, is filled with homes, stores, and the expected conveniences of today's life. What I find most interesting are the yards. Nary a blade of grass. Each yard is taken up with fruit trees, grape vines, and vegetable gardens. The only large areas of grass is in the village park and the football pitch, otherwise, the surface is composed of crushed stone, small rocks, gravel, and sand or gardens.

Pizza for dinner. I gave it one more shot. This time I decided to not try something crazy like ham and pineapple or sausage. I chose a regional specialty, Frutti del Mar, a seafood pizza. To say that it was a mistake would be an understatement. I give up on pizza here in Europe. Dessert was great as usual. Thank god for gelatto.

Went for a walk on the outskirt of the village after dinner. The sun had already set. A man not a year older than 128 puttered by in a small tractor towing a cart filled with freshly picked produce. He had come from the surrounding hills. What was remarkably about this is as he passed me, I nodded in greeting and he returned the greeting with a flourish by removing his hat and giving me a sitting bow. The people are friendly.