A Pirate's Life for Me!

For our first full day in Ustica, the plan was to meet in the hotel lobby at around 10:30 am, as our boat was apparently leaving the port at11:00 am.  Only thing is, my roommate for the trip, Masimiliano, and I overslept.  By the time we got up, it was already 10:45.  I guess that all of the late nights finally caught up to me!

No problem though - we were on Italian time and our 11:00 am scheduled boat actually ended up taking off at 12:30 pm.  We even had time for a quick coffee and dip in the water near the port.

Then, it was time to take off for three hours on the water, visiting various grottos and swimming spots that Ustica is famous for.  Our captain for the day, Masimiliano Gallo (also the same first and last name as my roommate!), helped us board, then we sped off into the not so deep blue water.

Maso first took us to check out some grottos ("grotte" in Italian).  

It was a surreal feeling to be inside these grottos, which, felt a lot like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (minus the dead guys playing poker).

Outside of the grotto, the swimming was great, and we even managed to pull out a few ricci (sea urchin), and who better to have captured the first riccio than Ricci herself!

The riccio was delicious and sweet and tasted like the ocean.  But alas, the day was not one entirely of sweetness.  While I hunted for my own ricci to bring aboard, I had my first encounter with a "medusa" (jellyfish), which I only realized when I felt my hand stinging and swelling up.

If last year's attack by the olio mare was my baptism (according to Claudia), then this was my first communion...or Bar Mitzvah, only minus the presents (boo...), but also minus the thank you notes (yay!). Everyone insisted that the best way to reduce the swelling was to pee on the part that was stinging.  And you know what?  It worked!  Yes, I washed after.  It was easy, because it all took place in the sea.

We visited a few more grottos, did a bit of swimming and before you knew it, it was time to head back to the port.  We hightailed it back to the marina in time for a late lunch.

On today's menu was this beautiful plate of smoked salmon, tuna and swordfish

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to wash up and rest a bit before dinner.  Next post will cover dinner and day three.  Ciao for now!!