A promise I made in Sicily

Some of the UMass students at Segesta, one of the Greek temples we visited on our 10-day trip to Sicily. With its rolling hills, steep cliffs, varied architecture and above all its warm people, it really exceeded my expectations. And the students were model travelers. I learned from looking at their photos that you really do get better shots if you're bold and friendly -- and have a high-powered camera.



From our passionate tourguide Rosa -- Sorry, this photo of her with me at a Greek theater in Taormina at the base of Mount Etna doesn't capture her beauty or style --I learned that Sicily is the sixth biggest island in the world, with a population of about 6 million and that it was conquered by many peoples from the ancient Greeks and Romans, Arabs and some group called the Swabian, to name a few. Lemons, limes, almonds, olives and other crops grow well in the Mount Etna lava-enriched soil and agriculture is its main industry.
I saw that the beautiful landscape is dotted all over with energy-producing windmills. Rosa said there has been no opposition to them.
I learned how to brine green olives and that black olives are the same olives but are mature and sundried with salt. The green olives you put in a jar with 2 parts water, 1 part salt, garlic, lemon and orange and wild fennel and tamp them down with a coiled young olive branch; seal the jar and store them till green mold begins developing on the branch.



I met some of the friendliest people ever in the mountainous town of Castelbuono, where sanitation workers lead donkeys down the narrow cobblestone streets to collect the garbage and manna grows on trees.


Vincenzo, a Castelbuono shopkeeper, eating dried manna, a maple sugar-like sweet made from the sap of Sicilian ash trees. It's reputed to aid with digestion and help you lose weight!


I did a lot of other things, but the most fun of all was accompanying Rosa, seen here, to Semplicemente Donna, a hair salon in Giardini Naxos. Salvo Mandracchia, the maestro, doesn't ask clients what kind of hairstyle they have in mind, he tells them what kind they need. Both he and Rosa agreed I needed a cut and color.


The last thing I did in Sicily was give Rosa my word that I will never go gray again. D'oh!