This has been a busy week, but hopefully it gets a little lighter as we head into the weekend. Saturday night, I met up with my cousin Mario and his wife Cassandra along with their kids for some pizza at a campground five minutes walk from my house...that I'd never set foot in. I will be going back sometime as Camping Smeraldo did not disappoint.
Sunday was very windy. I went to the beach for the first time this year, and on the way I was getting my face blasted with dirt and sand. I sat under my umbrella, number 71 Sud (south), and enjoyed a Lemon Soda. As I was just getting comfortable for my first day on the beach, I could smell smoke, and ash started falling from the sky. I looked up and noticed a wildfire had started in the farming area of the town, just beyond the hillside behind my place. I left the beach, went home in the smoke (thank you Canada for preparing my lungs for wildfire smoke), and waited for the firemen to do their best. After lunch I noticed the wind had changed direction. It wasn't much help to the firefighters, but it was good for the homes nearby. Eventually air support arrived and the fire was put out overnight. Smelled like smoke for a couple of days though.
Monday, I woke up early and headed on the bus to Termoli, the bigger city just north of us. I wanted to deposit some money, and pay some bills. This was a no-go for Monday. My banker informed me that I needed to get an ATM card from them and do all of the banking and bill paying through a machine. They got me the card, but I'd have to come back the next day because it takes a day to activate and receive a pin. I left the bank, passed the castello of Federico II, and decided to head to La Fontana mall. It was a mile and a half walk from where I was, but I needed some Brita water filters, which I know they sell, and I had an hour and a half of time to kill before my bus ride back to Campomarino. I did spend the remainder of the day on the beach.
Tuesday I woke up early again and headed back into Termoli. I took care of most of the banking, then had two hours to kill, so I went back to the mall, and got a few more things that I needed, including a new internet hotspot. Mine finally died, after 10 years. This new one isn't working yet so I'll have to go back sometime in the next week to exchange it. In the meantime, I figured out how to get my Italian cell phone to work as a hotspot, so that's how this is getting posted.
Today, I got up early again, took the same bus trip north, but this time I was heading a few hours north to Ancona to visit Zia Carmelita at her rest home, and spend some quality time with my cousin Valeria. Zia was in good spirits, and ate her lunch while we were there. When her roommate came back from the cafeteria, and it was time for their nap, Valeria and I headed up to Senigalia, a seaside town about a half hour north of Ancona. It was beautiful there and we had a fantastic lunch overlooking a port. A few hours later, I was back at my place with a plan to sleep in tomorrow. I'll keep you posted how that goes.
