Always

This is my last correspondence on this trip. I don't want to seem very emotional and sentimental so I'm only going to say a few words. 

Since you last heard from me I was still in high spirits because we had more time left. But now as our time has run out I would like to dedicate this blog to some of my favourite memories on this trip through my pictures. 

Our first day with the Padua kids 

Our last day with the Padua kids 

Where I belong

My favourite couple 

Another couple 

Republik nights 

Art appreciation  

Self reflection 

Mirto

Stranded at Poetto 

Waking up to my favourite thing in the world 

Sunset dinners 

Falcone "The Godfather "

Midnight on the church steps

Daniella 

Endless bus rides

Sleepy boat rides

Futbol

Being a kid again 

Constantly exploring

The vino bianco team 

Gelato nights

Pizza nights

We were laughing at something

Maybe at this...

Or this...

When it all first began

As I sit here, I remember so many stories, inside jokes, laughter and captivating moments. I explored so much of this beautiful serene island and met so many lovely people that I wish I could take with me wherever I go. I know I'll always have the memories but I wish time could stand still just for a little longer. I was never any good at goodbyes.  

Thoughts at 5 O'clock

Blue. Green. Red. Everything. I see the whole spectrum (but actually though). I don't even know what the beach we went to today was called actually. The water was just jaw dropping. If only I could live in this picture forever. 

I'm writing to you now live from the bus. We are passing by some stunning scenery here.

What's so enchanting about this island is that you can see the mountains while you are on the beach. Watching over you like a patient mother. They'll be here long after we're all gone. Or will they?

As we drive past all this natural beauty all of sudden giant eyesores come into focus. Like this industrial zone with structures unnatural to the mountain and the tree just placed amongst them like a foreigner. We put that foreigner there. Granted it provides electricity that keeps us warm and let's us microwave our popcorn but I wonder how many trees were torn down to provide this space. Trees that provide something we need way more than popcorn. 

Even though this land is relatively still taken care of compared to what's going on in some countries around the world. I can still see the signs of mistreatment by the plastic wrappers in that beautiful turquoise crystal water. The water that can invigorate your senses and lengthen your life when you're in it. And we still are alright with throwing our own filth into it. Filth that it knows not what to do with. 

Mama Earth has been through so much. Stephen Hawking thinks that in order for the human race to continue to survive in the future we will need to find another planet capable of housing life. Isn't that crazy? Our actions may literally make this planet inhabitable one day. Animals are going extinct. What animals will be on the next planet? I still want my lions and elephants and rhinos. I want my Sardinian flamingos! Maybe we can bring them to the next planet. 

I'm so glad I know now how our waste is handled because that's the best way to keep Earth alright. We need to take care of her and try to not hurt her so she can be beautiful for as long as possible.

So Annalisa even though today was not a technical visit technically, I still had the environment on my mind. Thanks for a great day. 

Angels, Devils & Stars

After a Friday filled with presentations, exams and report submissions we dedicated ourselves to relaxing and enjoying the simple things in life this weekend.  

Besides our usual outings to charming restaurants and wine with the locals the real highlight of my weekend was the Poetto beach. 

On Saturday we found some starfish! I named mine Stella. Fact, they're actually called sea stars and they have an eye spot to see at the end of each arm!

           Stella (Photo by Anna Murphy)

Some of us decided to go to Poetto today as well just because we love that clear turquoise water so much. I came out of the ocean today with one of my contacts missing from diving so much. We also went paddle boarding and that was even funnier to watch as we toppled each other over. 

Sella del Diavolo (the Devil's Saddle) is a mountainous geo-morphical shape that overlooks Poetto beach. Poetto's name actually comes from a tower named the "Poet's Tower" on Sella del Diavolo. Apparently there are stunning views from up there which I would love to see. 

The picture above is the view to the Gulf of Angels that can be seen from the Devil's Saddle. Legend has it this is where an epic struggle between Angels and Demons took place in the sky. The story goes that this is where the Devil decided to settle and the battle occurred when God sent his angels to remove the unwelcome guest on earth. This scene was then frozen in time when the devil dropped his saddle while trying to escape. 

You know it's funny because I just decided to research where Poetto got its name from for the benefit of you, the reader. After getting back home from 2 days on Poetto beach I decided to do this now. I remember gazing over at that mountain with a curious nature. Not knowing its legendary history.

It's so beautiful, how can you blame the devil. 

Ana what?

Today I woke up in a rather frenzied state an hour and a half after my alarm clock sounded by two powerful knocks on my door. I was 20 minutes late to the bus that was supposed to take us to the Villaservice Plant where we would learn all about their waste management practices. The plant does all of the following anaerobic digestion, composting, recycling and co-generation of landfilling gas, photovoltaic power stations and wind farms. Since we have seen all of the other types of waste management in previous technical visits. Today we focused on anaerobic digestion which is a collection process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material without oxygen.

An hour ride later we arrived and were taken to a room for an hour long presentation by one of the workers with great English. Broken down by bullet points to make this quick here is what I learned:

• Anaerobic digestion comes in two stages here: 
1. Organic Slurry
2. Hydrolysis Sludge

• The plant is authorized to treat 10,800 Mg/yr of organic waste
• What is treated is stored in a dome (pictured below)

Bio-gas dome (photo by Kestral Johnson)

After we left the plant we went for a little excursion to a hiking trail in Villacidro.

SMILE (photo by Eli Brown)

The trail led to a little enclosure where I decided to set up on a boulder and laid down in the sun. The view was so beautiful. It was all cliffs and clear blue sky.

The group exploring while I lay down (photo by Eli Brown)

 It was a fun day. What I like about this program the most is that we have a divide of both, the educational and the cultural. What I also like about this program is that they are both equally as fun.

More Ricotta Please

I'm having a mid trip crisis I think. I dug myself into a hole during this 100 year winter in Boston and I have finally remembered what fun is again. Being in this place gives me the same feeling as being in love. Its exciting at every turn. Invigorating. Nurturing and nerve racking all at the same time. I want it to last forever.

We did so much this weekend. We ate the best Ricotta cheese ever and meat made and prepared by shepards in Nuoro, Orgosolo. We saw street murals in the main city center. I decided to start a knife collection and bought two knives at the market, conquered a mountain and was healed by the sea.

Nuoro, Orgosolo

Artist's Opinion on American-Vietnam War

Celebrating

When I got to the top of Supra Monte, the first thing that went through my mind was "how am I going to get down now?" A direct result of the lazy city life I live in Boston. My legs are still sore by the way.

Danielle and I are both city girls so we stuck together through the hike and I don't know if I enjoyed the hike as much I enjoyed the hilarious moment.

"Whoaaaa!"
"Dima what? What is it did you see something?!"
"Nothing nothing I just slipped on a rock."
"What rock?! Dima there's no way we can climb up this."
"D we definitely can, come on let's get there we'll be so mad if we don't see what's up there."
"You're right, alright."
"OOOOOP!"
"What?!"
"Nothing I tripped."
"Dima!"

The way back down was much easier. We got down and saw this awing sunset. The kind that makes your heart warm and cheeks tense.

We had some delicious pasta and rabbit for dinner. Took a shower and gazed at the night sky. The stars glowing in our eyes.

We're so fond of nature here.

The next day our time in nature was even better. It was refreshing.


The road to the beach was rough, so rough that I got sick when we arrived to the port where we were to take a boat to a Grotto and beaches on the gulf of Orosei. My mood was shot. I could not focus on anything for a very long time. Even though the way looked like this:

Orosei

I went through the Grotto and the tour guide gave a very good explanation of its sea lion history and the stalagmites from the ground joined to the stalactites in the ceiling but I might as well have had my eyes closed because of the severe state of queasiness I was experiencing.

When we got to the second beach, it was filled with pebbles pink and white. The water turquoise.

Our boat docking (photo by Anna Murphy)

 I sat and opened my book up, I needed to just take my mind off my current state. Then I heard the other kids laughing and cheering. They were jumping off boulders, giggling and singing in the sea. I was suddenly slapped out of my mood and ventured to go join in on their joy. We made it up a massive boulder that nearly tore the bottom of our feet up. We all stood a foot away from each other. I held Maggie's hand. We counted down from four (no reason in particular) in unison:

"4" - Laughter
"3" - Hesitation
"2" - Ready
"1" - Jump

The Last Resort

Yesterday we drove about an hour to go see how another method of waste management is done. This is the last method on the European Union's hierarchy of waste management systems, the one used when there is no other option. We went to a landfill. 

The road was quite bumpy but once we got there we were able to go outside and see the gigantic area that the waste occupied (see Figure 1). I learned that this land was previously used to store waste and then covered with a clay top for the placement of hazardous waste. 

         Figure 1: Waste Storage Area 

The hazardous waste is ash that was obtained from an incinerator and then chemically treated for any hazardous substances before being placed in the ground. There is still however a little bit of  chemicals that are left in the ash that would become leachate when it rains. The leachate is collected by placing perforated pipes at the bottom of the waste and sloping the ground towards them. 

What was unique about this landfill is that it uses both vertical and horizontal collection systems one for collecting the leachate and the other collected the biogas that comes from the ash decaying. The leachate is stored in the containers shown in Figure 2 and then sent to a municipality for treatment while the gas is used as energy both electrical and thermal. The electrical is sold back to the grid and then thermal is used to treat the GHG. 

       Figure 2: Leachate Storage Tanks

There are a lot of things that can come from using a landfill which I found very interesting. I always thought that landfills were just mountains of garbage, but this landfill is actually being utilized well and the energy recovery generated is key to environmental sustainability.  

 

Beauty & Truth

One of my favourite quotes ever is by the reknowned author Gibran Khalil Gibran and it goes:
"of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand".  I love this quote because, as a typical human, the two things I constantly think about are my loved ones and my career whether it be academic or professional. This weekend I met a family who provided me with some perspective about beauty and truth.

Before I got to meet this family on Saturday evening, we drove an hour and a half West of Cagliari to pay a visit to the City of Iglesias where Porto Flavia Mine is located. The whole way to Iglesias was decorated with scenes from what seems like one of a world where all that exists is earth and water.

Iglesias, Sardegna

The thing with beauty is, it never gets old. I have seen many a coastline before but I always find myself in astonishment at the unbelievable majesty of the drumming ocean waves, blue as ever rumbling and scurrying onto the tiny sedated grains of sand. The reason we always search for beauty, I think, is to get that moment that takes our breath away back even if it is just for a second.

It's in these moments for me, that I find truth in life and it's the primary reason I travel. To become a better rounded person and to understand the world I was brought into a little more.

Which brings me to the lovely little family we met when we went to our next destination. It was a bed & breakfast farm ("agriturismo", learnt a new Italian word) called Sa Perda Marcada. The animals I met totaled to 4-5 horses, 2 rude geese, 1 extremely buff turkey and too many chickens running around to count at once. They grew and bred what they ate. From the minus 24 hours that we were there for, we ate 3 meals, all of which were freshly prepared. This is a mighty feat for 3 ladies to cook for over 20 people in that amount of time.

The family that we met had a very excited grandmother, a shy sister and our gracious hostess and her adorably energetic little son Inerio and his pet labrador Nuvola Nikita shown in the picture below. His father never made an appearance but the pictures displayed a happy marriage.

Nuvola Nikita (left) & Inerio (right)

When I met Inerio was the moment I absolutely fell in love with this family, puppy and farm. His mother had been inside all day teaching us how to make homemade pasta from food she and her family work everyday to grow and nourish. I had gone outside to make a phone call when I saw the little yellow Labrador excitedly running towards me and the little boy trailing happily behind. When everyone else met him he showed us his toy trucks, miniature ATV and taught a few of us how to kick a football around on the grass. He was the happiest boy in the world and every time he called for his mother she always answered him with unconditional adoration "si, mi amore?" They are all very happy people who enjoy every part of their life from the professional aspect and the personal. Isn't that what we all want?

Bedroom Exterior (photo taken by Anna Murphy)

Of all the things we did in the past two days Porto Flavia, the Roman ruins, cooking, and the beach, Agriturismo Sa Perda Marcada was what really closed this short getaway in a beautiful and happy way. The landscape was absolutely stunning and the people captured my heart with their charming and authentic life and I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to live it even if it was just for a short time, it took my breath away.