October 2020 - from Sicily to Tunisia passing through Pantelleria

Once in Licata harbor we moored beside a motor yacht, L'erg Bleu, the only one that we like: a Grand Banks. Alain, Hend and Brigitte.

Soon we became good friends and we visited Valle dei Templi in Agrigento a true paradise for archeology lovers.

Our friendship actually brought us to follow them to Tunisia...

Hend is Tunisian and with Alain, his husband are leaving there from the 90ies. So talking and talking with them I was starting wondering to go back to Tunisia after decades of desert exploration.

So instead heading to Greece we changed our direction...Tunisia, we are arriving!

but first a compulsory stop, the island of capperi & Passito:  Pantelleria.

Passito wineyard.  

End of September the bunches of grapes are taken to the greenhouses to dry.

Magalithic settlement dating back to about 5000 years ago

 Capers, one's best in the world. You can buy directly from growers.

Amazing visit of a "Giardino Pantesco". 

Structurally, these are dry-walled lava stone fences, almost always with a circular plan. Their height can vary from one to over three meters, depending on the size of the plants grown inside them (almost always citrus fruits). The structure, without a roof, has a single narrow opening to access it and small secondary openings at the base to allow the passage of rainwater. The top of the wall is also inclined inwards to capture as much water as possible. If the walls do not allow the wind to damage the fruits, they allow instead to retain the nocturnal humidity, creating a much cooler and humid microclimate inside the garden than the surrounding external environment.

Venere lake, bath in beneficial clay...