Day 4: Trapani
A salty day ahead!
Today we were off to go visit a wetland where sea salt is harvested. It was interesting to see the salt harvesting process which requires manual labor, as well as patience and attention. You can see the tremendous pride of the people who work here have for the salt and the rich history of this salt farm.
Phoenician Island of Mozia
This old Phoenician settlement is filled with rich history dating back to the four century BC. While I am no history scholar, our tour guide did a nice job of walking us around the island and sharing stories of what happened back when it was a Carthaginian colony. As our group walked around the island and was learning about Mozia, we also had a furry four-legged friend, Luna, escorting us throughout the island. After our tour was over, we enjoyed a nice lunch that was provided for us.
Apertivo o'clock
In my About the Tour page, I mention that on this tour we were celebrating the heart and soul of my family, my Mom's milestone birthday (leaving that number out just for you, Mom). As a fun way to celebrate her and her birthday, we had an "apertivo o'clock" (apertivo is a pre-meal snack or drink in Italy) with some of our tour mates. Everyone brought a bottle of wine or an interesting snack (like lemon-basil potato chips) to share and try something unique to Sicily. One of our tour mates is a cheese aficionado and he brought this really rare cheese that is made in Sicily. Enjoying some laughs while drinking fantastic wine is what vacation is all about.
The Legend of Sicilian Moor's Heads
When you arrive in Sicily, it is hard not to notice that a male and a female with crowns on their heads are absolutely everywhere you go.
What are those and what do they symbolize? These heads tell a story of a Sicilian legend of love and revenge. Here is my way of explaining this legend and while it may not be the best, you can learn more about it here.
There once lived a beautiful girl named Kalsa who loved to take care of plants (#plantmom). One day she met a Moor man who was traveling to Palermo and they instantly fell in love with one another. Their relationship was filled with passion and desire. The man had to travel back to his wife and children (that Kalsa did not know about). Kalsa became mad with jealousy and the feeling of betrayal finding out this news. In the middle of the night, she killed the Moor man by cutting off his head. She then used his head as a vase and planted basil in it. Every day she would water the plant with her tears and eventually the basil grew abundantly. With her surplus of basil other girls became jealous and to have the same success, they created vases like her's to have the same luck.
