Mazara, one of the most important fishing harbors in Italy, is an ancient place with a complex history. Founded in the ninth century BC by the Phoenicians, over the following centuries it came under the rule of the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths and Byzantines, all before being occupied by the Arabs in 927. The heart of the historical city, the Casbah, is Arabic.
We arrived at our apartment at about 1:30, leaving us all afternoon to explore the town. First things first though: immediately after checking in Rachael rushed out for three errands: to check out a breakfast cafe for the morning, to make a dinner reservation, and to procure a stash of gooey pistachio pastry treats, her birthday present to herself. Happy birthday, Rocky!
Janice BranhamTo Rachel and Patrick HugensThree primes in a row, a strong milestone for someone in her prime. Happy birthday Rachael! Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Rachael AndersonTo Janice BranhamThanks. I certainly don’t feel like I’m in my prime but I’m certainly enjoying myself. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Rachael AndersonTo Rachel and Patrick HugensI noticed that also that’s why I had to search out several pistachio pastries! Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Afterwards, we set off by ourselves to explore Mazara in our own way. Rachael went east along the coast, eventually returning after an eight mile walk. She took very few photos, assuming I’d cover the town well on my excursion. Her walking plan was thwarted after a few miles when she was stopped at the Ponte Arena bridge, closed for renovation. It was a stroke of luck that she discovered this today, so we know not to bike that way on our way out of town tomorrow.
Chiesa di San Michele, our landmark in the neighborhood. Our apartment is right behind us.
Rachael was wrong though. I took hardly any photos of the town because I walked west along the waterfront and the mouth of the Mazaro River, anxious to test out my new camera on any birdlife I could find. Spoiler alert: the camera works great, and I found a few birds.
#122: Black-headed gull. Nice to see this species in its breeding plumage.
#123: Lesser black-backed gull. Similar to the yellow-legged gull (in photos below) but for the darker mantle, longer legs and slimmer beak. The fondness for trash is not a distinguishing characteristic.
#125: Barn swallow. We’ve seen hundreds of these, but they never slow down! I finally got a shot by focusing the camera on an area and waiting for a bird to fly into the field of view.
Keith AdamsDoes your camera have the "burst mode" feature? I've not really tried it on mine but from the description this is exactly what it's for. There are a couple of variations, one of which is basically continuous recording of a couple seconds; trip the shutter release once to start, and when you trip it again the last two seconds or so are saved as individual frames. Keep what you want, discard the rest. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Keith AdamsYou’re right. It would be. Good use of it, but I never think of it. Thanks for the reminder. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
We went out again, together this time, to see the sunset and fill the time until our restaurant opened at 7:30. We walked past the cathedral and its piazza and then strolled long the long seafront promenade. I didn’t see this part of the town at all in my walk, and was very impressed. Mazara is quite attractive and looks like it would make a fine base for a longer stay.
Mazara has a long and stylish lungomare (seaside promenade).
Keith AdamsTried the "city lights after dark" mode on yours? I have yet to try it with mine so I dunno how good it is. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
And the birthday dinner? A huge success. We were the only diners, and all courses were excellent; but it’s her birthday, so let’s feature hers this time. What a great day, top to bottom!
1 year ago
1 year ago
1 year ago
1 year ago
1 year ago
1 year ago