Last night was a farewell pizza party at the farm. The Swedish Wwoofers are also leaving today. It started off to be an 8:30pm dinner, which turned out to be a 10:30pm dinner. This is very normal in Italy. It was so nice of them to organize the dinner, but by the time dinner was over I was falling asleep. Us old people can’t stay up until midnight two nights in a row (ok, I will only speak for myself).
It was with mixed feelings that I was leaving La Porta dei Parchi. I had stayed three weeks at the other farms (except the farm from hell) and I felt I was ready to go, but I was only at this farm one week and was leaving early because of my tooth. I really would have liked to stay and learn more about making cheese, Abruzzo cooking, starting a vegetable garden, and Abruzzo culture.
The people at the farm were wonderful: Nunzio, the owner, is one of the most humble, kind, and intelligent men I have met during my stay in Italy; Pasqualino was a riot and really a great guy, who is genuinely concerned about people; All the office staff goes out of their way to help; the people from Romania that make the cheese and tend the sheep are so kind and patient and are willing to share all their knowledge; and finally Gesepe, the gardener, was so terrific and really wanted to help you in any way possible.
I also would have liked to spend more time in Pratola Peligna to get to know my relatives and do more hiking in the National Forests in Abruzzo. I feel that the region of Abruzzo is more the traditional Italy, rather than Tuscany and the big cities (other than Naples). Spending time in all the Abruzzo hillside villages (they are scattered across every mountain) is really getting to know what Italy was like years ago.
There is a strong sense of community among the people of Abruzzo and especially the Agricultural / Farming community. They all try and help each other to sell their products; they truly want everyone to be successful because they are proud of their region.
One common thing that I did observe in most of the farms is how hard it is to be a farmer. Talking with Nunzio and Paula (Tholos) and some of the other farmers in Abruzzo I met, they want to cut back the time they have to spend on the farm. Work never really ends and the monetary rewards are very little. Nunzio is particularly concerned that the young people are not interested in farming and would rather live in the cities. Who will carry on the traditions of Abruzzo!!
On a not so positive note: the farm was a real working farm. The animals, including the dogs, donkey, horses, pigs, were treated like animals. I won’t go into detail but as an example, the dogs were really in bad shape because they were totally outside and only ate table scraps (the puppies were really looking bad by the time I left with all the rain). The donkeys and horses were in a very small and not so clean stall (except for Eric’s great work in the donkey stall). It was difficult to watch but I understood that this was the way it was in a real working farm. I don’t want to make out that they were mistreated; it is just a different view on animals in general. Being an animal lover it is hard to accept.
In summary, I really felt I had a long list of things that I still wanted to do before I departed but I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends and my dog Teca. I am already planning my next trip back.
Nunzio picked us up early today and took us to town to catch our bus. He gave us a full bag of cheese to take back to America. Again, no one asked him to do this, he just showed up.
We spent most of the day on the bus and arrived into rain in Rome. That didn’t stop us from walking from one end to the other. I actually enjoy the rain because most tourists stay inside. After being in Abruzzo for three weeks, Rome is such a stark contrast with all types of people from around the world. Abruzzo is not a real tourist area, so you can go for weeks and never meet another American or person from a country outside of Italy.
Tomorrow I become a traditional tourist; no work, just play.
Ciao for now
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