Shortcut to Mushrooms

Here are some pics from our most recent outing. We took the train about an hour to the town of Monterosso, one of the five villages known as Cinqueterre. I love the ocean or as Zita calls it, the seaside. The meeting of two such different elements land, and water creates a wonderful energy and a sense of the unexpected. The last time we were at Monterosso, a week ago, the waters were still and placid. This time the ocean was more alive and the waves more powerful. I swam out to a barrier of rocks and there were some people there. The Italians really know how to swim in the ocean and it truly is an art. I grew up swimming mostly in lakes and swimming pools. Northern California coastal waters are notoriously cold, so I had little experience of sea bathing and am always a little nervous in the ocean when the waves ride high and there are rocks. I noticed that the Italian couple next to me would wait for the high waves to pull out and then when they could see clearly they would jump off the rock with the next wave and then immediately swim a rapid stroke so as to not be pulled back and thrown against a rock as the wave pulled back. Thus clear of the rocks they would swim at a more leisurely pace. Monterosso is a beautiful town and very placid. The free beach is just outside the town and although the town obviously services many tourists the shopkeepers were friendly and the prices affordable. The girls spent the day swimming and collecting bits of sea glass on the shore. BEn and I took turns swimming out to the rocks and then back to shore. What to eat? The sardines are really wonderful there. Oh and lemons too. Lots and lots of lemons.