SUNSET POINT

One of the places Fran and I often walked to we named 'Sunset Point'. It is actually Capo San Marco, and used to have a Greek Signal Tower above it, and used to have an old fashioned light house, and now has a modern, automated light house. It is also the site of many ship wrecks, as the rocks come up near the surface in what many boats thought was deep water. They were wrong.

From sunset point, we could see old, unkempt olivetti, still producing a few olives, but not many. The trees were old and had not been trimmed, the soil had not been turned to cut down the competition for scarce summer water, and they had not been irrigated like the well tended olive groves in the area. The olivetti was still beautiful, with its old gnarly trunks and broad umbrella of branches.

From the point, we could see Tre Fontana in one direction, and Capo Bianco near Agrigento in the other. There used to be the hulking remains of a burned out car down there, although someone hauled it away. The path down to the point does not allow for easy access to walkers, no less cars or tow trucks, so I am not sure how it was taken out. The flat area is always overgrown, as no one trims it. The winds apparently have discouraged taller brush from developing , so there is just a low ground cover, and it usually has plants in flower each of the seasons, brightening up the surroundings. Occasionally there are young folks who have climbed down the steep cliff to reach the small beach, which is often littered with empty water bottles that have been jettisoned (or is it flotsamed) from passing boats and driven to shore by the waves.

I finally felt up to walking down there the other day. It was not a particularly clear day, and the sea was calm, except near shore, where unusual waves built up to almost surfing size, and worked to rearrange the coast line. There was no breeze, which was unusual, as usually Fran would complain about the strong winds blowing ashore as the tried to take her pictures of the sea, the land, the waves, the trees, and the beach.

It was beautiful there, and I could not help but imagine that she was with me.