CONTROLLO

I went to Ospedale Il Cervallo yesterday for a six month check up. The doctor was very happy, and quite pleased that the net he had built between my ribs and lungs/diaphragm/spleen was holding up perfectly. He wants to see me at least one more time just before the summer.

However, that was not the most interesting news of the day. The weather was. It has rained almost every day since Christmas here in beautiful Sicily. We should have enough water to get through the summer, even without using the sometimes broken desalinization plants in Gela, and the silting in of some of the larger reservoirs. However, we shall see.

But it did not rain yesterday. As I drove up the main artery from Sciacca to Palermo, I saw snow on top of some of the mountains. Old Gibellena ruins were covered in white, as were the ruins of Poiggiareale. However the new towns were unaffected. Maybe that is why they built them lower.

Eventually, after San Guiseppe Jato, I saw signs advising me to turn back if I did not have snow tires or chains. Well, I am used to driving in the snow in the US, so I decided to go on through the mountain pass above Palermo. It was slippery, and of course there were only tire tracks to follow, as they do not have a whole lot of grattaneve here (snowplows to you), but proceeding slowly, it was not bad. The sun had hit the long bridge just below the crest, so there was no ice to content with.

And yes, it was pretty.