PART XXI: ANCONA (9/27)

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We went to Ancona to learn about the archaeology of the city, the region, and Italy generally. Ancona celebrated its 2,400th Anniversary this year although this is just based on the first documented mention of the city. Actually, Ancona and its surrounding area has been an important component of about a dozen civilizations over the past four millennia.

The history of the city, like many old cities in Europe, can be explored much like geology in that it is preserved in layers beneath the modern streets and buildings. This site was a Greek temple, a Roman Forum, a nunnery, and a prison.

The Ancona Cathedral, which is the seat of the Archbishop of Ancona, is a converted Byzantine Paleo-Christian church with Gothic architectural elements. It was built on top of the Greek acropolis that was built on the hill overlooking the harbor in the 3rd Century BC.

The view of the harbor from the Ancona Cathedral. The Jadrolinija boat on the left, called Marko Polo, is the ferry we will be taking to Hvar.

Each city's main square where trade happened had these on the wall in order to standardize length measurements. Pie is foot and braccio is arm.

A beautiful piazza with another old church with a renovated facade.

The little stand with the green awning on the right served us an incredible variety of very tasty sea food-gastropods, mollusks, bivalves. Unfortunately I don't remember their names.

A neat fountain near our lunch spot.

One of the main goals of the trip was to see this archaeological museum.

One of Sandro's old friends works in this lab where about six square kilometers of hillside overlooking the sea north of Ancona are monitored in order to warn the people who live there if a landslide is happening. The lab and monitoring stations were set up after a huge landslide in 1982 devastated the area's buildings and the major road and train line into the city itself.

Here is a building that has shifted and sunk even further ever since the 1982 landslide. People are no longer allowed to build on the landslide but some people live in the few buildings that survived.

One of the landslide monitoring stations.

The view of Ancona from the landslide area just north of the city.

Snarky Puppy: Family Dinner and The Beast

  

Watch the rest of the live performance of Snarky Puppy's new album "Family Dinner."

Buy it here and check out another recent release, Amkeni with Bukuru Celestin.

Plus a new album from an old favorite of mine, The Beast:

PART XX: COLDIFESTA AND THE COLDILYMPICS (9/26)

After a fitful night of sleep for all the participants a hearty breakfast of both sweet and savory crepes are served. Pipi makes sure to clean up any scraps that may have fallen from the table. 

The Opening Ceremony of the First Annual Coldifesta and Coldilympic Games begins the festivities. Jordan holds the ceremonial "Sharpest Knife In All Coldigioco Used For Carving the Wild Boar," Sam is wearing the ceremonial "Flag of Undisclosed Origin Found On Monte Gran Sasso," and Taylor holds the "Pub Hat" while Travis reads his welcome speech and explains the day's importance and the festivities that are about to ensue: "Let the games begin!"

Colin warms up for the first event: Speed Walking.

One player from each team is represented in the first heat. From left to right: Devin of "I Scorpione" (aka the Scorps), Alyssa of "Jeff Is Not Playing," Travis of "The Pyroclastic Peacocks," and Sam of "Cono Piccolo."

The final results: Matt wins Cono Piccolo, Travis gets second for the Peacocks, Alex gets third for Cono Piccolo, and Devin comes in fourth for the Scorps.

Devin throws the first toss in the second event: Rock Put.

Alex's winning toss of 14.5 meters.

Jordan, wearing the pub hat for being the worst participant of the previous event, throws while Colin interpretive dances to "the energy of the event."

Guess that Strike/Dip is next. This game is only fun for geologists because they finally get to not stress about the inaccuracy of their measurements. This task, which they usually do many times a day, is made very difficult when one is not allowed a compass.

The final round of Guess that Strike/Dip was made even more difficult for the participants. After being blindfolded they were pointed due north and then only given the use of their feet to guess the strike and dip of the piazza. 

What could be more exciting for geology students than this next event: Rock Identification!

Because this is a sport requiring great agility and speed, it is difficult to catch participants in the moment of the action.

After a tiring morning of action and excitement, a lunch of jambalaya and cornbread should keep the athlete's energy up for the afternoon's events. "Did we make enough?"

Travis explains the rules to the first of the afternoon's events: Pin the Tail On the Wild Boar. Once blindfolded, the teammates of the participant may help their teammate locate the boar's rear end, however they may only use Italian. Their ultimate score will be the number of seconds taken to pin the tail plus the number of centimeters the tail is from the boar's rump.

Catie needs a little more direction from the rest of the Pyroclastic Peacocks. You'd think the experience of being blindfolded in Guess that Strike/Dip would have helped.

Alex explains the rules to the next event: Throw Rock From Rock Hit Rock On Rock Off Rock. The name says it all.

Hannah represents the Scorps with a good showing.

Bryn, after winning Pin the Tail On the Wild Boar, also dominates Throw Rock with a whopping four hits out of ten throws.

Sandro is the official judge for this next event: Snack and the Aesthetic (a pun on the title of our art class Science and the Aesthetic). The rules are: each team is given equal access to a handful of basic foods--cornetti, crackers, olive oil, and three types of cheese--and using only fruits and vegetables from around the village they must create a snack to be paired with the house wine. 

The maestro grades each snack on aesthetic value, taste, and originality of ingredients. The final victor is the Scorps because of their geological presentation (on a slab of limestone) and a great tasting cheese and cracker topped by a fig jam.

The final events are two Italian classic games: Bocce Ball and...

...of course Foosball.

A dinner of wild boar is the ultimate reward for all the participants whether they scored well or not. With only the foosball and bocce semi-finals and finals left to be played, all the teams are in range of metaling.

After the TAs give each student an award specifically tailored to their characters, the students gave the TAs awards. Jordan received a raw sausage in recognition of his esteemed title as "Mr. Sausage" and Carly achieved the rank of "Best Driver" and received an old tire.

The foosball finals were won by Sam and Alex for Cono Piccolo against Alyssa and Jeff who finally showed up to play for Jeff Is Not Playing. 

With everyone gathered around the bonfire, the Award Ceremony concludes the First Annual Coldilympic Games. With the greatest number of Olympic points won throughout the day's events Cono Piccolo takes the laurel victors' crowns with the Pyroclastic Peacocks in second and Jeff Is Not Playing taking third. I Scorpione are given a metal of commendation for their outstanding sportsmanship.

Finally a concert is put on by Coldiplay, aka Alex, Matt, and Alyssa playing a few lf Alex's original tunes. Then Alex, Taylor, Walter Alvarez (a geologist and fiddler who comes to Coldigioco every year), and Sandro take over with some old time fiddle and folk music while the rest dance in Coldigioco's main street.

Hiatus Kaiyote: Doin' It Up

Hiatus Kaiyote is making moves on a world tour and releasing a new EP soon. Can't wait for the new tunes! Here's a video of a live performance of a new arrangement of one of the songs from Tawk Tomahawk and a couple other unreleased songs as well. Also Perrin Moss, Kaiyote's drummer and producer released a pretty weird beat tape under the name Clever Austin.







Check out their website, Bandcamp (free downloads), Youtube, and sign onto their mailing list pages for more info. Man, I just can not get enough of these guys.

PART XIX: MUSONE RIVER PROJECT (9/24)

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Robbie demonstrating how to be chill on the beach at lunch during our day of sample collection.

A slug Devon found while we were working on our analysis. The horn made it look much more threatening than its antics on our table proved it to be.

PART XVIII: IRLANDE (IRELAND) (9/16 - 9/19)

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After a car ride to the train station, a train to Rome, a bus to the airport, a flight to Dublin, a bus to a hostel for a few hours of sleep, a tram to the train station, and a train to Galway I arrived at the starting point of my real adventure. I first needed to fuel up at a local pub with a Guinness and traditional Irish breakfast of eggs and about five different sausages and hams. Guinness from the tap is AMAZING! The bartender recommended a bike rental store and I walked through Eyre Square and picked up the bike that was to be my trusted steed for the next four days. I immediately headed out of Galway following the coast on a gorgeous sunny day with a refreshing breeze off the ocean. Strange to be riding on the wrong side of the road!

My first realization that I was actually in Ireland with a bike to take me wherever I wanted to go was on the tip of this point looking out at the sea. I also realized here that I was going to be fighting a remarkable wind for my entire ride.

An oyster shell. The town of Clarinbridge advertised itself as the oyster capital of the world and has an annual oyster festival.

I walked around the point on the beach and eventually found this little dirt track, which led me back to the paved road.

About 30 swans all of a sudden appeared on this inlet where the Kilcolgan River enters the ocean.

The Dunguaire Castle just outside of Kinvarra. By this point the wind was really picking up and a sprinkle had decided to start drilling me in the face so I decided to call it quits in Kinvarra for the night.

On top of Dunghaire Castle in one of the strongest winds I've ever experienced.

A traditional Galway Hooker bobs in the harbor.

The view of the Burren from Bernie and Niamh's house, Pullnah Uisce (the Watering Hole), on Tuesday morning. It was an interesting situation finding a place to stay Monday night. I found that the B&Bs in Kinvarra were too expensive and one lady directed me to a hostel just outside of town. This was just some guy's house that he's been slowly expanding into a hostel and so his relatively small facility was full. He, however, called some friends--Bernie and Niamh (pronounced "Neeve")--who agreed to put me up for the night. They turned out to be incredibly hospitable and their boys Seamas and Eoghan (7 and 4 respectively) were very excited to have someone new to play with (they are home schooled). We had dinner together, watched a movie, and when the kids went to bed Bernia, Niamh, and I jammed on guitars, drums, and voices playing some traditional Irish tunes, Bob Marley classics, and originals that Bernie wrote. This was possibly one of the most poignant experiences of my trip to Ireland and I am infintely grateful for this family's incredible hospitality and unprompted friendship.

Another Galway Hooker in the Kinvarra harbor.

After the rain stopped (sort of) around 2PM I left Pullnah Uisce and got to the Burren a few wet and windy hours later. The incredible limestone formations of these hills are very distinctive from far away but walking on them is even more remarkable.

Lunch on the road consisted of an orange from the hostel in Dublin, a chocolate bar from the Dolomites, and sandwiches made of bread from Italy, jelly from Dublin, and black raspberries from the roadside. The black raspberries were still in prime harvesting season and supplied me with endless snacks throughout my ride across the Irish countryside.

My walk from the road to Eagle's Nest on Slieve Carran.

Eagle's Rock is an an abandoned church that was erected next to a cave where a saint lived. I don't remember when the saint lived or what his name was. 

Here's the cave!

These woods were more like a rainforest in the middle of a harsh, rocky landscape. Pretty interesting.

Cool flower. There many interesting flowers in Ireland.

Clare's Rock Hostel in Carran with my trusty Alfa. The plastic bag on the seat is there because of the drizzle that set in today and lasted until the end of my trip.

Ireland's largest turlough, or disappearing lake, is a result of a peat bog that lies on top of the karst limestone landscape of the Burren. The fissures and caves that have formed over millions of years of corrosion by slightly acidic rainwater allow water to drain from the valley. The lake, which is about two kilometers long and about one kilometer wide, can fill to a depth of about 50 meters and then drain completely in a period of about three days. 

the only pub/restaurant in the tiny hamlet of Carran.

Clareconnel Fort.

The Pulnabrone Dolmen marks a burial mound that was constructed between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago during the Neolithic Period. 

Low tide in Ballyvaughan.

An abandoned church off the road just west of Ballyvaughan.

This is just one of many castles I saw off in the distance and didn't have time to check out. The sheep was more interested in just checking me out.

I ate lunch at this lighthouse at the head of Galway Bay.

My first exposure to cliffs on the real Atlantic coast of Ireland.

A beach with big waves. Apparently surfing is a growing pastime in Ireland.

Glacial erratic!

An example of the fissures carved in the limestone of the Burren near the coast as I rode between Fanore and Doolin on my way to Lisdoonvarna.

Crazy tree breaking apart some ruins.

Lisdoonvarna is the home of an annual matchmaking festival during the month of September, which I did not know about until I got there. Mostly people over the age of 50 come from all over the world to meet the love of their lives. It was funny seeing hundreds of foreigners in this tiny little town in the country. I met a kilted Scotsman in a bar Wednesday night while listening to some Irish music. I also met the guy who brews three beers specifically for that bar while there and tried both their black stout (much like a Guinness) and a red ale, both of which were very good.

Lisdoonvarna's main square shows the old folks dancing.

Another castle between Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher. They're everywhere!

The Cliffs of Moher were my ultimate destination for my bike trip and I made it!

O'Brien's tower on top of the Cliffs of Moher.

Here is most of the tickets and maps required to get me to my destination an back. I took a bus back to Galway from the Cliffs of Moher, returned my bike, took a train back to Dublin, spent the night in the Dublin airport, flew back to Rome, and took a train back to Coldigioco on the 20th. What an amazing trip!