I slept until 6:00 this morning, but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling much better. We had an hour-and-a-half drive to the salt flats, so I claimed the back row of the bus and slept for most of the way.
At the salt flats, we watched a short movie about how the operation works. The basic process is pretty straightforward: as seawater evaporates in a series of shallow pools, the salinity increases until the salt crystallizes. The salt is then harvested by hand.
After the movie, we donned our boots and were put to work. We cranked the Archimedes screw pump to move the water and then waded into the salt ponds with our sieves to harvest the top layer of salt. This is the best-quality salt and is used for seasoning. Apparently, a day of “laboring in the salt mines” is part of the OAT experience!
After our hard labor, we headed by boat to the island of Mothya. The Phoenicians settled there about 2,700 years ago. In the early 20th century, a wealthy British family named Whitaker acquired the island, and Giuseppe (John) Whitaker became fascinated with its history. He financed extensive excavations that uncovered many of the Phoenician ruins and artifacts.
We had a “picnic” lunch before heading back to Mazara. Some people went for a walk around the island after lunch, but I decided that, given the state of my health, archaeology could wait. I took a nap instead.
Here are some of Anne’s pictures.
Our next activity wasn’t until 5:30, so I had plenty of time to rest. We then went to a Sicilian restaurant for a cooking class and, more importantly, to eat the fruits of someone’s labor. We made pasta with Sicilian pesto, eggplant parmigiana, and an almond parfait.
Anne and I didn’t participate in the cooking because we were still sick, but we did participate in the eating. Priorities.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel. I finally felt well enough to do some blogging, since I hadn’t felt up to it the night before. And the good news is that by the end of the day, I was feeling much better. Apparently, the combination of salt, naps, Sicilian food, and gelato is a pretty effective treatment!