This is Kubota from Adan Staff.
I would like to introduce the beautiful sea of Elba Island, Italy, where I visited in the summer.
What is Elba Island like? If you are wondering what it is like, please click here>>>
It was June when I visited Elba Island. I thought it was still too early for swimming, and that it would be fine if I could play around with my feet a little. I packed my swimsuit in the trunk and set off, but to my surprise, it was already on-season on Elba Island!
However, since summer vacation in Italy is a bit further away, most of the visitors who come to visit during this time are tourists from Germany and other surrounding countries.
There are many beaches on the island, and they are not full, but we decided to snorkel on a rocky beach a little ways off.
Legend has it that this rock chair was used by Napoleon to sit on while he was exiled to Elba Island to think about his homeland.
The sharply shaped island in the distance is a French territory called Montecristo. It is very close.
The locals call this place "Piscina di Napoleone" (Napoleon's Pool), and indeed, there is a pool-like entry at the end of the rocky beach.
This is a spot where you can enjoy nature to the fullest, with small fish on the surface of the water and sea urchins littering the shadows of the rocks when you look through the rocks.
I like snorkeling, but I am not a fan of crucian beetles...they are usually found on the rocks where it looks like fun. But here in the ocean, there are no crucian carp! This is paradise!
The visibility is also very clear in the sea, a curtain of light in a bright blue space.
I would like to show you some pictures, but I was in the mood for some sticky feet, so I didn't bring my water-resistant camera,
It was just so beautiful that it burned itself into my brain, even though I don't have a picture of it!
Now, after lots of swimming, we are hungry, so it's time for lunch.
We will have ham on schiacciata, a Tuscan bread procured from the supermarket.
This is what is called focaccia, and in Tuscany, this kind of slightly flattened focaccia is eaten.
It means "schiacciata = crushed," which is exactly what the name implies.
Fluffy focaccia is delicious, but I also love this flattened focaccia because it is delicious when you bite into it.
In the afternoon, we moved to the beach and lounged under parasols. Don't tell anyone that here, too, my "sticky-footed mood" was a disaster, and I was sorely tempted by sunscreen that was not water-proof.
I was observing that the surf was kind of sparkling, and it seems that the sand is mixed with various minerals.
It is hard to tell from the photo, but the black grains in this had a metallic luster at different angles.
Elba Island is also famous for its abundance of minerals, and various types of minerals are said to be produced, including quartz, pyrite, hematite, and others.
It is black and shiny, perhaps this is hematite?
It seems that there is a mixture of this many types of minerals, even if only roughly picked up from the beach.
I think I enjoy this more than picking up seashells...! It's sad that people around me don't understand...
But I will not be discouraged here and will introduce the minerals of Elba Island again.
