Island Of Lampedusa, Italy (Southern Mediterranean)
After a series of very full, interesting archaeological sites and museums, as well as walks in the soukh of Tripoli, today was a more leisurely day. Early morning brought us to the coasts of the island of Lampedusa, of the Prefecture of Sicily. This principal island covers a square surface of 20 km, and has a population of ca. 5,500 inhabitants. It is formed of limestone, and can be considered an emerging point of the African Continental Plate. Originally covered by a Mediterranean maquis, it was completely denuded during the Borbonian Colonization Period (1843), and today is arid and poor. The important economic activity is fishing and tourism. One of the islands’ important products are capers. Part of the island was preserved in 1995 as a Natural Preserve, as well as the adjacent underwater system. One of the important protected land plants is Caralluma, Caralluma europaea, a small thick-stemmed plant with lovely matte-brown flowers. Among the animals are a night gecko, a small lizard and the harmless colubrid lizard. Some interesting larger plants are to be found here, such as carob and juniper. During season, a good number of migratory birds can be seen here, but today we had the opportunity of seeing gulls and blue herons! Probably the most notorious animal here is the sea turtle Caretta caretta, visiting the island to lay its clutches of eggs. The waters are simply marvelous, with a great range of aquamarines and blues! But the highlight of the morning was a series of fishermen at work with a long net, which they set and immediately retrieved with a great number of needlefish!
We had the opportunity of swimming in these waters, as well as kayaking and slowly touring part of the sea side in Zodiacs. During lunch, we slowly sailed around the island to observe its tall cliffs and anchored off the town of Lampedusa to walk along the small streets and visit the seaside cafes.
After a series of very full, interesting archaeological sites and museums, as well as walks in the soukh of Tripoli, today was a more leisurely day. Early morning brought us to the coasts of the island of Lampedusa, of the Prefecture of Sicily. This principal island covers a square surface of 20 km, and has a population of ca. 5,500 inhabitants. It is formed of limestone, and can be considered an emerging point of the African Continental Plate. Originally covered by a Mediterranean maquis, it was completely denuded during the Borbonian Colonization Period (1843), and today is arid and poor. The important economic activity is fishing and tourism. One of the islands’ important products are capers. Part of the island was preserved in 1995 as a Natural Preserve, as well as the adjacent underwater system. One of the important protected land plants is Caralluma, Caralluma europaea, a small thick-stemmed plant with lovely matte-brown flowers. Among the animals are a night gecko, a small lizard and the harmless colubrid lizard. Some interesting larger plants are to be found here, such as carob and juniper. During season, a good number of migratory birds can be seen here, but today we had the opportunity of seeing gulls and blue herons! Probably the most notorious animal here is the sea turtle Caretta caretta, visiting the island to lay its clutches of eggs. The waters are simply marvelous, with a great range of aquamarines and blues! But the highlight of the morning was a series of fishermen at work with a long net, which they set and immediately retrieved with a great number of needlefish!
We had the opportunity of swimming in these waters, as well as kayaking and slowly touring part of the sea side in Zodiacs. During lunch, we slowly sailed around the island to observe its tall cliffs and anchored off the town of Lampedusa to walk along the small streets and visit the seaside cafes.
