May in the heart

Favignana, in May, is an unusual journey, full of surprises.

The island is awakening from the winter numbness, but the wind still agitates the sea with continuous splashes. If, however, there is no wind, the eye reaches the horizon to dive into the bluest, the deepest water. Going back to the shore, green and blue prevail, and finally on the shore, the water is so transparent that you want to let yourself go in it and get you covered by its liquid, still too cold.

Most of the vegetation is already lush, but it will reach its maximum bloom in a couple of months when the island will be invaded by tourists who will not appreciate it because they will go too fast. To enjoy it at its best you need to be calm, silent, with few people, adapting to the rhythms required by the island.

A show that I always find fascinating is the arrival of fishermen at the harbor in the evening, the baskets full of all good things. Some islanders, sitting on a bench, wrinkled faces, tanned all year round, furrowed by the wind and sun, are waiting. When the fish and even the buyers arrive, they stop sleeping and chatting a little. They are a certainty: you know you will always find them on the bench, every time you return, the first greeting of the island when you disembark from the ferry. Along with the fish there are also some herbs that, together with tomatoes and other ingredients, skilled hands can turn into meals beautiful to see, full of colors, delicious to the smell, thanks to the mint so intense, and also to the taste.

A few days of May and the flavor of the island will remain in your heart.