Sicily - Lo Zinagaro (the most beautiful hike in Italy)

In Sicily we had been in cities and wineries for days and decided we must get outside. We decided to visit La Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro which turned out to provide one of the most compelling hikes of our lives.

Lo Zingaro as the locals call it is Sicily's first nature reserve and is one of the island's great success stories.

The tunnel above was built as part of a highway system that was to go along the coast here but in 1980 several thousand Sicilians marched on the site declaring their disdain for the highway project and for once the Italian government listened to Sicily and the area became a series of trails along the sea to stunning cove beaches below.

There is a north and a south entrance to the park and 9 kilometers of stunning hiking in between. Juliet and I were Colorado strong on this hike and went 6km in before turning back. Of course we stopped at a couple of beaches along the way to enjoy some sun and brisk water.

As we relaxed on the small stones of this sparsely populated cove we watched a father (an American) swimming with his 3 girls and exploring the rocks along the back right of this photo. As fate would have it, one of the girls was stung by a jellyfish (Medusa in Italian and a much more appropriate name).

I caught this photo of the father bringing the girls to shore. Juliet, being the always prepared nurse happened to have some Banadryl in her bag and I delivered the needed antihistamine to the family and discovered they had 2 more boys with them and all had come down from Frankfurt where Michael (yep, that's his name) was stationed in the US Marine Corps.

Of course the girl was fine and was splashing her hands and feet in the water within 15 minutes (probably just before she fell totally asleep) and we bid farewell to the family as the beach was invaded by local school-children and we hit a final beach on the way out of Dodge.

We drove back to Porto Palo that evening knowing we had seen one of the most beautiful places in all of Italy and Europe for that matter. Stories in hand, water being guzzled, and the Autostrada lulled us into a state of calm and ease we had not known for over 3 weeks. A truly Blissful Adventure!

THE BLISSFUL ADVENTURE MOVES TOMORROW!

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Cheers Blissful Adventurers and we will see you on the other side!

Michael and Juliet Housewright

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The Story of Michael and Juliet

Hello Blissful Readers,

This is Juliet and Michael together for our inaugural joint post. We wanted to feature Juliet's photos today as an introduction to her art and to bring our current readers into the life of a traveling nurse a bit. The photo above is perhaps the most compelling photo that either of us has ever taken. We were on a woman-powered work boat rowed by two amazing Venetian women (one a valiant ex-pat) when we came upon this bridge. Michael felt obliged to capture the rowers and Juliet simply took what the universe gave her. Even simply looking at the image on the iPhone 4s after the shot we both knew something had just happened. This is what is brilliant about photography; akin to a hole in one and perhaps even more rare is that shot that simply transcends the moment, the camera, and the photographer. This was one of those shots for Juliet and we had to share it with you all today.

Juliet is a traveling nurse. This means she works under contracts at hospitals across America (she is licensed in 26 states). When Michael sold his business and stopped working for them in 2011 Juliet left her position in Houston to travel together with Michael and create this Blissful Adventure. Juliet is specialized in cardiology and works in a procedural area know as the Cath Lab. These positions are very difficult to fill in the USA and there is a strong demand for travelers to fill immediate and seasonal needs in Cath Labs throughout the land. Juliet has proven to be very adaptable and she has now taken 4 assignments here in Colorado.

Last summer Michael and Juliet put 90% of their possessions into storage in Houston, sold 1 of their cars, and embarked on a journey of the unknown. 1 year later, The Blissful Adventure is a new entity with over 1500 subscribers and growing. Juliet and Michael have taken over 25,000 images together in Colorado, Asia, and Italy. Now, the goal is to launch a book by next spring, and to change locations again in September.

As a contract nurse, housing, travel expenses, and living expenses are subsidized by the employing agency. This kind of freedom without the burden of rent or mortgages allows Juliet and Michael the ability to be nimble, travel for extended periods out of the country, and to focus on building an audience for this blog and future releases.

While this all makes great sense, Juliet's job is far from glamorous and the horrors of seeing human beings so close to the edge everyday is a constant reminder that this life cannot be permanent. Michael and Juliet are working diligently to pursue their dreams all the while knowing that the life of travelers, at least in the career sense, is finite. These photos are evidence that something more creative is on the horizon for Juliet, and it will be beautiful.

Michael believes in Juliet's talent and his passion and joy would be to see her creating as a career each day. Of course, he could not be more proud of the amazing care she shows humanity and how she tirelessly and diligently offers her time to the cause of restoring quality of life to so many people each day.

Juliet and Michael met on Yahoo.com on December 10, 2006. Their first date was December 11. They have spent 5 nights apart since December 11, 2006. For many that might be a bit too much of someone but for these two it has remained one Blissful Adventure.