Decontra – Majella Parco Nazionale – Abruzzo

You take a little step back in time when visiting the Majella region.  But it’s a good step back.  The Majella is dotted with little communities of people living a refreshingly slow lifestyle.  We’re staying at an agriturismo in the hamlet of Decontra.  The local sheppard makes and sells her own cheese (the small stone structure pictured, is the remains of an old sheppard’s hut) and the grain that is grown here (faro) is taken to the local mill for processing into flour.  The location is beautiful and consists of high mountains cut by deep gorges.  In the 1200’s, monks looking for solitude came to this region and widdled away caves (pictured with Brendan in the bottom right hand corner) to live in.  The remains of  these eremos—that’s Italian for hermitage—are hidden deep in the woods and chasms, and they often can be reached only by a substantial hike.  It’s quite amazing to come upon them and imagine the monks’ lives.  Throughout rural Italy there are free running fountains, the one pictured here was deep within a beech forest, and its water was frigid and pure.  The water is always drinkable and the fountains are handy on long hot hikes.  Our host, Marisa, is fantastic and she makes great meals.  In the morning, we’re greeted with homemade yogurt and fresh strawberries.  Dinners have consisted of homemade ravioli and gnoccietti (all from the flour of faro) with lentils.  Marisa also serves excellent veggie dishes, the most unique of which was artichoke hearts with goat liver and heart, which was very tasty especially before were knew what it was J   The two pictured homemade aperitifs are lemoncello, of course, and the other is made from ginseng root.  If you get slow or poor service in Italy, not to worry as it’s always made up for with a complimentary handmade liqueur J  The next stop for us:  our last mountain town, Barrea in the Abruzzo Nazionale Parco.