Heaven is a place called Ispica

Outside kitchen

 Really don"t know how to start describing where I find myself, so have decided that photos will dominate this part of my blog.

Bernd"s place is a total wonderland. He is German, but has been living here for over 20 years. He does not speak English, so we speak  speak German and un poco Italiano. He is an artist working primarily with sculptures and paintings, but has turned his hand to anything else that interests him and earms him a commission.

The lucious garden landscape

My batcave

His place is fantastico. It consists of a garden, a series of caves for sleeping rooms, an outside shower and outside kitchen and dining area. The garden has a wide variety of plants, with his scultpures and other artistics projects interspersed throughout. There are cacti, palms, lemon trees and flowers everywhere. The emphasis here is on sustainable living, but with very little setup cost ie he has built practically all the ecological living systems himself. All the electricity comes via the 12V variety, courtesy of a solar panel and series of rechargeable cells. This means that he has converted all the electrical devices to run on this 12V instead of 240V ie the transformers in several devices have been removed or modified to make them compatable. As a shortcut, he has used many devices that are designed for car ie 12V usage eg car stereos, car fans. Water is preserved as much as possible by means of a composting toilet and using waste water to grow his fruit, which includes grapes, apples, and oranges.
The rooms are etched out caves which are decorated with some of his paintings and feel nice and cool even when it is 32C outside.
No comfort is compromised in an effort to make his place sustainable. It seems like there has been just an alternative way of solving everyday problems. It has taken Bernd many years and labour to realise this level of comfort and sustainability, but the results are wonderful. It is literally a "green" oasis, in every sense of the word. And Bernd is ready to accept guests from all over the world to experience it for themselves.

Get to ride around in this - Citroen "Enzo" 2CV

 So, not only does Bernd offer me an amazing place to stay, but insists that I stay as long as I want. Seems that I have a lot to learn from this guy and decide to stay a while....

6 of these dogs (collect "em all)

Fragrant garden, once again.

Eclectic garden sculptures