Fisherman and Fishmongers, Marettimo – Favignana, Sicily

So after our adrenalin-raising boat tour off the shores of Marettimo, we had a huge meal, and proceeded to wander around the island a few hours before heading back to the Sicilian main island.

Though I was fascinated by these gentlemen, I had to remind myself that I was not in an adult Disneyland, these were not characters, and they might not be flattered or interested in me taking their picture. Being someone who focuses more on photographing food and inanimate objects, I find it much safer than approaching and encroaching on others.

This time, I asked them for permission and a few other questions about what they were doing. It angered me that a few other photographers took advantage of me taking pictures and snapped their own at the same time, without asking.

The day, which started out sunny, had some ominous clouds peering over the mountains for the latter-half of the day. Luckily, right before we left for the day, there was a break in the clouds and some sunlight came shining down on the port.

We made a stop at Favignana, one of the other main Aegadian islands, which was completely different from Marettimo as there were tons of tourists and visitors waiting for the ferry.

I am definitely of the school of “Follow the Crowd” when it comes to being in Italy. Of course, not any old line will qualify – the post office and government buildings will always have those readily available, but I have found that when a line in Italy is voluntary, there is something to be had there.

I remember going to college in a city where there were 50,000 college students and 50,000 normal inhabitants. Holidays and special occasions meant we were all going to the same restaurants and places for a special meal. I remember one time being told that if we wanted a table at Outback, it would be a 3 1/2 hour wait. And there were people waiting. We, incidentally, went to another restaurant where the wait was only 45 minutes.

I’ve never been handed a pager in Italy, and the concept of “turning a table” to have as many people in the restaurant as possible I’ve only seen on very rare occasions. In this case, usually the place is so small and the food so good, you hurry your meal as a service to those waiting so they, too, can taste something so wonderful.

So when I see a line…I pay attention.

I had to elbow my way through a bit of a crowd to get a look at his wares. You can only see the lobster antennae sticking out of the top of the crate, but he was selling them for 70 euro. And people were buying.

We almost took some fish home ourselves.

This one fascinated me. A little morbid, but that’s life.