The Adriatic Sea – We stayed at a resort that occupies the original camping grounds of the Damanhurian viaggios to the Gargano area. The shore of sand is covered in umbrellas and chairs to enjoy the sun. The sea is clear and warm. It is shallow over 30 feet out and I thought often how nice it would be bring my grandchildren to play here.  The water was smooth and quiet on two different days and had waves that played with us on other days as storms and ships brought waves ashore.  At night we would walk on the sandy shores and interact with the Shadow People that came up to meet us and we laughed as the minions danced and played on the waves.

Water caves – The limestone that predominates along the shoreline in this area of the Adriatic Sea have been worn down over the years creating deep caves.  We took a boat tour of these caves rejoicing in their beauty and inaccessibility.

The Umbra Forest means ‘shady forest’, because of its density. It is part of the Gargano National Park, a protected area to preserve the great natural diversity of this area, that include sea caves, karst mountains, the Tremiti islands and, of course, the forest. We visited it one day where we traded the heat of a summer’s day for the cool quiet of the forest.  We walked to one particular area to communicate with the trees.  Crotalo had explained the process of greeting a tree and requesting its connection with us.  It’s a protocol that most humans don’t practice with these sentient beings.  We each found a tree to connect to and interact in this ancient practice of connection to tree beings that serve our world in so many ways.  Their communication networks are underground in their touching tree roots and in their energetic connections to each other.  After I was given permission to connect with my tree, I sat with my back to my tree connecting into its quiet nature.  After I was complete, I was most disappointed to find various tissues left behind this tree as others as simply used that space for urination and didn’t even bother to clean up after themselves.  There is a lack of respect for these beings, for their role in our survival and thriving and in the person of the forest itself. I hope each human learns to connect to a tree in their life. Trees are physical and energetic beings that can feed our souls and can support humanity in its quest to to be interrelated and interdependent with the rest of nature on earth.