More sheep, cows and horses than people
    The escape from civilization mentioned at the beginning of this article is in no way exaggerated. It is of course true that the valley of Castelluccio is a favorite weekend getaway for sportsminded residents of the region, who zoom in sometimes even for one day in their campers and play so many different kinds of sports that we can only stare in amazement. Mountain bikes, football, rollerskates, kiteflying, frisbees or drinking various alcoholic beverages under parasols obviously didn't surprise us. But the little Italian who drove along the grass plain in a vehicle powered by a huge sail billowing out in front of him got our goat. Had it not been for the thrill and enthusiasm in his eyes, surely one of our group would have started pleading with him to let us try it out too.

    Other than weekends, though, the valley is blissfully devoid of people and tents and the ever popular campers on the grass can be counted on your ten fingers. For example on Tuesday besides our own six tents we counted three others and five campers in the distance, spaced far apart. A German paraglider and his girlfriend we were camped not far from us come here every year for two months and don't fly anywhere else.



    A local sheppherd took to driving his flock of sheep by our campsite every morning and of course stopping for a cigarette and a chat.

    He was an unbelieveably calm, balanced and satisfied person for whom time meant nothing and whose lifestyle we envied a little.




    The ratio of sheep, cows and horses to people in Castelluccio comes out to about 200:1. It's a beautiful country ...

We leave the day after tomorrow !
    It is essential to pay attention to the weather situation in these high mountain terrains. Deciding to go to Castelluccio in a month considerably lowers the probability that a pilot will enjoy good flying weather. A more reasonable alternative is to monitor the weather patterns around the mediterranean area and decide maybe two days in advance of going.

    It can be very useful to call the flight school ProDelta at 0743/821 156 or send an e-mail to rdn@prodelta.it and ask for a weather prognosis for the next few days. Only thus is it possible to start flying daily around noon and land in the evenings, flying many kilometers in altitudes around 3,000 meters above beautiful mountain terrains, camp and relax in the perfect peace of a mountain valley far from the noise of civilization. To get away from stressed out and rushing people bordering on the edge of heart-attacks and watch glowing meteors moving across the sky filled with sparkling stars before drifting off to sleep.