With our gang of six settled into Campiglia Marittima we had a bunch of great rides with Mark Mahan on lightly traveled roads and super friendly winding climbs and descents.

Geothermal activity is harnessed for power in the area:

Mark knew where we could stop for water at village fountains:

And for the best ice cream.

One particular surprise was a place in Monteverdi Marittima that we might never have thought to even poke our heads into. It turned out to be a wonderland of meat and cheese and other local products, Specialita Mucci e Staccioli. The proprietors fairly shouted and sang to us and the other customers, so it was lively in there.

They have every reason to be proud of their local wares, and I liked how this boar seemed to take a close interest in some of the conversations:

We got to try several samples of the pig and boar that was aging on the walls:

Another little room was full of sheep cheeses, and more to sample.

Marion emerges from the depths of the cheese cellar:

A stop for sandwiches on a later ride also featured great meats and cheeses watched over by a somewhat less imposing pig:

We explored the hills around Campiglia Marittima on foot, too. The forest has a dense understory that one could imagine getting lost in, or hiding out in as a bandit, or as a wild boar--and we did turn around at one point when we heard one (a boar, not a bandit) screaming in the brush ahead of us (Mark thought it might be a mother alerting her babies).

The area's Colline Metallifere, "metal-bearing hills," have been mined for centuries. There's an abandoned mine with shafts still open enough to visit on tour (next time!) and operations are ongoing on the surface. It's quite a scar on the landscape but it's small compared to what we see in the west US--and yet Mark says entire small mountains have been carried away over the years.

Hiking, we got a close-up look at the cork harvest that we'd glimpsed while riding on the forest roads. It takes a skilled specialist to get the bark off these oaks without damaging the layer under that and killing the trees.

Campiglia Marittima has wide views out over the Mediterranean, with the shadow of the island of Elba on the horizon:

So how could we not get our feet in the water? We took one trip to the beach in the early evening when much of the crowd had cleared out but the place was still pretty festive. I can report that the water is warm and clear.

After our walk on the beach we had dinner in the ancient town of Populonia on the promontory overlooking the beach (current population about 20, per wikipedia). The site has roots back into Etruscan times and some thousand years of history in smelting copper and iron brought from the inland hills, plus a 15th-century castle that was perfect for a little bit of clambering and glorious views.

When you head to western Tuscany, take some time in Campiglia Marittima, stay at Borgo agli Scudi. You'll be happy to get to know this little place with a such a big heart.

It's a noticeably quiet Sunday morning in Campiglia Maritime, with, yes, bells ringing at the church up the street. Mark's t-shirt may be irreverent but appropriate:

Here are a few more pictures from walking around the village:

This is a wisteria vine--the mother of them all?

Looking down from our bedroom window to where we duck into the hotel's bike room at street level; the white bird silhouette is one of a trail that shows the way to an exhibit about the swifts:

And a few more photos of what's pretty typical for cycling:

A few days ago we poked around a little bit in Venturina, the busier, more urban town between Campiglia and the shore, where we were delighted to find these lamps in the pedestrian street, taking after the poppies that grow along the roads and in the fallow fields:

We walked back up to Campiglia following a route set out by red-and-white marks along the way.

Friends have arrived from the US so we make up a gang of seven now, with Ron and Marion Miller, John and Ruth Wood, and Mark Mahan Our Fearless Leader between H and me: