When you realise it is time to change

The announced storm wasn’t as bad as in other parts of Italy, e.g. Rome, so some of us packed our stuff and drove to Marciana, where we started our hike. On the way from Poggio to Marciana we filled our bottles at the “Fonte Napoleone”. It was Napoleon Bonaparte, who was highly thrilled of the water quality, so he made it possible for everyone to have easy access. The climb itself was quite steep and stony and we were a bit exhausted when we reached the top. Our track led us mostly straight uphill to reach the 1019 meters of Monte Carpanne, but the view was absolutely worth it. You could oversee the entire west part of the island and beyond that even Corsica. On our way we were perplexed to find a giant ibex standing right in front of us, starring at us. Some felt “adventurous”, others were less thrilled but did enjoy wildlife. We also saw a few deer, rare orchids and lots of traces of wild pigs on the muddy ground. You can also reach the summit of Monte Capanne in less than 20 minutes via a cable car, the Cabinovia, which departs from Marciana. Good for us, the owner of the mountain café came with this one, just right on time when we reached the top of Monte Capanne. The higher we got, the windier it became and we were a little chilled upon reaching the summit – the Cappuccino was a welcomed lifesaver, but a lifesaver served in a plastic cup. Back home it was time to clean up the house and weigh the plastic we consumed during our eight days on Elba with nine people: 3.092 kg. Scary, but still less than the usual consumption of plastic per day/person in Germany that is 0.5 kg. Shocking and sad at the same time. We really need to change our behavior and take responsibility for our planet – there’s only one and shouldn’t remind us of the movie Wall-E.