So my first of three essays is due tomorrow, and I can't help but let my mind wander to 48 hours in the future--when I'll be in Sardinia, Italy.
A few days ago, I realized that I have a long break (Thursday-the next Friday) between my tutorials, so I decided to try to plan a longer trip. Well, most of Europe's herpetofauna are really similar and really lacking in diversity, BUT one group in particular has had my eye.
Warning: salamander taxonomy ahead
Plethodontid salamanders--which are mainly unique in their lunglessness--make up > 70% of the world's salamander diversity, but almost all of them are found in the Americas. However, there are a handful of representatives in Europe and one (very recently discovered) in South Korea. These things are, by far, my favorite herps, so how could I pass up the opportunity to see the few species that live in Europe?
(end of warning)
Most (all?) of the species are found in Italy, and 5 of the 8 in Italy can be found on the beautiful island of Sardinia. So Sardinia it is.
I was willing to travel alone, but I would feel more comfortable with a companion. So I Googled "Sardinia beaches" (I would suggest you do the same...Poetto Beach is where we're staying), and my friend Matt was hooked. Little does he know we'll be in caves catching salamanders the whole time...muahaha.
Anyway, I'm less than two days away from being on a mountainous, cave-ridden, undeveloped, salamander-diverse island with picture-perfect beaches, Italian cuisine, and vino. Fuck. Modernist. Literature.
jeallll and modernist lit isn't THAT bad you guys are wimps haha
ReplyDeleteNo, no. I should have clarified. The class isn't that difficult or demanding; the problem is my short attention span for things that don't creep and crawl.
ReplyDeletewow oh wow! I would love to be the friend you dragged along. Good luck finding those Salamanders. I like that you actually have a cool reason to go places (to find stuff) as opposed to just going to "hang out".
ReplyDelete