Chapter 10A Curiosities

Cassandra does not know what a whale is?

She doesn't...

See even though she lives on an island it does not mean she gets to go to the beach - or do stuff like that. You need to sail the open sea in order to be able to see certain types of creatures.
Where she lives the most common type of whale available would be the Sperm Whale.




If you gaze toward the sea from the coast all you see is something like this... and it can be mistaken for something else.
The only time I saw a Sperm Whale I was pretty high on a cliff (as tall as a mountain actually) and I figured out it was a whale only because I saw the foam and water squirting.
I told my dad: that's a funny looking rock.
He said: that's a whale.
I was 21. I was in Sicily.

Black cliffs and shores? Weird looking rocks and smelly water?
You are on a vulcanic island.
It could be Stromboli or Vulcano.
The beach are not made of sand but of beautiful black pebbles.


What the girls are collecting is something like this:










Many Sicilian islands are famous for their black shores.
What you see as the hot springs is something I came up with making a journey to the past.

This is the Alcantara gorge. The water, here, is actually freezing cold! But... at one point it might have been hot (I am talking about the beginning of times LOL). I mixed hot springs with this kind of lava based rock formation. Pretty, eh?

The doctor wants a tub... because he is circumcised.
It's not a matter of being ashamed or shy.
The foreskin removed, the glans becomes very sensitive and you want to take care of hygiene also a little better.
The water being hot, crowded with filthy pirates... the doctor, all in all, is worried mainly about his family jewels and manhood. They might be at risk XD. So maybe he does not take his bath very hot and he takes it in clear water too.

Pifo is cleaning his teeth using a stick.
You rub it up and down and get the job done. You can use any kind of root or soft stick... like a branch from a sambuco (elder) tree!
Ideal!

So Pifo... good job, you are taking care of your precious smile the right way!





What is the lady doing? She carries a basket on her head...

That is how, traditionally, you would carry stuff around.

I am not quite sure as to why she would go and use hot water for her laundry, especially if it smells bad, but maybe she does not care about the smell as long as the stuff is clean.

(or maybe she needed and excuse to peek at naked pirates!)

Sulfur water smells like rotten eggs.

You guys should try some hot spring in volcanic areas... the spring is very hot and smells incredibly strong but you come out of the pool with a skin as soft as a baby's!

Usually the water is not very clear, it's kind of white and it taste a bit salty too. But it's very good for respiratory problems (hence Cassandra finds relief for her nose) and all kind of skin problems. Not to mention rheumatism!

Botticelli, right? Of course Castalia is not Venus, she is just a regular girl.

You might notice she is kind of short too.

This is not a standard, canonic beauty of the times. On the contrary...

She is too skinny, she is muscular and is not pale and looks like a boy.

If you want to look into beauty standards... you'll have to look into Rubens.

Now this lady here she is considered to be ooooh so beautiful!

She is roooound and chuuuubby and luuuumpy and soooooft... with big butt... small boobies but big chest and she is so fair and with red lips... aaaah!

Not Castalia! But Castalia is special, right?