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By Sharon Cates, Resident Have you met resident Daniel Mendez? You may have seen him around the Lodge as he and wife Clare take advantage of several of the amenities that Solera Diamond Valley has to offer. Daniel likes to dig in the dirt. No, he's not a gardener. He's a real archaeology buff. Although he majored in criminology in college, his minor in archeology led him to develop a serious interest in the subject. Digs in the deserts and mountains of California intrigued him even more. A memorable excavation in 2012 came about by his response to a request from the University of Florida for qualified participants to sign up for a major archaeology project in Sicily. The dig site, Palike, was not far from the city of Catania. Daniel joined the leader, Dr. Brian McConnell, as his assistant. Accompanying them was the professor's wife and a group of American college students. The project was scheduled to last six weeks. Lodging and two meals per day were provided. Participants worked five days per week. There is a long list of tools that are required for a project of this kind. Kits included brushes, trowels, dental picks and tape measures to name a few. Careful digging and brushing are necessary. Unearthed artifacts, once removed from the dig, were cataloged by security personnel provided by the local government. On this particular dig, Daniel was lucky to find a gold Roman coin. It was cataloged and taken to a museum along with a human vertebra and several fragments of bone. Pieces of pottery retrieved were taken to a building where students worked to put shards together like a jigsaw puzzle. Daniel became acquainted with one of the security guards who offered to act as a guide to the points of interest in the city of Catania and surrounding area. Spread over the island are bronze aged villas, remains of Phoenician settlements and caves with ancient art. In 1669, the eruption of Mt. Etna covered much of the old part of Catania with lava. An earthquake in 1693 did further damage. That part of the city was rebuilt in Baroque style using lava stone. Catania proper has a population of about 320,000. The metropolitan area has just over a million inhabitants. It is the second largest city in Sicily, Palermo being the first. The city is shadowed by Mt. Etna, Europe's largest and most active volcano. Located on the east coast and facing the Ionian Sea, history tells us Catania was an important port for the Greeks and Romans. Walking through the narrow streets, Daniel was enthralled by the wide-open plazas and well-preserved buildings. He was shown locations that were used in the Godfather II movie. The Roman amphitheater located in the town center was built in 11 A.D. It was constructed with lava stone and covered in marble. This most impressive structure could host as many as 15,000 spectators. What is Daniel looking forward to on his Bucket List? He says Egypt and Greece are beckoning. 8 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | APRIL 2019 L I V I N G T H E B U C K E T L I S T

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