Behind their house were green hills with shaded pathways through vineyards and forests. All in the group would go with Baba in the mornings to the beach along the rock cliffs of Galto Pedale . Kaka would hold a large umbrella over Baba's head at the beach. Baba would wade in the water while the others swam. Twice they rowed Baba out to sea in a small boat and swam around him.
Many local Italians came to know of Baba, as well, and would come to the house to sit quietly in his presence. When the fishermen came to know of him, they were eager to take Baba out in their boats. (Baba and the group went out in a sailboat twice and once in a motorboat.)
"The gopis had been pining for their Krishna," noted Age, "and when they met Baba, the sweet echoes of the Song reverberated throughout the Italian villa."
There was a large private balcony off Baba's room, where he would stand, watching those swimming at the beach before breakfast. They would often sit at night on the balcony, playing records, charades or carrom. Some evenings, Baba would take the group to the local movie theater, though the films were in Italian. Baba had his special reasons for wanting to go, preferring always to be among a crowd whenever possible. At other times, they would visit Lina's , an open-air café by the bay, where they would sip coffee or eat ices. During this stay, Baba permitted Kaka and Chanji to eat fish after many years of strict vegetarianism.
"It was a very intimate holiday," Delia remembered, "really a sahavas. It was such an extraordinarily intimate atmosphere that Chanji said it amazed him, because up to then, only those few close women in India had had this sort of life with Baba."
Margaret recalled, "It was the loveliest, perhaps the most beautiful, time we ever had with Baba. First of all, he wasn't stirring up much 'trouble.' He was letting us down lightly; he was not [demanding] of us the terrible discipline. He was wooing us. We were being won. It didn't take much to win us, but he added some more on top of it. So you can imagine ...
"Everything for us was like an enchanted dream. Sitting on the sands with Baba, wandering over the wooded hills with him, plus the crystal beauty of the blue Mediterranean — it was like a dream filled with the sweetness of Baba."
