{"id":7613,"date":"2018-05-31T13:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isango.com\/theguidebook\/?p=7613"},"modified":"2018-05-30T14:38:19","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T14:38:19","slug":"island-castaway-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isango.com\/theguidebook\/island-castaway-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"This Man Has Lived Alone on an Island for 29 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could you live on a desert island by yourself for 29 years? Mauro Morandi has. For almost a third of his life, Morandi has resided in an old caretaker\u2019s tumbledown shack on the beautiful Isle of Budelli in the Maddalena archipelago of Italy. He told <\/b>National Geographic<\/i><\/b><\/a> that he would never leave.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Morandi\u2019s life on the island started with a failing catamaran engine. In 1989, Morandi was sailing on<\/span> a stretch of water between Sardinia and Corsica when <\/span>engine faults\u00a0steered him towards the shores of Budelli Island. The caretaker of the island was due to retire in two days, and a disillusioned Morandi decided to take his place. Now, at age 79, Morandi has spent almost 30 years walking the pink-hued shores of La Spiaggia Rosa beach, caring for the wildlife, and – in more recent years – educating day trippers who come to the island. \u201cI would like people to understand that we must try not to look at beauty, but feel beauty with our eyes closed,\u201d Morandi told <\/span>National Geographic<\/i><\/strong><\/a>. Today he is as much a draw for visitors as the island itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photography Michele Ardu<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0National Geographic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The wintertime sees less foot traffic. Sometimes Morandi spends up to a month without encountering a single soul. Despite this,\u00a0the island-dweller claims he\u00a0never feels lonely – after all, he says, he’s surrounded by life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Without human interaction,\u00a0Morandi is free to focus his energy on creative endeavours. He makes beautiful sculptures from juniper wood, selling the work to visitors and donating the proceeds to charity; he reads; and he takes pictures. These days, living completely off the\u00a0grid is near impossible, and slowly Morandi has found a way to embrace the growing interest in him and his way of life. <\/span><\/p>\n

An internet company connected the region to WiFi a few years ago, and Morandi has taken to social media\u00a0to share his island with the world. He hopes his online presence will help to inspire a greater connection between people and nature. Here are a few of our favourite shots taken by Mauro Morandi of the stunning Isle of Budelli…<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by Mauro Da Budelli (@maurodabudelli)<\/a> on