May 15 to 22 - Sicily

Took the Autostrada for a change to get some kms under our belt. Drove to Vibo Valentia through long tunnels & across valleys on huge bridges travelling at 110 to 120 kph & being regularly passed.

Mountains near Cosenza

Vibo Valentia

Visited Castello Normanno Svevo in Vibo (another great hilltop castle), then onto winding seaside roads through olive groves, massive solar arrays, forests & farmland to Tropea (home of the red onion). Stayed the night in a nice little hotel overlooking the sea & with a view to volcanic Stromboli. Enjoyed sword fish & tagliatelle with mussels & clams & a glass of wine for dinner in the lovely Piazza.

Tropea

From Tropea we continued along the coast road including a visit to Castello Ruffo in Scilla which provided magnificent views of the rugged coast & mountains. Then to Villa san Giovanni for a rough ferry ride across to Siciy. Will stay 4 nights in a cabin at a lovely camp site at the top of cliffs overlooking the sea. The waves are crashing into the cliffs as I write.

Ferry crossing

After a rest day yesterday we headed to Mt Etna – got a little lost on the way (thought it would be simple to find such a big mountain) but finally found the right road. What an amazing place – significant eruptions have occurred as recently as 2002 but smaller eruptions as recently as last month.  We drove to the car park then took the cable car to 2,500 metres then walked to about 3,000 metres (just 350 metres short of the top! – we missed the guided walk to the top by just 5 minutes). There are multiple craters & we explored several with steam puffing from the ground. The scree slopes & lava flows extend well down the mountain between the houses and across roads. The roads were really good (a nice change) obviously just rebuild the houses & roads after each eruption.

An Etna crater

Rob & Anne on Etna

Went for a lovely drive today to Parco di Nebrodi & a short walk through the oak & pine forests. The scenery in this part of Sicily is beautiful – green pastures, cows & sheep, orchards of pistachio’s (the pistachio gelato was great again), olives, views of Mt Etna from every angle, more cliffs & precariously placed towns, a beautiful gorge & then back for a rest & a glass of wine. We’ve also been enjoying the cherries, apricots, tomatoes, salami, cheeses, bread, local snags etc etc.

Off to Catania this morning & immediately got lost. Finally gave up trying to find the UNESCO listed Piazza in the narrow one way streets & headed for Siracusa where we visited the old cemetery – some amazing family crypts. Then to the lovely town of Noto with its baroque style buildings made of lime stone. Then to Riserva Naturale Orientata – a nature reserve on the coast with several lakes & swamp areas – a haven for birds especially in the winter months. Had a pleasant walk & saw many birds & lizards & some reasonably nice beaches. Tonight – home cooked pasta, roast meat with local vegies including beautiful pickled eggplant & local wine at our B&B.

Noto

Off to Modica where we wandered the streets to see yet more churches, narrow laneways etc & also tasted & purchased some of their special chocolate (crunchy/grainy texture due to processing – yum). Then to Scicli for yet more of these beautiful towns together with an arancini & coffee. Then down along the south coast of Sicily before heading to Ragusa – we concentrated on the Ibla section of town which is in a gorge between cliffs – simply stunning. Finally we drove back to Catania via Comiso, Grammichele & a long series of pastures, miles of frames & shade houses with tomatoes, grapes, vegies, orange & lemon groves etc – a green wonderland.

From Ragusa

Ragusa

High-tailed it from Sicily to Sibari (in the instep section of the mainland). The drive was through farmland & mountains – very beautiful though hard to appreciate at 120kph. The road tunnels & bridges continue to amaze. Stayed in a hotel overlooking a nice little Marina.