The islands, the mountains, the coast....it's Sicily

Over the past couple of days we've seen the coast, and now the mountains of Sicily. I am reporting in from a very isolated faux swiss chalet at the top of the Madonnie Mountains in central Sicily.

But let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start, as Julie Andrews would say):

SMITH HEALTH REPORT:

Whether it was due to the mystery injection, the weird bandaging or the night's rest, Ewan's foot was much better yesterday morning. He ripped off the bandages, the swelling had gone down and he was able to walk and drive, so that was a relief (particularly the latter as I was not looking forward to driving) . Panadol Osteo and Nurofen have kept things under control and not interrupted our attempts to be the best tourists possible.

So we headed to Milazzo from Messina to catch a cruise to go to some of the Aeolian Islands. The cruise ship was enormous and we were rather dismayed to see buses of passengers being ushered on board. But we sat on the top deck and there was plenty of room and a great view.
The Aeolian Islands are an essential for every tourist so numerous ferries and hydrofoils go every day. They are basically a row of 7 volcanoes whose uppermost parts protrude above the water. The whole trip took about 10 hours including a few hours spent on each of the islands.

First stop was Panarea, a tiny dot in the sea which had some beaches, delightful boutiques and enticing resort hotels. Most of the passengers headed for the rocks or the shore to have a swim. Rather than inflicting the sight of my body in bathers on an unsuspecting public (although after some of the sights I saw....!!) I decided to sit on the rocks and dangle my feet in the cool water, following Ewan, who called it hydrotherapy for his foot. We sat in the peace and quiet watching the azure blue Mediterranean lap quietly on the shore and then..........a huge hydrofoil went racing past and caused a huge wake which swamped us and left us dripping! Fortunately it was really warm and a walk around the island soon dried us out.

Then it was back on the boat heading towards Stromboli, one of the few volcanoes that are still active. We could see white steam slowly drifting from the top of its crater, interspersed with grey cloud when it actually erupted slightly. Surprisingly there are a couple of villages on Stromboli (on the side that doesn't have lava flowing - excellent choice!), so we wandered around one of them and read our books for a while before climbing on board again.

We were most amused to see signs showing emergency access paths from the beach to the crater in case of tsunami! I would have been much more concerned about large eruptions from the crater and how to leave the island as rapidly as possible. Apparently there were 2 significant eruptions in 2007 so I'm not sure it would be the top of my list for potential places to live!

After pasta for dinner we stood on deck as darkness fell to see the glowing fountain of lava that Stromboli spurts into the sky every few seconds. During daylight you see nothing, but once it is dark you can see bright orange spurts of lava. It was spectacular, but unfortunately my camera didn't cope so I'll have to get the postcard!!

We set sail for Milazzo and the hotel for a good night's sleep  - and some moisturiser as I was rather pink from too much sun.

Today we packed up the Fiat 500 (so cute) and headed in the direction of Palermo on the northern cast. We had no idea where we would end up so it has been quite an adventure. We met some Australians on the boat and they had absolutely everything booked before they left home : sounded very boring really.

Anyway we headed for Cefalu which is a beautiful old coastal town with lots of cobblestoned alleyways full of fascinating shops ( I really will have to get rid of Ewan so I can go shopping sometime soon). But most importantly the beach had real sand!!! The first we've seen.

Because the Mediterranean is so calm - it was like a mill pond when we were on the cruise - there are lots of buildings right on the rocks on the shore line. We went for a lovely walk along the buildings and the sea wall on rocky steps that had been created from the local rocks. Obviously the tide doesn't change much otherwise the buildings would wash away as they are a matter of only a few metres from the water.

We visited a lovely old 12th Century Norman church and treated ourselves to coffee and cake. (We were both a bit vague about the history of the Normans and their conquests so we might need a history lesson when we return Dad).

The Sicilians love of desserts is going to be disastrous for both of us. Every cake is an artwork and usually multicoloured: almost a shame to eat them.

Then we decided it was time to see some of the mountains for which Sicily is famous. Along the coast from Milazzo to Cefalu the main highway consists of tunnels cut through mountains and high bridges: for more than an hour we never actually drove on land: truly a triumph of engineering.

So we headed for the Madonnie Mountains driving towards central Sicily and away from the coast. The temperature dropped as we climbed higher through enormous sheer mountains which appeared uninhabited,. Finally we spotted what appeared to be a row of houses perched on the top of a high ridge: it was Polizzi Generosamo. This was a remarkable, and quite large, town isolated by the mountains around it. We wandered around trying to work out exactly why it was there. Apparently it was a fortress town and that made a lot of sense as you could see for many kilometres.

We'd brought a picnic of bread, cheese, salmi and ham , spiced up by some tiny pickled fish, so we sat and ate lunch on the steps of a very old derelict church overlooking the valleys below. A few local goats with constantly tolling bells seemed concerned at our presence.

From there we weren't sure whether to forge ahead even higher into the mountains, but decided to be brave and take a look at a place called Piano Baglia which turned out to be a ski village (although no snow currently as it's Autumn). We wound our way upwards on some tiny deserted  roads and finally decided we would try to get to the only Hotel in the area in the hope that was open.

So here I sit at the Hotel Pomeria which reminds me of an old ski lodge......

The  owner just came rushing over to me saying "Look! Look!" and when I peered out the window there was a family of wild pigs including a whole lot of piglets, rooting around in the garden. The locals soon put me straight: they are bad as there are too many of them. So there you go!

It's really very quaint this hotel, sort of 1960's swiss ski lodge decor: old photos, lots of wood, card tables and soft armchairs: all very comfortable . So our adventure has been quite a success today!

your adventurer

Dianne