We are back in GR3 and set off on more exploration of
Sicily. We have 6 days left here before we catch the ferry from Palermo to
Genoa, as we haven’t time to explore much more of Italy before our flights back
home.
Top of my wish list is Mt Etna. The weather is cold
and overcast, but according to the weather forecast it will be much worse for
the next few days. With that in mind we head off early straight towards Etna. Lots
of miles on the motorway before turning off onto a smaller road where we pass
long flows of black lava. As we get higher the landscape becomes more dramatic
and we catch glimpses of Etnas snow covered peak through the clouds. There is
hardly any traffic, so we are surprised by the sheer volume of cars as we reach
the gondola and tourist area. Of course, parking is at a premium, so when we
see a big paid carpark we head there. Unfortunately, the machine at the barrier
doesn’t like us and it takes at least 15 minutes to enter with the help of
numerous Italians. Once parked we don our warmest clothes and head out, but unfortunately,
by the time we get to the gondola office we have missed the final trip that
goes right to the crater by 10 minutes!! So annoying – that stupid machine! The gondola itself is
out of action, but we can go up as far as the top of the gondola by 4x4 truck.
(The longer trip goes by 4x4 truck and then snow vehicles with big tracks up to
the crater). The drive takes us through
towering snow drifts and at the top it is difficult to walk through the deep
snow. As a result, there is not much to see. Very disappointing. We return to
GR3 and decide to wait to see if the
weather will clear. It doesn’t, so we drive
back down the mountain on the northern road. What a windy drive, and yet it
appears the buses all come this way. We wind through tight crazy villages to
get to the motorway and head south to Catarina and on to a campspot near the
city centre. It’s perfect with trees, green grass and a row of motorhomes. Even
though it is 5pm we walk into town. First impressions are not good. It looks
gritty and downright dirty, but as we near the centre we start to find some
gems. First the very renovated castle sitting in the middle of rows of apartment
blocks, then the central plaza with a stunning Cathedral. Then we climb to the
top of a church tower for a view of town before the long walk back to GR3.
There is water at our campspot so of course we do
washing before we get out our scooters for another trip into town. Yesterday we
spied a bike track we can use. We head
first to Casa di Loretto as our tickets for yesterday’s tower climb included
the Casa. It is an amazing stone chapel relocated inside a room beside a
church. Fully renovated and rather lovely, but hard to photograph in such a
small space. Then scooter (or in my case walk pulling the scooter!) up to the
city gates. Then scooter back to the plaza and onto the food and fish markets.
Town done we head to the bike track to return home. Can you believe a police car clips the side
of Johns scooter as he walks it around a corner!!
Time to move on again. It is only a short drive to Taormina;
a town perched on top of the hills overlooking
the sea and nearby there is a camping area where we can stay for 24hrs. The motorway takes us into steep mountains
and through tunnels right underneath Taormina itself and we exit the motorway
completely disorientated by the roads running beneath the motorway. Of course,
we head onto the wrong one and end up having to turn around in a village, but
we eventually find the camp spot located straight down a very narrow track
beneath the motorway viaduct. We grab a
spot and get the free shuttle to town. So glad we don’t need to drive there as
there isn’t any parking and the streets are congested. Another cruise ship is nearby, and the town
is jammed full of tourists. The views are lovely as we can see the beaches for
miles, and if we could only see Etna, it would be stunning. We wander town for
the next few hours, ducking down alleyways, popping into Churches and finally
stopping for a drink before catching out transfer back to our campspot.
We wake to even grayer skies. We check our planned
route with the campground manager, and he assures us that it will be gorgeous.
So we are off, heading along the narrow winding uphill road through villages,
vineyards and traffic as the clouds close in and we are surrounded by thick
mist. We can hardly see as we slowly drive through a village looking for
somewhere big enough to stop. Finally, a supermarket. We pull over as the rain
starts pouring down. We will wait for it to clear. We wait all day, but still it rains, and the
mist doesn’t clear. We can’t stay here tonight as they lock the gate, so we head
to town and park by the plaza. If it is still raining tomorrow, we will return
to the coastal road.
By morning it’s still gray, but at least the rain has
finally stopped, so we continue our magical mountain drive. There are miles of
vineyards encircled with volcanic rock walls. As we leave the vicinity of Etna
the countryside is swathed in lush green paddocks and towns cling to the tops
of the rocky hills. We stop at the town of Troina and walk up the steps leading
to the top where there is a Cathedral, Church and a huge terrace with views
across the countryside. If it wasn’t now raining (again!) we would also see
Etna. We wander the wet streets before heading back down to GR3. A few hours later we pull into another tiny
hilltop town called Sperlinga where we can camp near the Police Station. We
park and head off to walk up to the castle clinging to the topmost point of the
hill. In fact, it is carved directly from the rock face. Much later we wander
back into town for dinner at a local restaurant.
It is lovely to wake up to gorgeous sunshine and we
continue our drive along the mountain road until we meet the motorway where we
head to the coast. Then it is on towards Palermo. We have another stop on my
wish list before we arrive – the Monreal Cathedral a short way out of the city.
We find a carpark below Monreal and
trudge up the stairs to the plaza and Cathedral. This is another top tourist spot so is very
busy, but what a stunning Cathedral. Every surface is decorated: floor,
ceiling, walls and arches are decorated and glittering. Back down at GR3 we
drive into Palermo, straight down one main road, and turn down a side street to
the campground. We stayed there earlier on our trip. In the evening we find a
very local restaurant for a delicious and incredibly cheap pasta! Best one so
far in Italy.
It’s out last day in Sicily as tonight we are due to
catch our ferry to Genoa and on my wish list is the Normandy Palace with its
famous Capella Palatina. We walk into town, buy our pricey tickets and join the
huge queue. First to see is an Impressionist art display (definitely not Johns
thing!), then the rather grand Palace rooms and finally the glorious Capella.
The queue for the Capella is massive, but it is impressive and at least they
restrict the number of people inside. Much later we wander through the busy
streets (It is Saturday so lots of locals have joined the crowds of tourists)
and head to the Mercato di Ballaro to try some more local dishes. John enjoys
his sardines & octopus salad while I love the stuffed eggplant. More
exploring before heading back to GR3. We head down to the wharves and park. By
8pm we are allowed onto the wharf and by 10pm we are in our room heading to
bed. The ferry leaves at midnight and this one is not full of refugees sleeping
on any spare spaces – very civilized indeed.
Our ferry arrives in Genoa the next day as the sun is
setting and we exit in the dark which makes it hard to find a campspot. There
are a few spots on our App but with all the layers of roads the GPS gets
confused (as are we!). We spy another motorhome and a spot nearby so we simply
pull over right there on the side of the road. We will leave early in the
morning.
We do head off early, find our way past the huge city
of Genoa and continue along the coast before heading north through the mountains.
Later we find a great tyre shop to rotate our wheels. Yet another chore done. But
now it’s getting late so we find a spot for the night not far off the motorway.
The next morning we continue on to Bassano del Grappa where we are meeting a fellow
traveler who we met Tunisia. He shows us around and gives us a potted history
of his town. He even shows us bullet holes from the Napoleonic wars. Back at
his home we are privileged to see just a small part of his massive collection
of photos from his many trips that followed the famous Marco Polo. We really
are in the presence of travel royalty!
But Austria is calling and we must move on. After a few more hours of
driving we pull off the motorway and find a spot in Pontecca in the Italian
mountains.
The next morning, we cruise into Austria and reach
Schladming before midday, giving us plenty of time to clean, pack and sort for
our trip home the next day. Our last day is full of trains, planes and jetlag,
but we are finally back home.
Watch out for our next chapter later this year. Thanks
for reading our stories. John & Lynda
