Susie's Report No 31

Ciao to everyone,

Moving along the coastline and we are at PUNTA BRACCETTO BAY on the Iblea Coastline, Camerina is just a few klms away in the province of Ragusa.  This site is open all year round “thank goodness” we have spent so many useless klms trying to find places open. The beach walks were great to stretch the old legs.

 LICATA: Yet again we arrive it’s closed,two guys come along as we are trying to turn around and gesture to us to follow them, “god we’re trusting” I thought and ended up at a partially closed sosta on a cliff top location at a “closed for the winter” Restaurant. We are the only ones there, Rosa the lovely owner, has a little English, everyone we meet has a relative in Australia and hers is in Leichhardt. She is very proud of her wooden carved sign that says,  "AUSTRALIA 16,766 klms".

Also a clock with our national icons surrounding it. We are parked just near the chicken coop that houses the obvious but also a CAT, an interesting combination.

They also have this huge dog called  “Hugo” who insists on marking his territory on our outside step, to which I insist on going over and washing it off. We think he is a Shar Pei Cross.

 

He loved is scratches from Terry.

 

I walked down some decaying steps to get to the beach for a dip very refreshing, this place has so much character, it’s hey day would have been spectacular.

As usual the sunsets were spectacular.

As I was contemplating this, I could hear planes overhead, the sound was delayed and finally into view came 3 planes, obviously Military Jets, doing circuits over the ocean, so loud, they were grey in colour and shaped like a triangle, I don’t know who’s side they were on, interesting ????.

AGRIGENTO: Is Sicily’s largest Archaeological treasure trove, it sits on a high plateau facing Africa (which is where all the red dust comes from) over the Mediterranean Sea. It still has the culture of ancient Greece. There’s was the golden age between 5C & 6C. BC.  Now that was definitely a long time ago, and you might say they were conquered a lot.!!  We  ended up at a free Sosta for the night, all the facilities that were there were very new & modern, but nothing worked. Water pump not working, power turned off, scenery fantastic,10 steps down and your on the beach.

 I also befriended a black & white stray cat, who loves Mortadella so I gave her a couple of chopped slices out of Terry’s lunch pack, she also finished off our spaghetti bolognese, she was very hungry.

The Valley of the Temples we had to miss, as we missed the turn off and couldn’t turn around, so up, up, the winding roads we go to the city itself and being directed by the Police! We ended up in the assembly area of a street march, Brass Band and all, so all we could do is wave our flag and smile and hot foot it outa there. We really didn’t mean to take another wrong skinny turn, H.H. likes the attention I think, we gave up and came back down the hill. I managed some long distance shots.

MARSALA: The home of the grape ( I can’t remember if this is an aperitif or a dessert wine), it has a lively port and with a mixture of many Tunisian people which influence the area. We drove through the town and around the docks and ended going through to TRAPANI: This is the home of the Salt trade, and is within sight of the Egadi Islands.

It’s a medieval district with lots of narrow streets. H.H. is not good with these!!  We also drove through a town called PURGATORIO! What a great name, tried to get a photo but the sign at the end of the town had fallen off. It would of been a great Kodak moment  -  we escaped purgatory??????

Now how is this for another novel new idea, ( it’s just formed !!!) Forget the owning of a Toilet Block in Venice,(charging 1 euro a use), it is owning a Panel Beating Shop in Italy. Most cars are either scratched or trashed, (just a thought - it should be an almighty business) As parking is an art form - sideways - back to front -right angles - double parking is the norm  ( i.e; going off to have a coffee or buy cigarettes etc), but no one seems to care.

The above photo is typical! There is plenty of room for this guy to park properly, i.e. parallel, but NO, just sticks the nose in and in the small streets with oncoming traffic, someone has to stop and give way…. Bloody nuisance.

Their parking of boats is a little better!

I know I keep going on about this but it’s truly extraordinarily amazing to be involved in this - Terry says his reflexes have sharpened by at least 200% and I’ll keep taking the B.P. Tablets. He and H.H. have passed the ‘ADVANCED EVASIVE DRIVING COURSE’ I would say with flying colours. We thought we’d also let you know that we have been passed on the motorway on two different occasions by HEARSES’, either heading to or finishing a job (hopefully unoccupied). We however passed this old beauty!

There are still lots of these Fiat 500’s still here of course, along with the new ones. If you lived over here it’s definitely the type of car you would buy…. SMALL…   

PALERMO: What an alive city, we have been here 3 days, it’s never quiet, it’s loud with people & car tooting. We have risked our lives crossing the streets and are forever vigilant for dodging dog poo on the pavements. This is a huge melting pot of customs and people and the public markets about 6 in total are an exotic mix of those.

It’s fabulous we did lots of walking to and fro.  We have become semi addicted to Arancine Balls. Traditional southern Italian snack foods and bought some from these lovely blokes!

 

 

The Capuchin Catacombs (worth a google) contains adults & childrens mummified bodies, dressed and appended to, or propped up against walls.

We didn’t find it spooky, just an incredible sight to see. The last to be mummified there was a two year old girl in 1920. The first in 1599. The 2yr old girl is so well preserved she really does look just asleep - she’s in an open coffin, enclosed in glass.

CEFALU: A coastal fishing village, very impressive from the road but we had to drive on as our campsite was further on.  We are parked on a hill side overlooking 5 Volcanoes in the distance and we are 600 mtrs walk from the campsite into the village of FINALE, we have a 180 deg view of the Tyrrhenian Coastline, its stunning.

 

 Amongst other things, we have been feeding yet another stray, very sick, tiny kitten, I have had a good cry over this, he put himself to bed in one of our outside lockers after a good feed.

I think he’s starving and has got cat flu - he’s not long for this world (after writing this) our little friend passed over "The Rainbow Bridge”  2 days later, so,so, sad, it’s probably the first time in his little life that’s he’d  purred and was happy, he lost the battle, Terry buried him. 

RANDAZZO: we called into to do a shop and this small town is dangerously close to Mt.Etna.

It is also known as the “black town” due to its lava paving. We wound our way back down to the coast with some very hairy, windy bends and turns, Terry & H.H. handled the roads superbly, these were also very narrow at times. The countryside is just beautiful with all the falling leaves and changes of colours and we ended up back were we started from on the south west coast of Sicily. We didn’t get to see Catania or Taormina etc. maybe next time, they had had some really bad storms that we were lucky to have missed.  

 I also had to try this interesting fruit “Prickly Pear”, tastes like watermelon but with lots of tiny seeds, I liked it, Terry didn’t. It was one of the most invasive “weeds” ever to be imported into Australia! But they eat it by the box load over here.

 It’s Sunday morning and we are off to the Ferry Terminal back to the mainland.

For a 30 klm drive to the terminal, we went through 23 tunnels, that tells you how hilly and mountainous Sicily is. I still do not like them and neither does the GPS, but we really enjoyed being there. 

Anyway that’s all folks for now. We are back on the mainland and heading for Pompei, the Amalfi Coast and then Roma!

Love to all, from Susie,Terry = H.H.  x x x .

 

 

 

Susie's Report No 30

Salve - BUON GIORNO to all, 

We arrive at LESINA .

Let me be the Tourist Info Officer here.  Please do not think about going on holiday here - even for 1 night, especially if it’s the weekend.  First of all you MUST enjoy the delights of children big and small continually letting off Fireworks the size of Tuppeny Bangers all day and all through the night.  Adults, Yelling to one another (in conversations), their children Screaming  (having fun) and dogs continually barking Day & Night, chasing cars and roaming around in packs. 

Also, which is a novel idea, is let the whole town out for a Sat/Sun drive, along the foreshore promenade. all the local small, old cars, with the odd Maserati thrown in as he has nothing better to do, ( we think he is the local D.D.) This promenade is only 300 metres long, so when there’s a break/lull in the crawling cars, the Maserati breaks loose and does a burn out. Even did one the Monday morning we were leaving! The promenade has a very small turning circle just near us, the cars move along at a funerals pace up and down the Esplanade and when it gets dark their light come on, and continues throughout the night, with lots of tooting of horns. There is a small lull in this display between 12pm - 3pm as they ALL go home for lunch, then back out again Kids, Adults, Dogs, Cars.

 Now I know your all dying to know why is this so, because H.H. is parked in a wire fence enclosure, like a parking lot, 20 metres from the Promenade. It has power, water and 1 x toilette & 1 x shower, all for 12.00 euros a night (including all this free entertainment) NOT!!!!! So we are right in the hub of all the action.

 I will always treasure my EAR PLUGS and promise to value them forever.  The almighty bang of these crackers is a shocker.  Lesina  is on a lake, but I think its fairly stagnate, the shoreline is choked with sea weed and local refuse. (this is written without prejudice).

On the road again, and we are off to see the TRULLI HOUSES, in ALBEROBELLO, these were built in the 19th century, and a lot have been restored, just fabulous to see, photos explain these. We were parked at a site in amongst Olive trees and went for a look around town, lots of Tourist buses in and hopefully buying lots of souvenirs.

We are still working our way South, we are going down to the boot, across the heel, into the instep and onto the toes soon.

The CALABRIAN COAST with it’s Greek, Albanian & Italian heritage is a huge melting pot and with lots of different dialects, and they have retained their cultures. They have lots of Earthquakes, and are bounded by the Ionian and Tyronian Oceans/Seas, with beautiful coloured waters. Unfortunately the roads aren’t real flash, (bad condition) lots of heavy truck use, the verges are filthy with plastics and plastic bottles everwhere, the beach’s are the same and IT”S such a shame!!!!

CORIGLIANO - we had a storm that night, they lost a couple of limbs off the tree infront of H.H, luckily we parked away from the trees and pine cones. I went for a walk along the beach next morning and it was scattered with lots of small Oranges, obviously the local Orchard had lost its fair share.

 But I must tell you I had two interesting attempts in showering in the toilet block!.

First time: It’s getting dark outside, so shower time, I pack my bag & off I go, it’s quite a walk to get there as the other blocks are closed off. I fumble around for the light switch - yeah!! Lets go. Terry had already had his so he was able to brief me on the workings (on arrival you are given a token for the shower).  So I wash my face at the basin, close & lock the door on my cubicle, get everything ready, flannel, body wash, token etc,. Get undressed, shower cap on and stand waiting (this whole system is very old and rusted). Terry said "stand back" as the water bursts out. Put my token in, and it’s stuck - won’t go in, can’t get it out, with many expletives ongoing, luckily I was the only one there!!!

 I have to re dress and now its dark and walk down to reception about 200 metres, and try to explain what’s happened (charades again). She understands and gives me 3 tokens (just in case) back I go again, this time I choose No. 5 cubicle and not 6 again, success it works!! Its on a 2 minute timer but the 1st minute is freezing cold, 2nd min O.k. So back to H.H. to tell my tale of woe.

Second time: I have 2 tokens left. i.e. 4 minutes. Tomorrow we leave so I get up at 7am for a shower and wash my hair. Off I trudge to the block, get inside, turn light on. I’m the only one here again, same story...get in cubicle, undress, line everything up etc, put my token in, NO burst of water, NO nothing, NOT a drop, many expletives once again. The stray cats outside had heard it all before, but wait... the door opens and a oldish German Nana comes in. I come out absolutely starkers & do CHARADES again that there is NO WATER coming out. She goes back outside and I think gives the system a swift kick/hit/bash and my shower starts to trickle out (she’s done this before). Its not enough, but enough to do the trick. She puts her token in and no problems. Now with mine, the BLOODY thing won’t stop dribbling. Door opens again, and another German Nana come is, they greet one another, she puts her token in, next minute, ( I guess it’s German expletives) she comes out covered in shampoo & soap…. her shower has stopped mid stream, so outside they both go wrapped in towels, and she shows her the trick, back inside again, shower starts up again, everybody happy. I said Danke for your help and left to the sound of a shower and a blow dryer in the distance !!! Bloody hell.

Today we have driven about 150 klms from the north coast of Italy to the south coast and ended up at GIZZERIA Lido a.k.a. Hang Loose Beach - we have actually stayed 4 nights and we are just about parked on the beach with a view to Mt. Stromboli, its an active Volcano with smoke happily puffing out the top.(2000 yrs old).

 

 This beach is renown for Kite Surfing and I guess other water sports etc, The photo’s of Summer here are big sun umbrellas, lots of deck chairs and lots of people, today there is just us and one other van from Switzerland.

 

 The meet & greet guy is from the U.K. so we can speak English, Yahoooo!!!! Amongst other things he also looks after some local stray dogs, one which I wanted to kidnap, they are very friendly and happy, and he’s been good with local info and also on Sicily, which is coming up soon. The sunsets have been amazing.

 

Terry and I decided to go for a walk to the local village to get some supplies, and after many wrong turns, and avoiding the huge pools/puddles from the storm the night before, (this is all bushland with stones,dirt & sand.. hard going) and after skirting some lagoons we come across a guy ahead of us. We tried to ask directions, so he put his GUN DOWN (shotgun) and starts drawing diagrams in the dirt/sand and of course speaking to us in Italian.

 We said our grazie’s and walked off - I turned to T.Lee and said, DO YOU THINK THAT GUN WAS  LOADED????? We now know what they had been shooting, as we rounded the lagoon and in the river we saw some plastic decoy Ducks, and lots of spent shell cases everywhere ( they do come in some pretty colours ). Poor duck ducks don’t stand a chance, we walked on hoping the next shot was not at us.  QUACK QUACK!!!!! We made it to the village and bought the best TOMATOES we have ever tasted or remembered, some frozen seafood and bread, and a yummy Arancine Ball. The local supermarket had shutdown for the season .Damnation! again.

Sunday morning and we are off on another walk along the beach (different direction) but the same difficulty. Lo & behold, what do we come across, but our very own CRIME SCENE. We take swift action not to disturb the scene, but creeping up close to have a ghoulish look we find a body, dishevelled, fingers, feet are missing (chewed off), hair tangled & matted ( you know the look, beach hair) one blue eye staring straight ahead, body rigid, it’s a, it’s a !?!?  washed up, unloved  BARBIE DOLL. Discarded, thrown overboard from a boat, with the flotsam & jetsam and ended up on the tide line.

 We think the culprit was KEN !!! Oh and I forgot to mention she was naked - no designer clothing or jewellery. We didn’t know what to do, we couldn’t call it in ( we don’t speak the lingo), so we walked on by & left her to her watery grave.  We have evidence. exhibit A. a photo, for your perusal.  End of Story.

Italy is full of characters, charm and crazy drivers.  Rest assured Terry & I will never complain about traffic in Australia ever again, if you can drive a motorhome in Italy without incident through the streets & towns, its a bloody miracle !!!! No one gives way, barely indicates, they overtake infront of oncoming cars, they park absolutely ANYWHERE, parking of cars is like watching THATS INCREDIBLE, its extremely interesting, I observe all this with a held breath. But hey ?? it’s Italy. Even the animals are different! But they all get along and it seems to work.

Daylight saving had changed recently, but it took us a day or two to work this out, we were 1hr ahead of the rest of Europe, we only twigged when Sunset was at 5pm instead of the usual 6pm.

SICILY, we arrived after a 20 minute car ferry ride to this ancient isle.  We spent 2 nights at a beachside campsite overlooking mainland Italy with its black volcanic rocks and sand.

 The storms out to sea have been very entertaining and so was T. Lee when he popped back from his shower dripping water & soap suds, his token had run out - short changed again - I sent him off again with another. Honestly we don ’t have much luck with a simple shower do we????? We had to pass through TAORMINA with its ancient ruins as it was raining, so we kept moving along, lots of showers and thunder in the distance.  We have just popped out of a tunnel to a full view of Mt Etna covered in snow.

We are still having lots of trouble with campsite closures, they say they are open in the book, when we get there, CLOSED!  We have missed a few sites because of this. End of story for now ….Arrivederci to all - ciao till next one  Love from Susie, Terry & H.H.  x x x 

P.S. and another sunset….