Sicily

14 June – Skyped girls before breakfast. They are all fine after the last earthquakes. We hope everyone else is OK. After a shop and a fuel up we followed the A3 autostrada, as we had a long drive to our next camp. When we arrived it was deserted! We eventually we found a guy but decided that we would try other camps in our Italian book. After driving thru several towns we eventually ended up in the outskirts of Reggio, a large city. No hope there of a camp!! We backtracked up the A3 to where we had seen a camper parked in a village called Scilla. It was a beaut spot with a great view of the sea and the village perched on the cliffs. The owner of the area came and we paid 10 euros which included electricity. We sat out and watched the sun set with a well earned drink, while a cruise ship sailed by.

15 June – While having breakfast we watched some very curious boats sail out of the local harbour. They had huge masts (at least twice the length of the boat) and a bowsprit out the front (twice the length of the boat). At the top of the masts there were two guys in a crows nest. We walked to the village down very narrow lanes and at the harbour a guy eventually mimed that the boats were spearing very large fish. The village was great and we walked around the cliffs to the next beach before climbing back into the village. A girl in a fish shop explained (again by miming) that the fish being caught were sword fish. We had gelatos at a local bar before returning to “Lefty”. A great village right off the tourist map. We followed the A3 the short distance to the port and after buying tickets (76 euro return) we joined the queue for the ferry to Sicily. The ferries are huge but the trip is only 40 minutes. You can easily see Sicily from Italy. The first part of the drive thru Messina was slow but we joined another autostrada for our 70 km drive to our first camp in Sicily at Mascali on the coast but under the shadow of Mt Etna (a live volcano). After lunch we walked to the local beach (pebble) under threatening skies for a swim. The water was beautifully clear and deep and cooler that we expected. The skies opened just as we got back to camp. After an hour the rain stopped and the skies cleared so we biked to the nearest town. Not very exciting however! We will rest here tomorrow before heading south. When it is dark we will check out the view of Mt Etna as we have been told you can see a red glow over it.

16 June – No red glow from Etna last night! We biked back into the town to the local tourist office but depite the sign it was closed. Back down to the beach for a swim until the thunder and approaching rain drove us back to the camp. After a siesta we went back to the beach for another swim. A great relaxing day!

17 June – As we left the camp we had a great view of Mt Etna. There was no cloud and we could see a lot of steam rising into the sky. It is over 3000m high and has snow on it. We followed the motorway and then turned inland thru some beautiful country, rolling hills with grapes, olives, oranges and farmland. A very pleasant drive to our camp on the south coast. The camp has huge sunshades which we are parked under. It also has a great private sandy beach which includes the free use of sun loungers and umbrellas. We even have our own private toilet!! We biked to the local mini market for some bread for lunch and then made the most of a great beach. We walked along the beach to a restaurant for a Gelato. It may be a possibility for a meal tomorrow night.

18 June – After washing and the usual Saturday camper checks, we enjoyed 2 hours at the beach before returning to “Lefty” for lunch and a rest in the heat of the day. Back to the beach at around 3.00 for the usual swims etc. There are a lot of Sicilian families at this camp enjoying an early summer holiday. We walked back to restaurant and decided to give it a miss. Another hot relaxing day. Spent some time planning the Greek leg of our trip.

19 June – Back down to this wonderful beach for a last swim before heading off along the south coast to our next camp. Another great drive thru very dry country with olives and grapes. This is much more what we pictured Sicily would be like. We even had to stop for a herd of goats. We stopped at Punta Delle Due Rocche (the two rocks). This is a local Sicilian camp with many families in permanent setups for the weekend. The family over from us was having a big barbeque and a guy insisted we try the local sausages. We will have to try and buy some as they were delicious. We walked down to the beach but as there was a strong wind we just sat in the sun. A local family were very excited to catch an octopus and obviously it was destined for the pot!

20 June – We great drive thru more of the same sort of country but there were many towns along the way. Sometimes it is hard to see them as all the buildings are built of brick that is the same sandy colour as the rest of the countryside. The arid sandy soil, the vivid green of the vineyards, the dull green of the olive groves, splashes of bright purple of the bougainvillea, and glimpses of the azure ocean make a great drive. We are now in a camp on the south west corner of Sicily. We had a great swim and relax in the camp pool before a cycle into the town along the waterfront. There was a nice church where a wedding was in progress but not much else of interest. This camp has a large number of older teenagers (possibly end of school group) and they had a huge party until the early hours. Very noisy!!

21 June – It has been hard to find a supermarket that is open. They all close at 1100 and do not open again until at least 1600. With this in mind and the fridge virtually empty we stopped at a supermarket in this town before a drive thru many towns and then very dry rocky hills to our next camp at San Vito lo Capo. This is a beautiful beach resort in the NW corner of Sicily. The camp is dominated by a cliff behind it and there is a short (hot) walk to a great beach with clear azure water which reminded us of the sea around a Pacific island. We had a couple of great swims in the warm water. Hard to read your book as there is so much to watch. This camp also has a great pool. We went back to the pool at about 1700 and were just about to dive in when the lifeguard tried to explain to Val that she must have a swimming cap, presumably to stop hair getting into the pool. Much to my surprise I was exempt!! In the cool of the evening we explored the town on our bikes.

22 June – It was very hot in the night and we removed the last inner in the duvet and installed the fan over the bed. After washing and camper cleaning we went down to the beach. The concept of private beaches is foreign to us Kiwis. Any beach remotely nice is about 80% private. Explanation – There are huge areas which are either owned by a hotel, or owned by a bar/restaurant (purchase of a drink etc gives you limited time) or leased to a company to hire to the public. Two sun loungers and an umbrella for around 15 euro ($30NZ). Between these private beaches are the public areas which everyone squeezes into. All a bit commercial but that’s how it is in most of Europe. Back to “Lefty” for a lunch and a siesta. We are now hemmed on all sides by Sicilian families. We may have fun getting out! Back to the beach again. It certainly is a stunner! This camp has elements of “Club Med” in that they have hosts encouraging you to do exercises in the pool or dancing, all accompanied by loud music. We however resisted the urge to join in and just watched.

23 June – We are staying another night here as we really enjoy the beach and the atmosphere (apart from the “Club Med” bit). More swims in the pool and the beach. We cycled into the town for a meal out. There are a huge number of open air restaurants to choose from and we enjoyed some authentic Sicilian food before riding back in the dark. (no lights on our bikes but most of the way was along cycleways)

24 June – We manoeuvred off our site, (help from all quarters) and drove 100kms to our next camp near Palermo. After a quick lunch we caught the local bus, with one change, into the city. Very crowded hot buses which got a bit whiffy!! This city (680,000) was heavily bombed during WW2 and there are signs still of that damage in the old city. We walked quite a way thru the city which has some nice churches (could not go into them as most had weddings in progress) The cathedral was spectacular, and no wedding, so we had a good look around. Palermo is a slightly grubby city but full of life. The ride back on the buses went smoothly until we stopped 5kms short of our camp. The driver indicated that we had to wait for another bus. We sat where he told us only to see our next bus sail by. Val waved furiously and the driver stopped in the middle of the road and we ran to get on board. We shouted our thanks (gratis) to the driver. We arrived back to our camp at 1900 very tired and enjoyed a well deserved drink. (Not that we have to deserve our drinks!!)

25 June – We followed the motorway around Palermo and drove the 230kms in quick time along the rugged north coast line of Sicily. There were heaps of tunnels some as long as 3kms. The motorway is 2 laned and a tunnel in each direction. The tunnels are dark and everyone passes us doing 130kms. All a bit scary! We are now at a small camp, with a nice pool, 14kms from the ferry back to the mainland, which we will take tomorrow. This part of our trip thru Sicily has been great with the north and east being lush green and the south and west being dry and rock. A lot of contrasting country. We will publish blog tonight has we have some internet.

1 June – A cooler morning and we skyped the girls. We drove thru the beautiful countryside with a village on every hill top. Some great sights but a windy rough road. Well worth the effort however. Our next stop was Lake Bolsena where we camped with a limited view of the lake and had a couple of great swims in coolish water before it clouded over and we had a couple of thunder claps.

2 June - After a sleep in, we cycled to the town of Bolsena where there was a market in the square selling all sorts of crafts and antiques. There was great church here dedicated to a saint/martyr who was only 11 years old. We discovered that it was a local holiday with many families enjoying this great little town and waterfront. After another couple of swims and a lay in the sun we cycled back into town for what we thought was an orchestral evening in the square. It turned out to be the local music school’s break up concert. So much for our Italian. Just when we thought we were making progress reading signs and posters!!

3 June – Another drive thru hill top villages to the last lake before Rome – Lake Bracciano. We are camped right on the lake front with a beautiful view. Some more great swimming! We will catch a bus and a train to Rome tomorrow. We went to the bar where we met 3 NZ shearers from Milton, Napier and Hornby. What a small world! They were working as a gang based on a trailer with folding sides, shearing about 60,000 sheep during the Italian season.

4 June – Off for an early start on the local bus and then the train into Rome. (1 hour trip) We left the train at St Peters and walked into St Peter’s square. What a site. Val and I had visited Rome when I was doing the All Black tour in 2004 but that was November and cold. The square was packed with tourists, locals, nuns and the clergy. The delay to get into the Cathedral was at least 1.5 hours and the queues snaked several times across the square. Cannot imagine what the queues to get into the Vatican were like. Fortunately we had seen it all in 2004 so did not feel we had to queue, and could just wander around taking in the atmosphere. We walked around all the great sites we had enjoyed earlier including St Peter’s Square, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo, Colosseum, and Roman Forum. We used the metro to get to a couple of the sites as we were getting a bit weary. We came back to camp for a well earned swim in the lake. Truly Rome is one of the world’s great cities!!

5 June – A day off!! Some checks of the camper and some cleaning. Unfortunately it started to rain around lunch time so we spent the afternoon reading and planning the next few weeks.

6 June – After a leisurely start we left this camp and drove past Rome around the motorway ring road and south back to the Med. Unfortunately all the free overnight stops we had decided to stay in were either non existent, or dodgy, so we had to go to a camp that was not on our discount card. 27 euro! We will have to get used to these prices later in the high season. There was a gravel beach but we had a nice swim however.

7 June – Onwards south towards Naples. The last part of the drive was not great as we missed a turn off and what, with being held up by a motor accident and some narrow roads, we were delayed about 45 minutes getting back on track and to our camp. The scenery along the coast was great but unfortunately there was a haze which turned to heavy rain. Why they bother painting lines or putting up speed signs on Italian roads is a mystery to us. Everyone travels at what ever speed they want to, 90kms in 50km area, and pass where ever they feel like. This includes up the inside, but everyone seems to make room for them. The rubbish around here is horrendous, piled up all along the roads. Perhaps the Naples rubbish men are on strike but we suspect it is just how it is! Marco (Viv's husband) said that “Italy is wasted on the Italians” and we tend to agree!! We are at a camp at the gates of the Pompeii Archaeological site, right under Mount Vesuvius. We will visit this tomorrow.

8 June – (My Birthday) Off out of our camp gates and straight into the ruins of Pompeii. They had run out of English guide books and maps. We found this out on our reccee yesterday and bought a book from a stall. The whole site is huge. We followed our book as best we could (still getting lost at times). It is amazing to think that the city was buried under 10-20 metres of ash. Walking along the cobbled streets it is easy to imagine what life must have been like for the Romans. Temples, houses (big and small) shops, bath houses, bakeries, a brothel, amphitheatres and a colosseum are all there. Most in remarkably good condition. We spent about 4 hours wandering around and saw a fair bit of the city. Back to the camp for lunch and a rest before boarding a local bus that took us to near the summit of the volcano Mt Vesuvius. After buying a park pass we climbed the last 200 vertical metres to the rim and walked around half of it. What a site. The only sign of activity was some steam and a sulphur smell.

9 June – We had a short drive of only 15 kms to our next camp at Seiano, but it took us about ¾ of an hour as we came thru a very densely populated area with narrow streets and many intersections with the traffic lights not working. This camp is in a little bay surrounded by cliffs but with a great harbour and a couple of nice beaches. We are parked under orange trees and the young guy next door climbed up and got us a few. We walked to the best beach after lunch and had a great swim with many Italian families, mostly mothers and children. In the evening we walked down to a restaurant on the harbour for a birthday tea (a day late) and had some beautiful pizza and great desserts.

10 June – We caught a local bus to our train station and the train to Sorrento where we caught another local bus to Amalfi. The first bus that came was very full (standing room only) so we waited ½ hour for the next bus and got seats on the correct side for the view. The 30 kms takes 1 ½ hours as the road is very narrow and windy. It is not permitted to take campervans on this road and the bus spends much of the trip “pushing” cars backwards to a passing bay. The views are spectacular however, with villages perched on the cliffs, many hotels and great beaches accessed by steps down the cliffs. Most of the people on the bus were tourists and they left the bus at various towns. We stayed on to the town of Amalfi which is the only time the bus is back at sea level. After a walk around the town we bought some pizza and ate it on the public beach and had a great swim. It seems strange that the water is so clear with such a dense population and little regard for cleanliness. The trip back was very crowded but we luckily had seats.

11 June – Heavy rain at breakfast time which sent us inside. This camp is very small and the manager insists on personally parking and unparking everyone. He helped us off our nice site and we set off for the short drive (81 kms) to our next planned camp. The GPS got muddled up as we left a tunnel and we missed the vital turning onto the road we needed. We were back to the narrow roads, cars parked everywhere, and traffic lights not working, of two days ago. It took us ¾ hour to eventually find the autostrada (toll road) which we gratefully took. All went well for the first 40 kms and then we passed a sign which we thought said “Patience for the next 9 kms”. All three lanes of the motorway stopped and then we crawled for the next hour. We thought there must have been a major accident but it turned out it was only road works and the three lanes had to merge into one. Being Italians they have no concept of “Merging like a zip” It was a free for all with cars weaving from lane to lane forcing themselves in to gain 10m. Cars even went up the verge and then tried to push in. It was really very funny. 6 Kms after the road works we left the autostrada and followed a quiet country road to our camp at Paestrum. We are right on a beautiful clean sandy beach which we made the most of. Great swims!!

12 June – A very quiet day. After a big wash and camper checks and cleaning we cycled to the Greek Archaeological site at Paestrum. We did not pay to go in as we could see most of the spectacular temples from the road. It was great to get on our bikes as it seems like ages since we last had a ride. Back to camp for more sunbathing and swimming on the beach.

13 June – I got a phone call (while in the shower), from Nicola to tell us that there had been two more huge earthquakes. Sounds like things may be back to square one again! We set off up a nice wide two laned road following the valleys and hills inland. Lovely country and with not much traffic. What a change from the mayhem of the roads around Naples! This road then turned into a narrow coastal road following the cliffs to our camp at Praia a Mare. It is overcast and this is a tourist town without the tourists. A bit tacky and not very inspiring. We hopped on the bikes and explored the town and beach and, as the sun had come out, decided to have a swim on small pebble beach between the mainland and an island. Quite a nice spot but we think we will move on tomorrow and give ourselves an extra day in Sicily. There is internet here so hopefully we can publish this blog and skype the girls.