The day after our Temple tour we left San Leone to go further up the coast to another nice-sounding campground right on the Sea in the small town of Triscina.
We did ok navigating until shortly before our destination when we came across an unmarked very bad section of road and had to backtrack a bit.
We eventually got thru on another road thanks to google drive – Miss gps couldn’t locate Triscina, and Miss Waze was being uncooperative yet again.
The campground is pretty nice and the beach is beautiful, although kind of hard to walk on – the sand is very deep and fine, and got super hot as the day progressed.
The campground has a cafe but it’s not open – luckily there’s a bar down the beach a bit that is open, but doesn’t have red wine (!) – I settled for a glass of white. I carried Mo over the sand on the way there as I didn’t want her to burn her feet, but Henry didn’t seem to mind the walk.
There are several resident cats that are continually sauntering by and taunting the dogs – Mo and Henry go nuts barking and lunging on their rope and the cats just sit and smirk at them.
On our second day we went to the beach bar for lunch and they didn’t have a menu but he told us the two dishes we could choose from – we both went for the pasta, and it was very tasty.
The day we left I was planning on going for a morning swim but it was overcast and the water was on the chilly side – I settled for wading, being careful to not get too close to the fishing lines that were strung along one part of the shore.
Rather than continue on around the west coast we decided to go cross-country to a small village on the north coast.
We found the general area no problem but locating the campground was a challenge – a couple of signs would have helped immensely.
There are several lovely but very crowded beaches and some large car parks but you’re not allowed to camp overnight. We finally found a fellow that gave clear enough directions that we eventually found the campground, only to be told they were closed three hours for lunch, and no we couldn’t park and we wait for them to re-open.
I must say that being desperate for business after the lockdown some places just don’t seem able to adjust and maybe try a little harder with their service – maybe don’t shut down for half the day when someone arrives to support your business.
We chose to continue up the road and find a place to have lunch, and were very glad of that decision. The lovely village of Scopello was right around the bend, with a large carpark just before it. We pulled in and the fellow spoke pretty good english – 5 euros for the day, or 10 if we wanted to stay overnight.
We took a walk into the village and found a restaurant overlooking the sea way down below – La Terrace. I once again got calamari, this time roasted, and once again it was a great choice.
There were only two other occupied tables when we were there – I bet in normal times the place would have been packed. It has a large outdoor space on several levels, all overlooking the brilliant blue Sea – it would be a lovely location for a wedding reception or some other such large gathering.
After lunch we strolled around a bit and ended up having a drink and a gelato at another place.
There were a couple of young ladies there that spoke english – they work in The Netherlands for a train booking agency and are on Sicily for a two week vacation.
Back at the campervan we had a quiet evening – we’re as happy here as at any fancy campground, and I’m struck by the total quietness after the day-trippers had left and the locals had gone to their homes.
This village is another place that, in normal times, would be crawling with tourists – it’s nice to not have to fight crowds, but we do feel for the local businesses.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 