Once again when leaving we followed the coast a bit north before heading west and inland.  We then turned north again and passed by the city of Matera before looking for a place to have coffee and/or lunch.

We spotted a nice looking restaurant just outside the town of Borgo Venusio, but finding a way into the parking lot was a challenge.  After finally winding our way down and around we got in.  We brought the dogs inside with us and luckily they were welcome.

We ended up getting a little more than we bargained for – both an appetizer and main course.  The antipasto was several kinds of meat and cheese, as well as olives and bread.  The primo was eggplant parmeggiano, and it was excellent – although I did my best I couldn’t quite finish it.

When we went to leave we were delayed by a ‘dog incident’ – there were two strays – mastiffs, Colin said – that came to the open back entrance just as I was about to take Mo out.  The owner shooed them away, then told me it was ok, so I took her out and started towards the campervan.

I got more than halfway when the dogs saw me – they hadn’t gone that far.  I eyed up the distance to the safety of the van, then scooped Mo up as one of the dogs looked at me and slowly started towards me.  I made a hasty retreat back into the restaurant with Mo in my arms.

The owner once again shooed the dogs, this time waiting until we were all safe inside the campervan and on our way.  I feel sorry for the dogs – they looked very pretty but underfed and were obviously looking for food – I just didn’t want Mo to be their lunch!

Back on our way we continued north to the coast, and bypassing Bari stopped a little further along just before the town of Bisceglie.  The campground is lovely – lots of older olive trees and and not a long walk from the Sea.

They have geese and ducks, as well as a large vegetable garden.  They evidently keep very good care of the shrubs, flowers and other trees as it all looks immaculate.  The pool area is wonderful, and the only drawback for us was the loud music.

I’d pitched my tent right under a large olive tree, and Mo and I were just settling down for the night when the music started.  It went on and on – I finally took Mo for a walk and to try to find out what was going on.  Some very nice staff members told me – very apologetically – that it was a private party and would go on for at least another two hours.  Mo just wouldn’t settle down so I had to dump her in the campervan and try to settle myself.

After about 4 hours sleep I got up to another sunny morning.  We spent the day in the shade and keeping out of the heat.  I asked about the music for the night and was assured that they didn’t think there would be another party.

After everyone had left the pool for dinner I took advantage of the empty pool to have a nice swim.  Alas, it only lasted half a length as I was called over to the side by a staff member.  He had to call another member over who spoke english – apparently it’s a ‘law’ in Puglia that you have to wear a cap, and I didn’t have one.  Even tho the pool was empty but for me they wouldn’t even let me have five minutes – bummer!

I had a better sleep than the previous night, although someone next door was playing music, thankfully not as loud as the campground’s private party night.

Leaving the coast again we decided to head inland for the journey back to Papiano.  We passed by Foggia, and stopped just off the highway outside Campobasso for lunch of homemade meatballs with spaghetti – ok the spaghetti wasn’t homemade but the meatballs were.

Fortified by a good meal we continued on kind of southwest for a bit to Isernia, then generally north to the mountain village of Pescopennataro – another challenge.  

Not only did it start raining on the way, as we climbed higher and higher it got more and more foggy.

 Thanks to a helpful local fellow we eventually found the lovely campground – it even had a bar/restaurant, and again the dogs were welcome. This time no loud music, or any traffic noise – the best sleep I’ve had in days.

The morning was much clearer – not exactly blue skies, but at least not foggy.  And it’s not hot – I even put my jacket on when walking Mo.

We left before 10 and got to see a bit of the beautiful countryside we’d missed in the fog the day before.

 

We stayed at Camping Lungomare for three nights – one morning we walked the dogs into the town to find a bank, and it was already so hot we had to stop three times to give them water.  Luckily we almost always bring their bowl in my backpack when we go anywhere now so were well prepared with lots of water.

We had lunch a couple of times at the restaurant across from us – mixed seafood appetizer one day, then once again calamari.  Both dishes were excellent, as was the pizza we had one evening – they have a large wood-fired oven, and that makes the best pizza.

One afternoon as we sat in the shade in the bar we watched a water aerobics class – they also had organized activities for kids.

A couple of evening swims in the Sea were wonderful – the water gets fairly deep very quickly so you don’t have to wade half a mile to start swimming.

When we left the campground we went north for a ways, then turned west into the hills, heading for the town of San Giovanni di Fiori – it wasn’t as charming as it sounded and we couldn’t find a place for coffee that had any space for parking so we eventually made it to the other side and just kept going.

We came to a lovely lake – lago Ampollino, and finally found a nice place for a coffee.  It was a large picnic type area with a bar and restaurant – it normally probably would have been packed but we were the only ones there.

After we passed the lake we came to a nice wide valley that reminded me greatly of home – hay fields, grazing cattle, small farms – very pretty.

By the time we stopped for the night we were back on the coast, having done basically a large circle and ending up not that far north from where we’d started.

We chose a nice sounding campground, but you can’t always tell by the description.  This one was right on the beach and was very large, with row after row of tall spruce trees marking the spaces.

Upon entering we were given two pages of rules and regulations, and just as I was starting to make dinner a lady pulled up on a golf cart.  She asked where our ‘Calabria’ form was and we had no idea what she was talking about.  She told us we had to go to an official website and properly register so we said we would.

No more than 10 or 15 minutes later she pulled up again and said ‘you haven’t registered yet!’ in an accusatory tone.  We said we’re just making dinner – we’ll do it later, but that wasn’t good enough for her.  I actually turned the stove off, pulled out my ipad and logged in to the website while she was there.

Of course it was all in Italian so we didn’t even know which tab to go into – we gave up and had dinner.  Afterwards Colin walked up to the office and was told they’d help us fill it out the next afternoon.

The next morning we decided to leave – despite one of their strict rules being ‘absolutely no noise between midnight and 8 am’ we were kept awake until after 2 am by the disco music from next door.

Also, the ‘free’ shower we were supposed to get with the token she gave each of us lasted about 45 seconds – I was literally covered in soap when the water stopped.  I wrapped myself in my towel and scampered to the toilet building and rinsed the soap off with cold water from the sink.  In addition I pulled a muscle in my lower back bending over to rinse the conditioner out of my hair – time to leave this place!

The morning was totally quiet and peaceful – no traffic noise at all, no roosters crowing, dogs barking or kids squealing.  We left the parking lot at a decent time and said goodbye to Scopello – a place we’d come back to, maybe at a cooler time of year.

We took a different route back to the campground near Enna, heading along the north coast thru Palermo, then turning south along the motorway that goes inland and over to Catania.  We made pretty good time, even thru the city, and saw a hilarious sight on the motorway – a small car was driving along with a sofa strapped to its roof.

My plan to take photos of the full moon rising over Etna didn’t work out as it rose too far to the south, although I did get some ok pics of the countryside at dusk.  The light was gorgeous, even without the full moon.

We stayed two nights – got a bunch of laundry done, and took a couple of really nice swims in the pool.  Paparanza is another campground we’ll return to if we’re fortunate enough to make it back to Sicily in the future.

We got a really nice start the day we left, but within ten minutes as we tried to get on the motorway we were diverted.  The diversion was for quite a few miles – must have been a bad accident of something.  After sailing along once again we hit another snag just outside Catania – the traffic was very heavy and it took us about an hour to get past the city and on our way north.

Etna was within sight much of the way – she’s almost always venting from the top, and often from one of her slopes as well.

Miss Waze got us to the ferry terminal ok – she’s not talking to me anymore, but does show details of the route, and as long as I’m on the ball we make the proper turns. 

We just missed one ferry, but only waited 35 minutes or so for the next one.  They load and leave so quickly I can’t believe it, and after another 25 minute journey we were back on the mainland.  Bye bye Sicily – hope to return one day!

We headed north up the motorway, then veered east to the ‘sole of the boot’.  At one point along the coast we had to stop for Henry to take a pee, and the sign for a vending machine in the next parking lot cracked me up.

I didn’t bother going for it – what the heck is ‘Canapa Light’ – is it like light beer?  If so – why bother?  Hahaha.

We found a lovely campground right across the road from the Sea just outside the small town of Cropani Marina. 

 

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.

 

As you come into San Leone there’s a sign that caught our attention – it reminded us of both the trumpster and his enabling wife’s grammar.  If it had said ‘bigly best’ it would have been perfect, but it was close – hahaha!

We had a fairly quiet day yesterday, only venturing out for groceries and to the pharmacy.  I originally thought that a bone might have been broken in my left hand, but because I can wiggle my fingers and even bend them a bit I suspect it’s only badly bruised underneath.

The swelling on the hand, which at one time was from an inch or more below the wrist all the way to the fingers had subsided some, but the larger of the two bite wounds had started to ooze puss, thus the visit to the pharmacy.  The fellow I saw looked at my hand, and I told him what happened over the last few days and was given two things – a clear liquid that foams/bubbles only over the open injuries, and an iodine-like liquid.  Hopefully together they will take care of the infection, and I won’t get lock-jaw either!

Today we did one of our few ‘touristy’ things and visited the Valley of The Temples.  It’s not actually in the valley, but rather on a ridge below the modern city of Agrigenta.

It must have been a very important centre for the ancient Greeks as there are several major temples and other things built over a period of a few hundred years starting around 2500 years ago or so.

We’d planned well and got to the site just after it opened at 8:30, and were well prepared with water, both for ourselves and the doggies.  There were once again resident stray dogs, but mostly only near the entrance, and luckily they weren’t at all aggressive, although both Henry and Mo had a good bark at them.

The site was awesome – a series of temples in varying conditions from almost whole to just rubble, but it was all very interesting.  

We stopped frequently to let the dogs have water, and were glad we’d parked at the bottom and taken a cab up so the walk along back to the parking was all gently downhill.

The site includes a couple of unexpected things – some Girgentana goats, as well as a relatively modern villa that was built by an englishman and had a beautiful garden with many cacti, as well as great views.

By the time we reached the end of the main road it was getting pretty hot and we were ready to leave – very worth the visit, but our original plan of coming to Sicily in April would have been more comfortable, especially for the dogs.

Q

I had an unfortunate incident involving Henry on Thursday evening – I went to grab his lead to take him for a walk, and I’m not sure if I surprised him on his blind side or what, but he went for me.  My left hand was clamped down on but promptly released.  The next morning I was able to pack up my tent, but the hand was in pain – as the day progressed it got more and more swollen.  If I let the hand down it starts to throb so I’m now holding it up almost all the time – I feel like a goof doing the ‘royal wave’ or something.

We left the nice campground and headed inland to the town of Piazza Armerina, which is near the Villa Romana del Casale that sounded interesting and we wanted to see.  Well – another tale of gps misguidance.  The campervan gps couldn’t find the Villa by name, and Miss Waze kept losing the gps signal so we resorted to trying to follow the signs.

I don’t know how many times we went back and forth and around the town before we tried inputting the map co-ordinates into the campervan gps.  It’s led us astray before so we were wary of using it, and this time was no exception.  We got on a road that just got more and more narrow and perilous as it wound up the mountain, then ended, although there were great views.

We were just outside the gates of a house, and a car pulled up!  They went thru the gates, then the eldely gentleman came back out to see why a campervan with french plates was parked outside his gates on a dead-end road in the middle of nowhere.

Colin managed to explain what we were looking for and he said ‘oh – it’s right down there’ (in Italian) and pointed way down below us.  Once again – close, but no cigar.

Luckily there was a wide space and we were able to turn around and backtrack to the city where we once again went in circles before spying the well-hidden markers to the villa.  Once finally arriving there we parked in the virtually empty parking lot, and I took Mo for a little walk to investigate entrance fees, etc.

The fee was a bit high, and dogs aren’t allowed so we’d have to leave them in the campervan, although there are several resident stray dogs around.  It was very hot and there was no shade to park in so we opted to move on, planning to return early in the morning.

We drove about another 30 km just past the town of Valguarnera to a campsite Colin had looked up.  It was great – not very large, lovely swimming pool, and views of Etna.  She’s almost always smoking – sometimes one plume as today, sometimes three or four.  The ground wasn’t right for setting up my tent, and I couldn’t have managed anyway with my injured hand.

The next morning we decided not to go back and see the roman villa, but instead took a day-trip to visit a Canadian war cemetery near the town of Agira and we found it with no problem – it was actually marked in our map-book.

It was really very nice – as you approach it from the west you walk up a hill, and as you crest the hill you’re faced with the blue-green waters of lake Pozzillo with Etna looming in the distance.

It’s very well maintained, with lovely plants and flowers between each grave marker.  This particular cemetery is only Cdns – 490 in all, with a few more canucks at other cemeteries elsewhere on the island with the brits and yanks.

We drove through a couple of towns trying to find a nice place for lunch but ended up parking on the side of a very small road – the salmon and asparagus I whipped up were delicious.

After lunch we drove to the town of Enna – the highest town on Sicily.  Unable to take the road we wanted due to a closure of some sort we backtracked to the town of Valguarnera, trying to find a bar – success at last – and the wine was even chilled, which is my preference ever since our visit to Spain in 2017.

The campground does a good business with its swimming pool – every morning cars start to pull up and disgorge kids by the dozens.  There must be near 30 there until late afternoon when they all leave for dinner and the pool is deserted once more.

We actually both went for a swim the second evening and it was great – not too warm but very relaxing.

The campground sells ‘sulla honey’ – it’s a special honey that is produced by bees that forage from the french honeysuckle bushes on the slopes of Etna.  In addition they sell a very nice local olive oil – Colin bot some of each.

We left the little campground Sunday morning around 10:00, returning to the south coast a bit further along than we were before.  The journey was again not without its challenges due to various factors – road work, temperamental gps, and confusing road signage.

One of the smaller roads we ended up on was so rough we almost bottomed out a couple of times, and things got bounced around pretty good.  We did make it to Agrigenta by early afternoon and found the campground we’d been looking for.  The fellow at the last place had given us a map of Sicily with several related places marked – this one is called ‘Valley of the Temples’ because of the nearby cluster of Greek Temples that we plan to visit.

Shortly after getting parked Colin discovered that the bike rack was breaking – a few more bumps on the last rough road and my bike would have been dangling, taking Colin’s with it.  Some repair work is going to be needed before we hit the road again.

Being quite hungry we walked to the seashore to find a restaurant – it’s a bit of a hike but there’s a lovely wide promenade lined with flowering bushes all along the shore.  The only kind of unfortunate thing was the dozens and dozens of young black men with table after table of knock-off running shoes, purses – yeah right, I’m sure they’re genuine Gucci – and every other junky thing you can think of.

We found a nice looking restaurant and sat down – the waitress immediately brought water for the doggies, which I took as a good sign.  My meal was excellent – grilled calamari with grilled zucchini and eggplant – if I’d been at home I would have licked the plate, but settled instead for wiping it clean with bread.

The wi-fi signal here isn’t great but I was able to facetime home – miss my boys lots, but at least seeing them once or twice a week via facetime is better than nothing.  And no – they’re not children, in fact one is a cat.

 

Having left our lovely campground near San Marco we once again headed south, passing Catania and then Siracusa before rounding the corner and going west along the southern coast of the island.

We’d picked a place on the coast to head for, and ended up at campground Luminoso in the village of Punta Braccetto, right on the Sea.

It’s a very quiet place as the road we’re on is a dead end so there’s only a bit of local traffic and mostly all you can hear is the sound of the waves on the beach.

Our camping pitch is quite large, and under a canopy that covers four similar pitches.  We have a private bathroom and the showers are small but nice.  And the Wi-fi is very good, so we’re pretty happy.

We’ve had several nice walks along the beach, which happens to be one of the many that the Allies landed on in 1943 to begin the ‘liberation’ of Italy.

We had excellent pizza from one of the local places for dinner one evening, and were looking forward to a nice seafood or pasta lunch the next day.  We drove further west along the coast as far as the city of Gela – which has a large industrial area right along the road – but got frustrated with the small streets and impatient traffic.  The city is right on the water but you have to negotiate thru a maze and over a hill to get to the waterfront – we gave up and headed back east to Vittoria, where we were once more disappointed.  There are lots of restaurants, but many either aren’t open, or only have takeout.

Two things they have in great abundance in this area are greenhouses and garbage.  You can drive for miles and miles and there’s nothing to see in any direction but greenhouses.  Many of them are being used – tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc., but many are derelict with tattered plastic flapping in the wind and rows of weeds flourishing inside.

And the garbage – it really spoils the feeling of the place.  And it’s not just in the pullouts where there usually is a bin – it’s everywhere on both sides of the road.  Not just the odd plastic bottle or candy wrapper – it’s bags and bags – I even saw a mattress that was just tossed and left.

It’s very unfortunate – I read that Sicily is desperate for tourists but I must say that the garbage is not a tourist attractor.

This morning I finally got on my bike – a nice leisurely ride a short way back to the town of Punta Secca which is also right on the coast.  It’s a lovely place with a pedestrian promenade all along the water, and miles of fine sand beach, as well as a very tall lighthouse.

It’s another of the many places the allies landed on July 10, 1943, and there’s a nice memorial to them.  I was so impressed with the village that Colin and I went back a few hours later for lunch.

The restaurant we chose, after walking along the entire promenade, was the first one we’d seen.  And was it ever good – not cheap – but good!  We both got the calamari, which was stuffed with risotto then sliced and served on a bed of pureed potatoes.  The presentation was beautiful and the meal was delicious.  We had one glass each of a local Sicilian red wine and Colin got the dessert of hot chocolate cake served with cold ricotta.  I had a couple of bites and it was also delicious, although far too sweet for me to indulge in more.

We were content to sit there for a bit but left prematurely as a thin, very white lady in a tiny thong bikini with a large black dog arrived and the dog was very barky towards Mo.  I got up immediately and took Mo for a stroll while Colin finished his espresso.

It was just the kind of place we’d searched for yesterday to no avail – but well worth the extra day’s wait.  Sand Design Restaurant in Punta Secca – I told him I’d mention it – he described the daily specials in great detail and with pride, and as I said, it was excellent.  We don’t actually eat out that often, but when we do we really appreciate it if it’s something special.

I took a couple more very nice bike rides around the area, and on one I stopped at La Fonte Di San Constanzo which is just below Castello Delle Forme.  Colin has successfully negotiated purchase of the cellar and that’s very good news – still hoping to get the empty lot next to the terrace but may have to be patient.

The tiger lillies on the terrace have blossomed and they’re a lovely shade of yellow.

We finally were able to leave for our trip to Sicily and I’m very excited – this was supposed to happen months ago but was, for obvious reasons, delayed.  Having been ‘forced’ to spend so much extra time in Papiano did make us both appreciate the little village and our neighbours even more, and in a way we’re grateful for the extra time.

We got away at a decent time on Wednesday morning, having done a lot of the packing up the previous day.  We decided to avoid the toll-roads and main highways in favour of smaller, slower roads, so went south to Terni then southeast to L’Aquila, passing through some very beautiful countryside.

We stopped for a bite to eat just south of L’Aquila, then continued south to Avezzano and eventually reached the west coast near Salerno.  We drove south along the coast until we came to a campground near a beach and decided to call it a day.

The beach access was only a short walk away, and we watched the sun set over the sea –  a nice end to a nice, but kind of long day.

We got another decent start Thursday morning but didn’t cover nearly as many miles.  

We followed the very winding coast road south passing through Paestum and Agropoli before stopping in Acciaroli for cappuccino on the beach.

Feeling refreshed we continued on along the beautiful coast, stopping again at Marina di Casal Velino for lunch.

While walking along I spotted what I think must be one of the worst advertising ideas ever – what does this look like?  I believe it’s supposed to be a croissant being dipped in coffee, but to me it looks like a giant turd – we kept walking. 

We settled on a nice looking restaurant next to the marina and got an outside table so the doggies could join us.  We were both very pleased with our choices – Colin got the spaghetti with scampi and I chose the pasta with ‘fruits of the sea’.

My jaw dropped when I got my dish – it was so huge I couldn’t believe I would be able to finish it, but I did – with only a little help.  It was three kinds of shellfish on a bed of vermicelli with a delicious tomato sauce – just wonderful.

At one point we stopped again so the dogs could have a little break, and across the road was a large garbage bin with a sign saying ‘environment = tourism’, and apparently they don’t empty the bin very often as there were dozens and dozens of bags of trash lining the edge of the road around it.

A little further on there were concrete barriers on the road, placed so that larger vehicles couldn’t proceed.  The two cars in front of us went thru, and there was just enough room for the campervan – we soon found out why.  For a couple of km the road was buckling and starting to crumble with small landslides along the edges – slow going, but we made it safely to the other side.

We stopped for the night at a free spot right across from the sea in Praia a Mare.  We had a drink at a seaside cafe, parked the campervan and went for a nice walk along the boardwalk.  

There are nice wide walking and cycling paths, and an outdoor gym area right near where we’re parked.