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.

We’re enjoying the loosening of the lockdown rules, visiting Antonio’s bar daily for a nice cappuccino (or glass of red, depending in the time if day) as well as a trip to a garden centre up near Perugia.  We’ve finally been advised that both the owner of the cellar below us and the owner of the empty lot next door are wanting to sell so we had a look at some plants to decorate the expanded terrace area.  We also picked up a few hangers for some geraniums Colin had already gotten.

We also went to the large sporting goods store Decathlon so Colin could get some tape to replace the mangled area on his handlebars from his crash – there was a fellow at the entrance taking everyone’s temperature, and several tables with hand sanitizers.  Luckily I still have my lovely lavender spray that I brought with me, and also everyone was wearing facemasks.

Mo and Henry had a little kerfluffle one night at bedtime – I think she gets a little jealous of him at times and feels the need to prove her dominance, although she’s barely half his size.  She happily spent the night with me in my room to keep the peace.

One of the doctors that changed Colin’s dressings at the clinic actually has a small office in the village, right above the little Conad store – he visited her one day and got all of his prescriptions renewed.  When he asked what her fee was she said ‘oh no – we’re friends!’.  He did need a second round of antibiotics for the elbow gash, but the stitches were removed a few days later.

I’m still going on lots of lovely rides, although trying to get out a bit earlier in the morning before it gets too hot.  Everything is so green and lush looking, and the air is so clear – it’s just beautiful wherever you look – bright, vivid colours and I am just loving being ‘stuck’ here.

There was another gathering of the locals down below us who’ve been helping clear the overgrown brush – our neighbour saw me on the terrace looking out and motioned for us to join them.  We brought down some of my tzatziki dip with carrot sticks and a bowl of mixed nuts as our contribution – not quite as impressive as last week’s meatballs, but better than nothing.

There’s also been a nice cleanup of the small park/memorial/fountain in the village square – they painted the benches as well as the inside of the fountain and it really looks smart.  It’s got to be one of the nicer village piazzas around.

We took a nice little trip to Lake Trasimeno today and it was just beautiful – the water was a gorgeous green, although the dead fish all along the shore weren’t so nice.

The little ferries aren’t running again yet, and there weren’t that many people about – especially screaming kids.  It was quite lovely strolling along the waterside promenade.