Summer 2017 Second Post - Southern Italy and Sicily

25th and 26th April 2017 - Punta Alice - Calabria
2731 miles

After passing high inland mountains, lost in clouds, and crossing incredibly wide, braided rivers  on long viaducts ended up a few miles down the coast for a couple of days near Ciro. Not all of southern Italy is picture postcard - this place was a cross between Morecambe and the third world! 

27th April to 1st May 2017 - Tropea - Calabria
2851 miles

A morning's drive across the heel to the west coast of Calabria, near Salerno, then south along winding mountain roads and coastal towns - much more like your postcards. The destination was a campsite below the ancient cliff-top town of Tropea with houses clinging to the cliff above the harbour and small hill top monastery below - out to sea, in the distance, Stromboli and some of the other Aeolian Islands in the horizon. Spent a few lazy days just wandering around, enjoying the sun and yummy ice cream. Interesting to see blind Norman arcading on the exterior of the cathedral.

2nd to 3rd May 2017 - Riposto - Sicily
2986 miles
Eventually, after solving the low headroom bridge problem in Tropea, and a long circuitous route, north instead of south, to get on the autostrada, headed south through wooded mountains to catch the ferry to Messina at Villa San Giovanni. Complete chaos! Goodness knows what it us like when it's really busy the whole town must get jammed with ferry traffic. Bloody expensive at 56 euro for a 5km trip. Headed south through Messina to a coastal town below Etna. Unfortunately, Etna was covered in cloud most of the time. Luckily, woke early the next morning to find it crystal clear at 6am. Clouds quickly built up and then what l thought was a strange brown one turned out to be an ash plume that rose up about three kilometres then slowly streamed out to sea.

4th to 8th May 2017 - Avola - Sicily
3060 miles
Along the east coast, which is busy and heavily developed until Catania's past to a small coastal town called Avola. Located on a coastal plain, mainly covered with lemon groves and hills rising to about 500m a couple of kilometres inland. Stopped at a great, small, shady campsite. Bike trips out to the ancient Greek city of Syracuse, some 25km north and the beautiful Baroque town of Noto, 15km south, with masses of churches and town palaces all built around 1700 following a massive earthquake in 1693.

9th and 10th May 2017 - Ragusa - Sicily
3109 miles
Around the southern tip of Sicily, to a free well maintained Aosta at Ragusa, a small coastal town. Actually south of the latitude of Tunis. Biked around to visit a couple of small coastal nature reserves - not much natural left around these parts most areas, often now abandoned were developed for agriculture.

11th May 2016 - Agrigento - Sicily
3194 miles
Along the south coast to the large modern town of Agrigento, with its sprawling apartment blocks (omnipresent in ltaly), below which lies the extensive site of the ancient Greek town of Akragas. Which is a UNESCO Heritage site because of the remains of a number of Doric temples on a ridge just inside the southern perimeter wall called the Valle dei Templi - which is odd as they are all on a ridge.
The previous day l visited another UNESCO site, the Villa Romano di Casello. A Roman hunting lodge that was buried in a mudslide that preserved its mosaic floors - just room after room. Unfortunately, hoards of Italian school kids were visiting at the same time which rather ruined the visit.

12th to 19th May 2017 - San Vito lo Capo - Sicily
3376 miles

Spent the last week in the northwest corner of Sicily in a well hidden campsite surrounded by large nature reserves with the hills rising to 600m to 900m - reminiscent if parts of Scotland - but a lot drier and warmer! Odd bits of hiking and biking; but now getting too hot to be very energetic after 11am. Should be heading for Palermo on Saturday to take the over night ferry for Cagliari on Sardinia.