Sicily
Alan's Log:
Joan's Log:
June 2008
Route from Cagliari, Sardinia to Sicily, then to the Aeolean Islands and on to Naples, Italy
Not to be used for navigation
Sicily was an afterthought in our planning. A large obstacle to be rounded as we passed around the foot of Italy en route to the Greek Islands. Then our friends Brad & Kara visited it on their honeymoon last year and brought back tales of Mafiosi and spectacular Greek ruins; a poor, but fascinating island. I picked up a newspaper about a year ago and read that the alleged boss of the Sicilian Mafia had been arrested, having been 'on the run' for over 30 years in Sicily. How could one man escape from the diligent forces of law and order on a small island for over 30 years? It seemed incredible, but it turns out Sicily is not so small and the police perhaps have not always been so diligent. The last and deciding factor is that my parents decided to spend a week in Sorrento in Naples bay. We wanted to see them and a stop in Sicily would break up the voyage from Sardinia into several short overnight passages with interesting stops along the way.
In my mind Sicily is that small island off the foot of Italy, the football to Italy's boot. I was surprised to read that it is the largest island in the Mediterranean. The still active volcano of Mt. Etna smoulders in its interior. Slightly larger than Sardinia, its strategic location in the center of the Med ensured its importance in centuries past. Trade ships would have had to pass along one side of Sicily or the other as they worked their way from the Eastern Mediterranean to the West. Equally, traders from Africa would have found Sicily their first port of call in Europe. It has absorbed the influences of all of these visitors and reconstituted them in the architecture which veers from Norman to Moorish to Spanish and so on. Tuna and Swordfish annually migrate along its coasts ensuring a rich harvest for the many fishermen. Sicily is surrounded by small islands including the volcanic Aeolian Islands of Vulcano and Stromboli - active to this day. Stromboli's effervescent nature gave rise to its namesake ice cream dessert and when Joan learned that Sicily is the origin of ice cream itself - well we just had to make a stop there!
We would make our visit in two bites. This year we will sail along most of the North coast and visiting Trapani and Erice, then the mysterious and grimy Mafia stronghold of Palermo. Then a short stop in Cefalu and on to the Aeolian Islands en route to Naples bay.
In Homer's "The Odyssey" the bag containing the contrary winds was given to Odysseus by Aeoleus, the god of the winds. But Odysseus's disobedient sailors opened the bag in what became named the Aeolean Islands, thinking there was treasure inside, only to get blown further off course. Sailors familiar with the region talk of an Aeolean Triangle, in much the same way that we talk of the Bermuda Triangle. We hope to find the weather at Stromboli good enough to anchor while we hike to see the lava at the top of the volcano. From the Aeolean Islands we will head north to the Amalfi coast for a week and see the sights of Pompei, Herculaneum and Naples with my parents.
Voyage from Cagliari, Sardinia to Trapani, Sicily
We set off from Sardinia in the early morning in company with WINDSWEPT. Winds were forecast to build and would be on our nose for at least part of the voyage. It is a voyage of 180 NM and would take us a little over 24 hours.We were able to sail, then motor-sail for about 10 hours. We hooked a large tuna, but I lost it close to the boat, then the wind shifted on to our nose and the rest of the voyage was a boring bumpy slog under motor against wind and waves. When we arrived in Trapani the next morning all was still, the waves had calmed and the only ones rocking and rolling were Joan and I who, on land, were still reeling as we felt we were still aboard a rocking ship. It is a long while since we have had that feeling - all the way back to our first long voyage from the Bahamas to Newport R.I. in 2006.
We kept an eye out for WINDSWEPT, but she did not appear and we were quite worried for a day or so with no contact, until we received an email. Windswept had run very low on fuel and had stopped overnight at an island off the coast of Sicily to try and beg or borrow a jug of diesel before making the last 30 NM or so.
Trapani
I had a good feeling about Trapani right from the start, more than a little rough around the edges, dirty and sooty, but retaining a certain amount of Italian gusto and elegance with a slight element of danger just to make things interesting!Trapani is at the extreme NW tip of Sicily as the island turns to the scythe-like shape that gave Trapani its name. It is a rich horticultural area with salt flats on the coast, a thriving fishing industry and the impressive Mt. S Giuliano overlooking the city.
We arrived to a ghost town. In every European destination we have sailed to so far when the shops are closed, the solid metal shutters in front of the doors and the display windows are pulled down and locked. The shops simply disappear and the streets look forlorn and armourplated. It was Sunday of course and on Sunday in provincial Italy not much happens outside of church (see our experience in Orgosolo, Sardinia). I have been carrying a craving for an Italian pizza for weeks which I was unable to satisfy in Sardinia, but of course everyone was at home having Sunday lunch with Mama so why would the restaurants stay open?
Monday would be better we thought, but we woke to the sound of trumpets and slowly it dawned on us that Monday was also a holiday. It was Republic day and all shops, restaurants etc. remained firmly closed during the day. Even the streets were closed to motor traffic, enabling children to bicycle with their parents along Main Street. Of course there was a parade and all the local and regional dignitaries assembled for rounds of speechmaking. The police, coast guard and even the traffic wardens were crisp and oh-so-smart in their tailored dress uniforms.
Other than the parade, not much was happening in Trapani. We needed some exercise and so decided to visit the mountaintop village of Erice. There were no buses and one of our bicycles has sprung some spokes so we walked 3 miles towards the base of the funicular cable car. As we neared the base I complimented the obviously proud and well-dressed owner of a bright yellow Alfa Romeo spyder. This immediately led to him insisting that he take us wherever we wanted to go! Somewhat reluctantly in this Mafiosi land of kidnappings and extortion we climbed into the small car and Guiseppe drove off down the street while explaining with both hands that he was the president of the region surrounding Trapani and had been officiating in the ceremonies. He spoke very little English and we of course speak no Italian but we managed to communicate pretty well. We all sang Star Spangled Banner together as we drove down Main Street and Guiseppe dropped us at the base of the funicular and insisted on purchasing our lift-tickets for us.
As we rose over Trapani in the cable car we could see Guiseppe far below in his bright yellow car still waving to us as he wound his way up the twisty road!
Erice was a pleasant surprise. A small medieval village on top of the mountain with several fine churches, a castle and a couple of forts and lovely cobbled streets.
and interesting detail work on many of the buildings. But it was the stellar views of the surrounding countryside that made the trip worthwhile.
As we walked through the ancient cobbled streets we came across the Ettore Majorana center for education and scientific culture, set in a former monastery. Apparently Ettore Majorana had been one of Italy's foremost physicists in the 1930's. He foresaw the splitting of the atom but disappeared mysteriously in 1938 - he was never seen again. The center was hosting an advanced NATO study course; "Integrating Crystallography in the fight against Bio-Terrorism." It all seemed very strange and a little reminiscent of the movie "A beautiful mind".
On the way back we stopped at a gelateria for an ice cream to sustain us for the long walk back to the boat. Sicily is the birthplace of ice cream; It all started with the Romans mixing their sweet wine with snow from Mt. Etna. What a brilliant idea! I think we found the Holy Grail of Ice Cream at this little place, it was way better than the gelato we had in Rome, which is saying a lot. Alan had a combination of dark chocolate and pistachio from a single tub and I had lemon. The lemon flavor was pure and slightly tart, the texture was dense, smooth and creamy and not too hard but slightly softened, just the way I like it. Five Teed Stars! I just wish I could remember the name. What a great day; Guiseppe, Erice, and Gelato!
Our marina in Trapani just happened to be next to the long quay where all the fishing boats tie up, and where the fish market is...the loudest, most frenetic one so far. Each boat set up a stand heaped with freshly caught fish and what a variety! The tuna are running now and swordfish is common in the waters around Sicily and is a major specialty in the Trattorias. At one stall we saw a swordfish being cut into steaks, it's enormous head and sword still intact. What a beautiful creature it must have been only the day before when it was swimming free. It put me in that nagging dilemma of guilt again, when I wrestle with my conscience over eating meat. Should I or shouldn't I? I do my best to put it out of my head; but the saddest of all were the octopi, still alive and making desperate attempts to escape. I saw one making a slow but futile effort to get out of a bucket, and Alan saw one trying to climb out of a plastic bag after being purchased.
I settled on a thick tuna steak, which that evening became an amazing meal. Alan grilled it on our barbeque, while I made a sauce of onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes, capers, (secret ingredient: a little finely chopped anchovy) and fresh basil, to mix with a little local pasta and top the tuna steak. As Alan says, we eat very well on Chez Moonstruck.
Palermo
I have never been anywhere like it. It's not exactly a tourist destination for a few good reasons, one of them starts with the letter M! We started walking just to get a feeling for the city. I got a feeling alright...fear! Fear of getting run-over, fear of being robbed, fear finding the gate to the shipyard, where we tied-up, locked when we returned. But the wild-child in me was fascinated too. Sicily is a poor island and no where is it more apparent then in Palermo, which is basically an enormous ghetto.
Very quickly and easily we found ourselves walking down a side-street that became a squalid tenement with decrepit buildings and sinister-looking people, making the darkest parts of Barcelona's Ravel district look like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! Laundry was strung like prayer flags from every balcony and window as well as from the rafters of fallen-down buildings; Scooters and cars whizzed by, missing us by inches. I'm sure Palermo considers stray cats and dogs as the least of it's problems, but cats seemed to be everywhere. Not cute or cuddly, they are hungry, wild animals. People openly stared at us. I tried not to make eye contact and wished I had left my watch on the boat; that I had dark hair; that I didn't look so darned squeaky-clean, freckle-faced American!
We couldn't find a way out of it either, and before we knew it, we were smack in the middle of the medieval souk-like Vucciria Bazaar, dark narrow alleys of stalls selling everything from fruits and vegetables to CD's, to knock-off bags, belts and sun-glasses. I relaxed a little, at least there were people shopping and even a few tourist-types taking pictures.
One of the bazaar streets came out onto a main thoroughfare crowded with shoppers and traffic screaming past. Alan and I couldn't believe our eyes when a motorcyclist sped by holding the reins to a galloping horse! In heavy traffic! The horse had no rider or saddle, and was a lovely, muscular chestnut galloping alongside the motorcycle. Was he exercising it or is that how they transport horses in Sicily?
Cefalu and the Aeolean Islands
After Palermo we headed along the coast to Cefalu. It is a small pretty town, a bit too touristy for my taste, but it has a Norman church built in the 1100's (The period that Follet's book "Pillars of the Earth" describes so well).
It is one of the best preserved Norman churches. It is far more austere than most of the large churches and cathedrals that we have seen with very little interior ornamentation. Almost as if the massively solid style imposed itself on its parishioners. It is notable for the height of its nave and its wooden ceiling/roof.
Cefalu was our kicking off point for the 9 hour sail to the Aeolean Islands and was where we said goodbye (for a while only we hope) to Wil & Jeanine - who are continuing along the Sicilian coast en route to Greece.
The voyage was uneventful. We sailed into the anchorage at Vulcano to have a look around. Vulcano had a decent anchorage and we should have stopped there and hiked the trails that run through the sulphur springs. The smell of sulphur hung in the air and we decided to continue on to Paneria where we anchored overnight.
In the morning we sailed to Stromboli to check out the possibilities for hiking. We arrived at Stromboli to find the anchorage off the small village very marginal and the mountain very steep with a strong downdraught from the mountain into the anchorage.
We sailed around the island and anchored briefly close to the black lava beach, but could not find a place where we would feel comfortable leaving Moonstruck, so after a brief stop for some essential maintenance we continued on to Amalfi.
The voyage to the Isle of Capri on the edge of Naples bay took about 18 hours and we were able to sail 10 hours before motor sailing most of the rest of the way. We arrived in the early morning and anchored off Capri for a couple of hours to catch up on sleep before negotiating the harbour in Torre del Greco (close to Naples).
NEXT....Moonstruck arrives in Italy and we visit Naples; Joan tries the "best Pizza in the world", and we explore the Amalfi coast.