The best preserved Greek ruins outside of Greece are located in Agrigento on the south coast of Sicily in what is referred to as the”Valley of the Temples”; and for just another pile of stones, all 12 monuments are very impressive. Our favourite part of Sicily however was along the north coast east of Palermo to Patti. Such a beautiful coastline with great little welcoming villages (with the exception of Cefalu where we received our first and very “bogus” $50 parking ticket) all along the drive. We left Sicily and made-up some time by driving the major autobahn through a series of mega tunnel systems until we reached Pompei. We were blown away with Pompei. The sheer size of the site and the outstanding condition it’s in is really impressive. We took a wild tour bus ride to the top of Mount Vesuvius and had a wonderful view from its crater of the coastline and surprisingly populated valley below. We took a day trip by train to the beautiful little tourist town of Sorrento just 45 minutes down the coast. Sorry to say Peter and Jane that the Garden restaurant was closed on this day and we missed a great opportunity to share your calamari experience. Leaving Pompei we again opted for the quick autobahn run towards Rome and soon pulled into our very handy and well-appointed campsite only a 20 minute transit trip from the main city centre. Rome is amazing and we have seen so much in such a short period of time. The Coliseum, the Forum, Vatican City with the breathtaking St. Peter’s at its heart and countless other ruins and monuments that make this city one of the most impressive so far. We have walked countless miles all over Rome and our only tiring experience so far, is all the pizza and pasta that we’ve been eating. Last night however, we managed to track down a great and rare Chinese restaurant to help balance the culinary experience. A few more days to enjoy ancient Rome and then quickly off towards Florence as we’re beginning to feel the presence of fall in the air and the reality of a ticking clock.

Road Ramble: ” And yet another natural disaster in Pompei”

We had a perfect camping spot at the Sparticus Campground. It was privately nestled between beautiful fruit bearing shade trees and we could hardly believe our luck. We extended the awning, set up the lawn chairs and settled in for a few days stay. The next day we were up and out the door to visit the Pompei ruins just across the street and it was dark when we got home but we did notice an abundance of ants in and around the motorhome. We would check this out in more detail in the morning with better light. We got out of bed the next morning to discover that we had been completely inundated with tiny harmless looking little ants. All over, inside and out! Black streams of ants marching on a multitude of highways crisscrossing our motorhome and finding their way into places I would consider impossible, like a sealed beam headlight. But the worst was the thousands that had found their way inside the motorhome… just telling this story I’m already starting to scratch again. To make a long story shorter, we quickly changed spaces and spent the rest of the entire day going head-to-head with these 3mm beasts and for a while it was touch and go as to which team was going to win. But with the added advantage of chemistry on our side, we did finally prevail and despite the intermittent twitch in my left eye and the new webbing between my toes, there doesn’t seem to be any apparent neurological damage to me or Margot. But just in case; Bert, can you please book us a space in your calendar for sometime next spring? Washing and cleaning up the motorhome after this battle was a real big job but, with or without the ants, it probably was due. I do think the campground owners were really glad to see us go however because as they continued to assign new people into that dreadful spot, I would walk over and give the trusting travellers fair warning which would then cause some unwanted administrative shifting commotion. The upside of this was we quickly made some new campground friends. Now, as we search campgrounds for a new camping spot, not only do we look for shade, good drainage and close to amenities, we also check for tiny little black ants.

Made it to Italy… finally! (See Road Ramble below) Our first stop was impressive little Brindisi and we grabbed a nice campsite close by and spent a couple of days recovering from “Boat Lag”. After regaining our strength, we took a very interesting drive past the “Cone Houses” of Alberobello. These unique little stone houses with the cone roofs date back centuries and are very picturesque as they dot the rolling countryside. Some have been incorporated into newer and much larger homes and some have been renovated as is for use as vacation property and such. Stone fences separate the random shaped acreage sized yards between them and it all comes together to make a visually delightful drive along the twisting narrow roadway. Moving on we stopped to examine an old exhausted stone quarry turned into a venue for sculpture artists (In the appropriate photo below, can you find me standing at the base of the limestone wall?). Great acoustics!
Have you ever heard of a town called Matera? Considering it’s one of the oldest towns in the world dating from the Neolithic age (about 7000+ years ago) you’d think it would be a place we could all pinpoint on a map, but instead it’s relatively unknown and under appreciated. But all that may change soon as they are now in the process of fixing it up and renovating these cave dwellings and converting them into comfortable hotel rooms, homes and restaurants. Built on the side of a deep canyon wall the relatively newer facades leading into the caves give it the appearance of just an old city but in fact this site predates the Roman and Greek splendour by thousands of years. 30,000 people actually lived in this place called “Sassi” right up until 1953 when they were forced out by the government due to poor sanitary conditions. Left abandoned for years the place is now starting to get the attention it deserves in part due to exposure it’s received from various movie roles. This is really a very cool place and we feel privileged to have seen it before it’s covered with wall-to-wall tourists.
From Matera we followed the beautiful Mediterranean coastline to the Sicilian Ferry crossing and enjoyed a quick trip over to the Island. Driving south west on these very narrow roads takes a lot of time and concentration, it’s been a real challenge to my driving skills. In some congested locations only one or two inches separates the motorhome from other vehicles and various other obstacles, like front doors and pedestrians. To make matters worse as we twist and squeeze through each town along this so called highway, there doesn’t appear to be any driving rules enforced and it’s a complete free-for-all. It’s like letting hundreds of various high speed vehicles loose in a parking lot and then throwing in a few thousand Vespas to keep you on your toes. Sicily itself seems to be a real mixed bag and we’re still becoming accustomed to the Island. It’s sand and lava beaches are very beautiful and it has lots of really positive features but many of the towns and cities that we have seen so far seem a bit run down and much of the infrastructure is in need of attention. The people we have met so far have been really nice and very gracious especially when they find out we’re Canadian. So far the “God Father” has not contacted us and that always makes for a much better trip. We hope to experience a lot more of what Sicily has to offer in the next few days before heading back over to the mainland with our sights set on Pompei and Rome.

Road Ramble: “The Ferry Gong Show”

One last look at Greece, zip onto the ferry, nine hours later, hello Italy… so we thought! Despite the fact we made reservations and paid our $500 fare two weeks in advance, when confirming travel details the day before our sailing from the Port of Igoumenitsa, we were informed our 22:00 passage had been switched to a different carrier and our new sailing time would be three hours later at 01:00. Feeling somewhat apprehensive, we arrived at the Ferry terminal nine hours before our new boarding time and were informed our tickets would be printed and ready for pick-up at 22:00. At 21:30 we returned to the agent and were coldly informed that we could not sail on the 01:00 ship as it was full, but space was now available on the 01:00 Ferry, 24 hours hence. After numerous and painful visits to the various terminal agents during all this, we were beginning to understand and sympathize with the pushing, shoving and shouting that appeared to be common place in the long and disorganized lineups. By this time in our ordeal we had met a number of other travellers that were having similar experiences and in a few cases folks had been waiting for days to sail out. Some desperate individuals gave up on the Ferry system and decided to drive the long, long way around to Italy. We were starting to become very concerned and anxious as we watched the parking lot fill with “sidewalk campers” of all types and sizes. Our options were limited and so we joined the community in our comparatively “luxurious” accommodation and settled in for the long haul. During our time in limbo, we actually met some very nice people and despite the language barrier, managed to share some great home grown mellon with some travellers from Turkey. About 27 hours late, we could barley contain our excitement as we drove aboard a well used Ferry pointing in the direction of Italy. The next challenge we had was to find a place to “stretch-out” for the 9 hour overnight sail. People raced aboard and quickly staked out prime sleeping real-estate and then proceeded to inflate air-beds and stretch out blankets and such. Every conceivable place with the exception of zig-zagging walkways was consumed within minutes and many unfortunate souls ended up having to stay/sleep outside on the deck all night long. I managed to find what may have been the last prime sleeping spot on the boat in a non-obvious busy little corner half under a table and slightly behind a room-partition. Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine why were we so excited about scoring this very questionable little living space on a Ferry floor. At about three in the morning I looked around the room in amazement, it sadly gave me the false impression that this really did look more like an evacuation from Greece. After this 43 hour Ferry experience, I will never complain about the BC Ferries again; except they cost too much!