Two Go To Sicily

[DBK]

We are close to being templed out after visiting the Valley of the Temples today. This is one of Sicily's most famous sites for... er.... as the name suggests, temples.

The site lies just south of the town of Agrigento. Which fans of Montelbano might regognise as the inspiration for the fictional Montelusa.

Originally the centre of population was centered around where the temples are now but it moved later to the top of the neighbouring hill in response to invasions from inhospitable folk (aka Barbarians).

It is about a kilometre on foot, including side excursions, from end to end and our visit was well over two hours and we missed out a lot.

I won't begin to describe the place, you can find plenty on line, so here are a few snaps.

There was also an interesting bronze sculpture, of recent origin, ie modern, which always seemed to gather a crowd but I managed to get a shot in when no one was swooning nearby.

Just to clear up any misunderstanding he isn't umpteen thousand years old. Mrs DBK referred to him as the MWABW. *

And the B could mean Bronze or Big.

There were some old olive trees. A plaque said this one was estimated to be 500 - 600 years old.

We stumbled across a display of exhibits from the British Museum, which ends next month. These mostly consisted of artifacts acquired** by a British collector in the Twenties.

This silver Decadrachm coin believed to date from 409 BC shows the most extraordinarily fine workmanship.

This marble head was impressive until learning it was a reconstruction of the original dredged from the sea by a fisherman.

On second thoughts - it is impressive!

Our subsequent adventure was less successful. The plan was to visit the Vulcanetti di Macalube, which are methane emitting mud volcanoes a little to the north. I won't dwell on the details of our failure to reach them but they revolve around the deaths of two young children in 2014 at the site. As a result it is permanently closed - but our guidebook was not up to date. A minor inconvenience to us (lunch was delayed) but a tragedy for the family, especially for the father who saw his children swallowed up by the mud. The body of the 7 year old girl was recovered but the body of her brother, a couple of years older, was not.

**Some folk would say "looted". I'm unsure what to think and can see arguments either way.

 

[hilldweller]

Mrs DBK referred to him as the MWABW. *

How embarrassing if she thought the B was Big.

 

[webby1]

Thank you for some fantastic photos bringing back memories of our trip to Sicily last year. I am so grateful that people like yourselves put in the effort to record the journey and provide so much helpful information for others.

I tried in return to record our travels for others but never got further than.............." it is nice here today and the sun is shining "

From the campsite there is a sosta at Scala de Turchi about 20km up the road and worth an overnight stop.

 

[DBK]

Thank you for some fantastic photos bringing back memories of our trip to Sicily last year. I am so grateful that people like yourselves put in the effort to record the journey and provide so much helpful information for others.

I tried in return to record our travels for others but never got further than.............." it is nice here today and the sun is shining "

From the campsite there is a sosta at Scala de Turchi about 20km up the road and worth an overnight stop.View attachment 187408

Sadly we never got to the white rocks though there were some near Eraclea Minor which we saw. I think it's a form of limestone, not chalk. The plan was to visit them but by the time we had returned from our abortive hunt for methane spewing mud volcanoes it was early afternoon and getting warm.

Edit: The white rocks are Marl according to something I've just read.

"Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and silt. The dominant carbonate mineral in most marls is calcite, but other carbonate minerals such as aragonite, dolomite, and siderite may be present."

So that's perfectly clear then.

 

[DBK]

We are well into Montalbano country now, though I guess that should be "TV Montalbano" as the filming locations are not where the author set the books. Porto Empedocle, which is where the white rocks and cliffs are in the photo @webby1 posts above is the home town of Andrea Camilleri and where in his mind Vigata was. Nearby Agrigento, where the Valley of the Temples is, was the book setting, but not in the TV series, for the fictional town of Montelusa.

But these are all behind us now and we are only a few kilometres away from Montalbano's TV house by the sea - as featured on the series of course, at Punta Secca.

But we have had highs and lows of campsites getting here.

We stopped last night at an ACSI site at Falconara, between Licata and Gela. What a dump. Very friendly German lady in reception and a nice beach.

And broken and dirty showers with tepid water last night and cold water this morning. We left...

... to find a gem at Punta Braccetto a little further down the coast. Camping Scarabeo is the same €17 ACSI rate a night as the last place but scores an impressive 9.2 on CamperContact. It is a small site and almost full - with Germans mostly, a lone Dutch van next to us plus a couple of Swiss monstervans. *

Everything is very green around here. We passed some large vineyards on the way (Montalbano's father made wine) and acres of plastic greenhouses. These latter are a bit like the ones in southern Spain but seem to be in much better repair.

The beach here is very pleasant but we found the water cold this afternoon when we went for a swim.

Charlie had a sunset swim.

*One of them is called a "clou line" which I've seen written on here recently. I took it for a mis-spelling of "cloud line" but apparently the missing letter is deliberate. Either that or it is something to do with clootie dumplings.

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[webby1]

We stayed next door at Camping Luminoso. Stan the English guy who works/runs there is a mine of information and conversation.

The main advantage we found was that they had a courtesy car for hire and that was useful for shopping and generally visiting local places.

Thanks.Your posts are great for the information and the memories.
When we were there "the sun was shining and it was very nice" ???????????

 

[DBK]

We stayed next door at Camping Luminoso. Stan the English guy who works/runs there is a mine of information and conversation.

The main advantage we found was that they had a courtesy car for hire and that was useful for shopping and generally visiting local places.

Thanks.Your posts are great for the information and the memories.
When we were there "the sun was shining and it was very nice" ???????????

It was a toss up which one to go for but the picture in the ACSI book showed all the regimented sunbeds on the beach for Camping Luminoso (they are still there) which I could imagine Charlie peeing on as I led him passed them! The courtesy car would be a consideration though.

 

[Glandwr]

Going to try the chocolate in Modica? Still using the recipe that came from S America with the first beans. A legacy of the Spanish presence. Glad you visited the quarry, it was deserted totally when we went extremely interesting. Are you planning a visit inland? Maybe the bikini girl mosaic

Dick

 

[webby1]

Yes a visit to the Romana del Casale is a great idea.We talked to the car park attendant and made him "an offer he could not refuse" (the old ones are the best) and overnighted in the car park ready for an early visit next day.

 

[DBK]

Going to try the chocolate in Modica? Still using the recipe that came from S America with the first beans. A legacy of the Spanish presence. Glad you visited the quarry, it was deserted totally when we went extremely interesting. Are you planning a visit inland? Maybe the bikini girl mosaic

Dick

Yes a visit to the Romana del Casale is a great idea.We talked to the car park attendant and made him "an offer he could not refuse" (the old ones are the best) and overnighted in the car park ready for an early visit next day.

Many thanks to both of you! I think we will get to Modica (for the chocolate) and also see the mosaic bikinis at Villa Romana Casale.

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[Anthea M]

Loving the thread and the photos ! Thanks for sharing and taking the time to post John and Mrs DBK!

 

[DBK]

An interesting day today weather-wise. While we sat in bed this morning drinking our cups of tea we heard a distant rumble of thunder. Rain was forecast but I was hoping it wouldn't arrive until a later and more civilised hour. This being Sunday I hadn't put the kettle on for the tea until nearly half seven.
The odd short duration shower fell but in the gaps between these we managed to get to the showers and while Mrs DBK prepared breakfast (a fry-up day today ) I took Charlie for a walk but halfway through our excursion it started raining fairly heavily. All experiences in life have the potential to be instructive and this experience was the one when I discovered banana trees are useless for sheltering under from rain.
I headed back to the van during a lull but as soon as we arrived the rain arrived with the serious intent of flooding us. I still had the awning out with our table and chairs underneath so as the wind increased in velocity I stripped off my shirt and set to to lash the awning down with a strap. Fortunately, there was a vertical metal support for the shading in the right place to attach the strap to and once secure I returned to the van from where we watched the downpour.
In the afternoon the sun briefly appeared but once everything was dry I put it all away because tomorrow we are going to have a Montalbano Day. We didn't come here to see where the TV series was filmed but his fictional house by the beach is only a few miles down the coast. So having driven two thousand miles to get here - we are going to see it.
To get us in the mood I've downloaded one of the new episodes using iPlayer - which now seems to work in Europe without a VPN - and we shall watch it tonight and see how many of the locations used in the programmes we can find tomorrow.

 

[jumartoo]

An interesting day today weather-wise. While we sat in bed this morning drinking our cups of tea we heard a distant rumble of thunder. Rain was forecast but I was hoping it wouldn't arrive until a later and more civilised hour. This being Sunday I hadn't put the kettle on for the tea until nearly half seven.
The odd short duration shower fell but in the gaps between these we managed to get to the showers and while Mrs DBK prepared breakfast (a fry-up day today ) I took Charlie for a walk but halfway through our excursion it started raining fairly heavily. All experiences in life have the potential to be instructive and this experience was the one when I discovered banana trees are useless for sheltering under from rain.
I headed back to the van during a lull but as soon as we arrived the rain arrived with the serious intent of flooding us. I still had the awning out with our table and chairs underneath so as the wind increased in velocity I stripped off my shirt and set to to lash the awning down with a strap. Fortunately, there was a vertical metal support for the shading in the right place to attach the strap to and once secure I returned to the van from where we watched the downpour.
In the afternoon the sun briefly appeared but once everything was dry I put it all away because tomorrow we are going to have a Montalbano Day. We didn't come here to see where the TV series was filmed but his fictional house by the beach is only a few miles down the coast. So having driven two thousand miles to get here - we are going to see it.
To get us in the mood I've downloaded one of the new episodes using iPlayer - which now seems to work in Europe without a VPN - and we shall watch it tonight and see how many of the locations used in the programmes we can find tomorrow.

Welcome to our summer!!!

 

[DBK]

We have a good day bagging Montalbano filming locations. In Scotland there are lists of notable peaks named after those who first compiled them - Munroes and Corbetts - and no doubt someone has done the same for the "Montalbanos" but if so we did, our tour without its help. Adventurous stuff.

First stop, a short distance down the coast from where we are now, is Punta Secca, the location used for Montalbano's house.

It was white with olive green doors in the TV series. Now it's a sort of pale green and is a B&B called "Casa del Commissario Montalbano"

Punta Secca is a small place and it wasn't hard to find the house but had we had difficulty, there were several signs pointing to it dotted around the village.

In front of the house is Montalbano's beach.

Montalbano: "Livia! I wasn't expecting you!"

Livia: "Salvo! I'm just checking on my iPhone and Adelina's meal for you she has made, Caponata, has been made wrong."

(Montalbano stumbles in the water....he was looking forward to the aubergines... )

Livia: "So I threw it in the bin and have microwaved some fish fingers for you."

Postscript: At his trial Montalbano successfully defended his murder of Livia by claiming no Sicilian could possibly be expected to eat fish fingers, especially microwaved ones. He was acquitted of all charges and promoted.

The photo above is Scicli* the town hall of which which was used as the Vigata police station. However, it is a place worth visiting just for its own sake. Note the huge church on a rock on the left which looms over the town centre.

We next drove to Modlica, which features in the opening sequences of the TV series. It has a very high viaduct which vaults over a deep valley. Sadly, there was no obvious place to take photographs so I can only suggest you watch the start of an episode instead.

The main part of our day was spent at Ragusa. There is a free aire listed here in CamperContact which we arrived at just in time for lunch. Don't rely on satnav to get you there. Use the SS194 from Modica and approach from the south east by the easy, but wiggly, wide road.

Ragusa is in two parts.

Following the disastrous earthquake of 1693, which probably killed 100,000 in south east Sicily, the survivors built a new town on the neighbouring peak above the old one. However, Ragusa Islamic,, the original town was itself rebuilt and viewed from the new town looks like this.

To reach the vantage point from where the photo above was taken we ascended a lot of these.

Going back down the steps we crossed over to Ragusa Ibsla and wandered through its narrow streets. This is the Piazza Duomo which features in several episodes.

We saw several other film locations but I won't bore you with them. These towns are worth visiting without the TV hype.

*Nope, I don't know how to pronounce it either.

 

[Viennese]

Looks lovely John!

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[DBK]

A few yards from Montalbano's house, beside the marina, is this monument.

The inscriptions says (I think)
10 July 1943
Honour to the Fallen
On the 60th Anniversary of the Anglo/American landings.

(or words to that effect)

Which was puzzling as I thought the Allied landings were a little further south east from here - but I guess they arrived at more than one point.

When we get a little further round the coast there are one or two Commonwealth War Graves which we will try and visit.

 

[DBK]

Buttery chilli prawns tonight, cooked by me - under supervision of course.

The "fish man" came around the campsite this morning just as I was returning with Charlie from the beach. In his little van he had a good selection of fish and both little and big prawns. We bought 10 of the latter, weighing 600g and costing €12. Which seemed steep but they were monsters.

That's a Cobb paella pan which must be 14" across and they only just fitted.

I fryed them for about five minutes, turning them regularly in lots of butter and olive oil plus two very finely chopped (by Mrs DBK) garlic cloves and a couple of bird's-eye chillies crumbled in.

Eaten with crusty bread warmed in the oven they were delicious! The buttery chilli oil left in the pan was wonderfully warming when eaten on the bread, which we used to wipe the pan clean.

And at €6 a head I can recommend this restaurant.

 

[Glandwr]

Have you tried the spads yet? You are getting close to the only (supposedly) sustainable fishery. While I think of it the fish market in Catania is a must. Mornings only.

 

[DBK]

Have you tried the spads yet? You are getting close to the only (supposedly) sustainable fishery. While I think of it the fish market in Catania is a must. Mornings only.

Spads? I was looking at Catania in my guidebook only this afternoon and the fish market looked good. There is parking near the centre apparently, which we will try and find. We have become adept at launching ourselves into busy and narrow streets. After Palermo, they can't be worse*.

*But we haven't been to Naples or Rome, which I expect are in the Premier League.

 

[Glandwr]

Sorry that should have been spada, or sword fish. Apparently the Messina straits are one of the places it can be still fished in. It was v expensive and to be truthful served so thinly and overcooked. Quite chewy, the tuna or "blue fish" are good though and to see them cleaned and chopped into steaks just like those fish mongers depicted on the red attica vases is spooky.

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[Viennese]

Buttery chilli prawns tonight, cooked by me - under supervision of course.

The "fish man" came around the campsite this morning just as I was returning with Charlie from the beach. In his little van he had a good selection of fish and both little and big prawns. We bought 10 of the latter, weighing 600g and costing €12. Which seemed steep but they were monsters.

View attachment 188477

That's a Cobb paella pan which must be 14" across and they only just fitted.

I fryed them for about five minutes, turning them regularly in lots of butter and olive oil plus two very finely chopped (by Mrs DBK) garlic cloves and a couple of bird's-eye chillies crumbled in.

Eaten with crusty bread warmed in the oven they were delicious! The buttery chilli oil left in the pan was wonderfully warming when eaten on the bread, which we used to wipe the pan clean.

View attachment 188478

And at €6 a head I can recommend this restaurant.

Gosh John, now I really hope to meet up with you in Puglia..

 

[veevee]

Spads? I was looking at Catania in my guidebook only this afternoon and the fish market looked good. There is parking near the centre apparently, which we will try and find. We have become adept at launching ourselves into busy and narrow streets. After Palermo, they can't be worse*.

*But we haven't been to Naples or Rome, which I expect are in the Premier League.

In my experience nothing beats Palermo for an interesting drive, that includes various countries and cities in North Africa too. I think you'll find Naples and Rome a tad less exacting, but that's a tad only mind.

John like to thank you, your photos alone have inspired us to return to Sicily, a superb thread

BTW. When we left Sicily we had been on the road for about 8 months and were probably a bit weary. For the first time we took a shortcut (I love driving almost anywhere usually) and took the ferry to Genoa. I don't think that it cost a whole lot more than driving back to the north.

 

[DBK]

Sorry that should have been spada, or sword fish. Apparently the Messina straits are one of the places it can be still fished in. It was v expensive and to be truthful served so thinly and overcooked. Quite chewy, the tuna or "blue fish" are good though and to see them cleaned and chopped into steaks just like those fish mongers depicted on the red attica vases is spooky.

We had swordfish steaks in a restaurant a couple of weeks ago and weren't overly impressed. They were nice but as you say, cut a bit thin and were over-cooked a little bit.

In my experience nothing beats Palermo for an interesting drive, that includes various countries and cities in North Africa too. I think you'll find Naples and Rome a tad less exacting, but that's a tad only mind.

John like to thank you, your photos alone have inspired us to return to Sicily, a superb thread

BTW. When we left Sicily we had been on the road for about 8 months and were probably a bit weary. For the first time we took a shortcut (I love driving almost anywhere usually) and took the ferry to Genoa. I don't think that it cost a whole lot more than driving back to the north.

We met some people last year who had driven down and got the ferry back to Genoa, it is certainly an option. If we didn't have Charlie we would consider it but we have a few places we want to see on the mainland as we drive back. Herculaneum for example. The original plan was to drive around the coast to the Heel of Italy but that's becoming less attractive the more I look at it. I suspect the coast road will be slow with not a lot to see but we'll probably start on it but bail out if it all gets a bit repetitive.

 

[webby1]

Well worth a diversion to Matera on your way back. Camping Zeus is just outside the gates to Pompeii and the train station to Herculaneum,Naples or Sorrento and bus to Amalfi.

Another interesting place on the other side of Naples is Camping Solfatara where you can stay in the crater of a volcano................very tight arch to get in so check dimensions if you stay there...............or get the train from Naples to Pozzuoli.

Really useful record of your trip ......thanks

 

[2657]

We had a dismal experience at Pompeii last year, the site was awful, Fortuna Village, as was the weather and too many people, Camping Zeus looked the best of the bunch, never got to see the ruins and planned on visiting Herculaneum but the weather got even worse so we left.

Well worth a visit is Monte Cassino, the Polish Cemetery and Museum is worth the trip on it's own, there is a free aire at the bottom of the hill, the parking space near the Monastery is expensive during the day and overnight so we only saw the outside of the Monastery, I have an aversion to paying to go in churches etc.

Unfortunately the weather intervened again and we did not visit the Commonwealth War Graves.

If you like seaplanes this place is worth a visit, http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/museostorico/Pagine/default.aspx .......free!
as is the town of Bracciano, there is an aire with facilities near the lake.

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[DBK]

Well worth a diversion to Matera on your way back. Camping Zeus is just outside the gates to Pompeii and the train station to Herculaneum,Naples or Sorrento and bus to Amalfi.

Another interesting place on the other side of Naples is Camping Solfatara where you can stay in the crater of a volcano................very tight arch to get in so check dimensions if you stay there...............or get the train from Naples to Pozzuoli.

Really useful record of your trip ......thanks

We had a dismal experience at Pompeii last year, the site was awful, Fortuna Village, as was the weather and too many people, Camping Zeus looked the best of the bunch, never got to see the ruins and planned on visiting Herculaneum but the weather got even worse so we left.

Well worth a visit is Monte Cassino, the Polish Cemetery and Museum is worth the trip on it's own, there is a free aire at the bottom of the hill, the parking space near the Monastery is expensive during the day and overnight so we only saw the outside of the Monastery, I have an aversion to paying to go in churches etc.

Unfortunately the weather intervened again and we did not visit the Commonwealth War Graves.

If you like seaplanes this place is worth a visit, http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/museostorico/Pagine/default.aspx .......free!
as is the town of Bracciano, there is an aire with facilities near the lake.

Many thanks. So many places to visit - and rain forecast to arrive soon.

 

[DBK]

We did a bit more of the Montalbano trail today by visiting the castle at Donnafugata. This is a few miles inland from the coast in a region full of the low drystone walls which often feature in the episodes.

In the TV series the castle Donnafugata is was where Montalbano met the mafia boss Balduccio Sinagra and when we arrived the entrance was full of studio trucks.

It seemed to be mostly lighting people setting things up for filming (something) later and sadly we weren't invited to appear as extras.

The castle is open to the public in its own right though no doubt the TV profile hasn't harmed the bottom line. It is full of exhibits mostly from the 18th and early 19th Centuries.

Some of the stuff is interesting, like this display of what looked like Mary Poppins' memorabilia though I think the reality is a little more prosaic. The stuff found in old chests and the back of wardrobes I think.

Lots of hats too from the days of the flapper - and earlier.

The gardens outside were interesting.

And several huge trees.

There is also a maze with stone walls just a shade too high to see over so I cheated and used Google maps to find the centre.

Sadly, we didn't find any dead bodies - unlike Montalbano in the episode "Excursion to Tindari" where the bodies of an elderly couple were found in the maze. They should have used Google maps if they were looking for the way out.

Tonight we had a good view of a thunderstorm over the sea - which heralds a change in the weather for the next few days according to the weather forecast. It won't stop us exploring tomorrow though.

 

[DBK]

It's been quite a long day today. We woke to the sound of the same thunder from last night and decided as sunshine wasn't playing today we would move on and see what we could find while on the hoof.

We stopped first in Syracuse, or Syracusa as it was known historically, using the free parking in the port as listed in CamperContact and probably other sites as well.

Syracuse is a town with a lot of history.

This is where Archimedes lived between around 287 and 212 BC. He of the bath and well known screw.

An Archimedes screw would have been useful for pumping the floodwater which greeted us on our arrival in Syracuse. We must have just missed a major rain storm. Some of the streets were deep in water and broken down cars were everywhere.

From the port, once we reached it through the very slow traffic it wasn't a long walk to the oldest part of the town, the island of Ortygia, joined to the rest of the town by a couple of bridges, one of which, Punta Umbertino, can be seen on the right of the photograph above.

Our aim was to visit the museum of Archimedes which we eventually found - it is well hidden, the Google map link is: https://goo.gl/maps/cb5CExmigxp
It is called in full the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci and Archimedes of Siracusa. The museum is tiny by any standards worth a visit. It mostly consists of models, some of which you can play with illustrating the various inventions of da Vinci and Archimedes.

Photographs are forbidden and we had to surrender our bags before we could enter - so nothing to show for our visit I'm afraid.

In the north west of Syracuse is a fairly compact archaeological site which we visited after lunch and a trip to Lidl.

The Roman amphitheatre is in dire need of a bit of strimming but it was still impressive.

There is also a large Greek theatre a short distance away.

As in one of our earlier visits the quarry where the stones were sourced was also impressive. Sadly, the flooding caused by the recent rains and closure of all but a few main paths prevented us from seeing as much as we had hoped. The caves in the quarry were used as prisons and one of the most famous is the Orecchio di Dioniso or Ear of Dionysius. We found if we waited long enough a moment arose when it was almost free of visitors.

We had hoped to visit Pantalica today but the weather inland looked very dark and thundery. Pantalica is the largest necropolis in Sicily but it is built in a gorge - and when thunder, lightening and flash floods threaten - gorges are places to avoid.

So we scooted up the motorway to Catania, where we will be in striking distance of Mount Etna - except she has beaten us to it as the campsite we are on is built on an old larva eruption.

Arriving in Catania coincided with a major cloudburst of rain, reminiscent of Syracuse except this time we were caught in it. The streets turned to rivers in a few minutes, but as before we got through unscathed.

Weather permitting we will try and get into Catania tomorrow.

This is where we are now.

 

[DBK]

We are now at our last stop in Sicily and we will get the ferry back to the mainland later this week. The exact date is uncertain because before we leave we want to visit Mt Etna and the weather really needs to be good for that otherwise all we will see will be clouds. Tuesday or Wednesday look the best days at the moment but we will decide the exact day on the morning.

We know it will be an expensive trip, probably around €150 for the two of us but having come this far we aren't going to miss the opportunity.

We are staying Camping La Focetta Sicula near Taormina, which has the distinction of being the very last site listed in the ACSI books.

Looking north towards Messina you can just see the rest of Italy in the distance.

Note the dark volcanic beach.

Looking the other way a castle, sadly not open, sits on a rock.

The sun sets quite nicely behind the same spot.

There are a few fishing boats on the beach which are launched with the aid of a bulldozer.

And close by a fish shop sells the catch.

The swordfish didn't look that fresh - and at €28 a kilo they probably only sell it to the well heeled. We bought a whole bream which the guy gutted (with a fag in his mouth the whole time! ) and with a free bunch of parsley it was €7.

The fish with the very large pectoral fin in the photo above is an albacore I think - a member of the tuna family. We may return to this shop again!

Just for completeness, here is a list of the places we stayed at in Sicily.

Note: Sicily Camping Tour (SCT) are a group of sites, some not listed in ACSI. The card and map are free from participating sites which all charge €17 a night if you have the card.

8 September, Camping Villagio Marinello, ACSI, Oliveri/Marinello http://www.villaggiomarinello.it Very nice beach.

10 September, Camping & Village Rais Gerbi, Finale di Pollina, www.raisgerbi.it Good site when it rains - hard standing pitches. Beach of boulders.

11 September, Camping La Playa, Isola delle Femmine. ASCI. Unattractive rocky beach but SCT map and card available here.

12 September, Camping La Pineta, San Vito Lo Capo. ACSI. Beach too far away. Pitches a bit chaotic. Camping El Bahira a little to the south probably much better.

14 September, Area Play Time, Castellammare del Golfo, CC7956. Expensive for a very basic sosta. No drinking water available but grey and black waste can be disposed of. The campsite a little further down the same road would be preferable but it is very small and pitches close together.

15 September, Camping Helios, Triscina di Selinunte, SCT listed site, not ACSI. Very good beach and clean site.

20 September, Camping Valle dei Templi, Agrigento, SCT listed site. www.campingvalledeitempli.com

21 September, Camping Scarabeo, Punta Braccetto. ACSI. www.scarabeocamping.it Very good beach, fish, bread and vegetable vans visit. The best site we stayed on in Sicily.

26 September, Eurocamping Due Rocche, Falconara/Sicula. ACSI. Nice beach but facilities tatty and not cleaned regularly. Friendly reception with good English.

27 September, Camping Sabbiadoro, Avola. ACSI. www.campeggiosabbiadoro.it Immaculately kept site full of plants, like staying in one of the domes at the Eden Centre. Nice beach but access road narrow with sharp bends. An N&B Arto managed to get in but anything bigger might struggle.

28 September, Camping Jonio, Catania. ACSI. Small site built on larva rocks. Set in the town, minimal dog walking locally.

29 September, Camping La Focetta Sicula, Sant’ Alessio Sicula/Taormina. ACSI. Very friendly reception, good English spoken. Good beach but water shelves quickly into deep water. Supermarket, fish shop and village with ATM just outside the site.

 

[DBK]

And here is today's Catch of the Day. Benny the Bream, a Gilt-head or Sea Bream to be more exact, but I think he looks like a Benny. Incredibly fresh, it still has rigor mortis.

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