Two Go To Sicily

[Coastal Cruiser.]

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.

View attachment 189371

He don't look happy,

 

[DBK]

But the really good news is - the forecast for tomorrow is sunny! So having emptied my bank account today at the ATM we are off to Etna in the morning - after a final check on the forecast of course.
Alarm set for 06:30

 

[DBK]

He don't look happy,

The fag-wielding fishmonger pinched his tail.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

The fag-wielding fishmonger pinched his tail.

What's Charlie got,,cat fish

 

[DBK]

What's Charlie got,,cat fish

Charlie's a bit unsure about fish. We've come across a couple of small fish washed up on the beach - but he just sniffs at them. If they were an old sheep bone of the sort he finds on Dartmoor with annoying regularity it would be between his teeth in seconds.

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

Charlie's a bit unsure about fish. We've come across a couple of small fish washed up on the beach - but he just sniffs at them. If they were an old sheep bone of the sort he finds on Dartmoor with annoying regularity it would be between his teeth in seconds.

My two Jacks go mad for tuna, anything they find washed up on the foreshore they munch...

Or as the case may be rubber, just cost me over £1300 in vet fees for the bit of rubber one of them had stuck in his stomach

 

[DBK]

I've given that a but only because Charlie hoovers up anything vaguely edible. Except fish but he may yet develop a taste for them. Fortunately, nothing has done him harm so far, but it can only be a matter time. He chewed up a rubber toy once and ate most of it. That made for some colourful poo bag contents.

 

[Taran_Las]

But the really good news is - the forecast for tomorrow is sunny! So having emptied my bank account today at the ATM we are off to Etna in the morning - after a final check on the forecast of course.
Alarm set for 06:30

I was informed that etna is in Vietnam​

 

[Figaro]

May I ask why your expecting the Etna trip to be around 150euro ?
I thought you could drive 2/3 of way up ? And walk remainder
Or are you being carried up in sedan chairs by Roman centurions with wenches to fan you and feed you grapes
Loved reading about your trip to Sicily and I wish you a safe journey north. Thanks for sharing.
I'm just at Sorrento on fly holiday, done Herculaneum and Vesuvius today, Pompeii later in week and well worth a stop on way north
Wish I was in Moho though.

 

[DBK]

May I ask why your expecting the Etna trip to be around 150euro ?
I thought you could drive 2/3 of way up ? And walk remainder
Or are you being carried up in sedan chairs by Roman centurions with wenches to fan you and feed you grapes
Loved reading about your trip to Sicily and I wish you a safe journey north. Thanks for sharing.
I'm just at Sorrento on fly holiday, done Herculaneum and Vesuvius today, Pompeii later in week and well worth a stop on way north
Wish I was in Moho though.

What was Herculaneum like? We plan to go there instead of Pompeii, mostly because there should be fewer crowds.
My estimate of €150 was for the two of us - and it worked out a little cheaper. Report to follow.

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[Lenny HB]

What was Herculaneum like?

We did Herculaneum & Pompeii a few years ago on a visit to Naples (flew there). Found Herculaneum much more interesting and from Herculaneum easy to get to Vesuvius. Also worth a visit is the Solfatare Crater west of Naples, a dead volcano but the mud flaps are bubbling venting sulphur gas and there is a camp site in the crater.

 

[Anthea M]

What was Herculaneum like? We plan to go there instead of Pompeii, mostly because there should be fewer crowds.
My estimate of €150 was for the two of us - and it worked out a little cheaper. Report to follow.

Loving the blog and photos thanks John!

 

[webby1]

As posted before Camping Zeus gives access to Pompeii and train to Herculaneum,Naples and Solfatara.....................also outside are the vehicles (green better than red) to Vesuvius.
Looking back no particular favourites.....................try to do them all if you can.

 

[DBK]

Diligent study of the weather forecast yesterday revealed that today would a good opportunity to go for Etna - so we did.

There is a car park at the Rifugio Sapienza which is listed in CamperContact (#7800) so with that set in the satnav off we toddled. Given you start more or less at sea level it is quite a climb to the Rifugio, which is at about 1900m. On the way up we passed through a belt of sweet chestnuts and there were a dozen or more cars parked and people collecting bags of the nuts.

Parking charges are a bit of a swizz - with a "camper" as they call it you have to pay for 24 hours, which costs €12. Not paying wouldn't be an option, a parking warden pointed out the ticket office to me before I had even switched off the engine.

A short walk takes you to the cable car place and here they painlessly remove from your wallet €63 per person for a ticket to the crater. or depending on how you view this transaction.

The cable cars are small six seaters.

The route isn't very high, mostly thirty feet or so above ground and the cars don't wobble that much as you pass a pylon.

At the top, which is at about 2,500m you board a red and white Unimog bus. Ours had a very loud Canadian lady installed as an extra. I advise choosing a basic model without this fitment if you can.

The buses drive up to about 2,900m through a black desert. At the terminus everyone mills around waiting for the guide to finish speaking to everyone in English and Italian - and ours spoke French as well.

A rare full face shot of Mrs DBK too.

From here we left on foot to the Barbagallo crater, which was created in the 2002 eruption.

The white stuff is snow, the air temperature was 8°C according to a weather forecast for the summit I saw but with virtually no wind when the sun was shining it wasn't cold.

In the picture above you can see folk on the far side of the rim, which is where the walk led by the guide took us.

Off to one side was the main summit of Etna, nearly 3,400m.

Somewhere up there was the April 2017 eruption which caught a BBC film crew. From the BBC report I thought it was just an isolated incident but this was a major eruption. Catania airport on the coast was closed for 3 months according to our guide.

This is a video of the eruption filmed from very close to where we were standing I think.



Today you can see what the larva flowing right to left in the video looks like.

We were told eruptions of ash are still happening and the most recent had been that morning - though they might say that to every group.

They don't really do H&S in Italy, we have noticed this on a few ancient monuments with questionable fencing beside big drops. Etna is no different. At the bottom of the slope on the right is the open vent from the 2002 eruption, the slope is extremely unstable so if you slipped you would slide straight down into it.

A close up of cooled larva.

The summit was frequently in cloud when we were there but a lot of the stuff you see in the photographs is water vapour coming from below ground and cooling in the air. If you scrape a hollow in the ash it feels warm - heat from steam generated far below.

It was a memorable trip. You can do it cheaper - you can walk - but it's a longish way and as you ascend you will be passed by cable cars and buses as the walking route coincides with the route these mechanical things take. And without a guide it would be very difficult to know what you are seeing once you got to the top.

Mrs DBK took this photo, she obviously doesn't like my feet.

 

[Lenny HB]

A short walk takes you to the cable car place and here they painlessly remove from your wallet €63 per person for a ticket to the crater. or depending on how you view this transaction.

Us tight ar*es would have walked.

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[DBK]

Us tight ar*es would have walked.

It is a thousand metres of ascent from the Rifugio to where our buses stopped. For roughly the price of a tank of diesel I was happy to pay up. It has taken us two and a half thousand miles to get here so in our last few days in Sicily we wanted to finish on a high - literally.

You can go further - we saw a group with hard hats on walking towards the site of the April eruption. That would be interesting to do but you would need to book in advance I think.

For anyone thinking of doing this beware of the scams around. There are some good(ish) deals about but we also saw a company advertising exactly what we did for exactly twice the price.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Great report on your day on the volcano. Glad you had good weather and enjoyed it. The wonders of the natural world never cease to amaze me. Your thread inspires me to go, but it's a long way.....

 

[DBK]

Great report on your day on the volcano. Glad you had good weather and enjoyed it. The wonders of the natural world never cease to amaze me. Your thread inspires me to go, but it's a long way.....

It is a long way but the ferry from Genoa more or less halves the distance.
If we ever came back I think we would use the ferry for the return journey - having discovered they do pet friendly cabins. We might use ferries on the outward journey too, stopping off in Corsica and Sardinia.
Too many choices and possible destinations.

 

[Figaro]

What was Herculaneum like? We plan to go there instead of Pompeii, mostly because there should be fewer crowds.

It's much more compact than Pompeii and therefore more manageable. Pompeii requires 3-4 hours minimum walking !
Didn't see any parking as we arrived on train but there must be some. Seen very few motorhomes all week, not sure why.
Did Amalfi drive (stunning) in tour bus and looked doable in motorhome with care !

 

[Glandwr]

We visited Pompeii and Herculaneum a few years ago when all publically owned museums and historic monuments had free entry for all EU citizens over 65. Not having to be concerned about cost we spent 2 days in the first and less than one in the second. Both are extremely interesting and are quite different in their way.

Dick

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[Figaro]

Half normal 11euro price now for over 65 EU citizens, take your passport.
We had free entry yesterday due to being first Sunday of month when all historical sites are free not overly busy either.

 

[Lenny HB]

It is a thousand metres of ascent from the Rifugio to where our buses stopped.

An afternoon stroll.

 

[DBK]

This is our last full day in Sicily and the weather could have been better.

The above was the view from our pitch earlier today. The few sunbathers soon cleared off.

Tomorrow we will get the ferry from Messina to the mainland and visit the Riace Bronzes before heading off on the start of our trek back. We want to visit Matera then stop around Naples to see the sites in that region but before then we will make a quick tour of the sole and heel of Italy, if only to say we've been there.

 

[Glandwr]

If you are going to Matera to see the Sassi there is a huge car park within a few minutes walk away that you can overnight In. Pay and display, don't forget! We were knocked up at 9 pm by a guy in a yellow tabard who marched us to the machine on a very cold and wet February evening! We had only arrive 40 mins earlier and the carpark had been completely empty.

BTW on the way to Matera you will pass through a small non descript town with an archaeological museum that has the most wonderful collection of red attic greek vases in the whole of Magna Grecia. Can't remember it's name at the moment ill try and find it later tonight.
Dick

 

[Glandwr]

Here we are Metaponto. Tiny place but museum world class, parking outside. The "ruins" themselves are not particularly impressive



Dick

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[hilldweller]

Mrs DBK took this photo

My god, you've aged 100 years going up that mountain.

 

[DBK]

We have left Sicily.

But the good news is it is still there and we have vowed to return some day, almost certainly in the Spring when the flowers should be out. There is just so much to see and though we hardly touched the interior on this trip we still managed to do almost a thousand miles going around the coast.

I'll try and write up the ferry terminal finding fun in Messina at some point. For now, all I can suggest is if you land in Sicily try and record the coordinates of the point you arrived at. Unlike the mainland side there are a lot of ports in Messina stretching over several kilometres.

Once we arrived on the mainland we turned south to Reggio Calabria. Using the coordinates very kindly supplied by @Glandwr we managed to park, though the space was small. Don't come here in August!
A short walk and €8 per person entrance fee brought us to see this fellow and his mate

These are the Riace Bronzes, about 2,500 years old and recovered from the sea after a snorkeler found them after seeing an arm sticking out of the sand.

The figures are each about two metres high and mounted on marble slabs which have a rubber suspension between them in case of minor earthquakes.

Originally it is believed they carried a wooden shield and spear. The bronze strap for the shield can be seen on both figures.

They are a sobering example of the skill of our ancestors. Presumably made using the "lost wax" process the detail and above all the artistry used is amazing. The poses of the figures is perhaps their most striking feature.

 

[Robert Clark]

We have left Sicily.

But the good news is it is still there and we have vowed to return some day, almost certainly in the Spring when the flowers should be out. There is just so much to see and though we hardly touched the interior on this trip we still managed to do almost a thousand miles going around the coast.

I'll try and write up the ferry terminal finding fun in Messina at some point. For now, all I can suggest is if you land in Sicily try and record the coordinates of the point you arrived at. Unlike the mainland side there are a lot of ports in Messina stretching over several kilometres.

Once we arrived on the mainland we turned south to Reggio Calabria. Using the coordinates very kindly supplied by @Glandwr we managed to park, though the space was small. Don't come here in August!
A short walk and €8 per person entrance fee brought us to see this fellow and his mate

View attachment 189886

These are the Riace Bronzes, about 2,500 years old and recovered from the see after a snorkeler found them after seeing an arm sticking out of the sand.

The figures are each about two metres high and mounted on marble slabs which have a rubber suspension between them in case of minor earthquakes.

View attachment 189887

Originally it is believed they carried a wooden shield and spear. The bronze strap for the shield can be seen on both figures.

They are a sobering example of the skill of our ancestors. Presumably made using the "lost wax" process the detail and above all the artistry used is amazing. The poses of the figures is perhaps their most striking feature.

Breathtaking skill and beauty.
Isn't it amazing what the ancients could achieve

 

[webby1]

We missed them when we were there and I know Dick had raved about them so it is great to see the photos.......................I actually thought they were about 18in high

 

[2657]

We have left Sicily.

But the good news is it is still there and we have vowed to return some day, almost certainly in the Spring when the flowers should be out. There is just so much to see and though we hardly touched the interior on this trip we still managed to do almost a thousand miles going around the coast.

I'll try and write up the ferry terminal finding fun in Messina at some point. For now, all I can suggest is if you land in Sicily try and record the coordinates of the point you arrived at. Unlike the mainland side there are a lot of ports in Messina stretching over several kilometres.

Once we arrived on the mainland we turned south to Reggio Calabria. Using the coordinates very kindly supplied by @Glandwr we managed to park, though the space was small. Don't come here in August!
A short walk and €8 per person entrance fee brought us to see this fellow and his mate

View attachment 189886

These are the Riace Bronzes, about 2,500 years old and recovered from the sea after a snorkeler found them after seeing an arm sticking out of the sand.

The figures are each about two metres high and mounted on marble slabs which have a rubber suspension between them in case of minor earthquakes.

View attachment 189887

Originally it is believed they carried a wooden shield and spear. The bronze strap for the shield can be seen on both figures.

They are a sobering example of the skill of our ancestors. Presumably made using the "lost wax" process the detail and above all the artistry used is amazing. The poses of the figures is perhaps their most striking feature.

What amazes me about statues like this, as well as the skill and artistry, is how they stand up, to get the balance perfect must be a skill in itself.

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