Sicilian Islands and Beaches

Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Agrigento, Sicily, Italy
So, we arrived in Lipari, the most heavily populated of the Aeolian Islands, in late morning on Sunday and found our apartment at Case Vacanze Albamarina (no breakfast here but a small kitchen) without too much trouble, this despite the fact that the Google Maps directions that I had were from the wrong dock--I had foolishly assumed that the ferries arrived at the "port". Nope.  Anyway, we got our early check-in and went for a stroll, grabbed some lunch and then caught the local bus over to the nearest beach, Canneto, a pebble beach that definitely wasn't too busy  Because of the pebbles, we splurged again and got chairs.  (I really can't get used to the walking on the pebbles--have to learn to wear my flip flops into the water and swim carrying them.)  Got the bus back and then out for a nice fish dinner at La Cambusa, very near to us in the old town.
For the next day, Monday, we had booked a private boat tour around Vulcano, the nearest other island. Just us and our captain, Giovanni, and it wasn't that expensive--we had paid more for group land tours on this trip.  It turned out to be a perfect day for a leisurely boat ride.  Calm seas, blue skies, warm temperatures and light breezes.  We stopped several times for swims to cool off and Giovanni took us in for close-up looks at a number of caves and rock formations.  He also, near the end, brought us into a little cove with a volcanic hot-spring in the water and we got in for a little soak.  Vulcano isn't totally dead--it still spews steam out the crater and out of several large vents around the island. Mostly we just admired the spectacular scenery as we glided by the amazing rock formations and layers of volcanic residue.  Just a wonderful few hours.  In the afternoon, we took a walk up to the grounds of the Archaeological Museum, which are impressive, but we didn't really feel the need to go in. (I think we may have reached our "saturation point" for museums last year!) Then, later, down to the "port" for dinner for mediocre seafood.
Tuesday, we were catching a late morning ferry (hydrofoil) back to the mainland (sort-of) in Milazzo, so we took our time in the morning and still got down the to dock way too early.  Ferry was a bit late and the seas were a bit rougher than they were going over but Carol still survived OK.  We grabbed a sandwich at a bar in the harbour (nice to know where everything is when you land) and went and picked up our car at the garage (Yay, our luggage was still in the trunk!) and headed off for Cefalu.
Cefalu is a busy beach town near Palermo and gets a lot of visitors from Palermo escaping the summer heat, but also visitors from around the world.  Being late in the season, it wasn't overcrowded for our stop there.  We found our nice B&B, Retro Rooms, without too much trouble (my usual "lap of town" after a missed turn), got checked in and headed down to check out the town.  Now I haven't mentioned the weather very much so far, simply because it has been so perfect, hot and not a hint of rain.  Well, the weather was starting to turn a bit.  We had driven through a bit of rain on the way along the coast and the wind was now picking up and the seas were churning.  It held off while we did a bit of a wander around town and had a drink.  It even held off when we headed out to dinner later, but while we were eating dinner at Kentia Al Trappitu, where I had a very good "Rigatoni al Norma"  the skies opened up and it poured.  But it was just about done by the time we finished dinner, down to a sprinkle as we headed off to do our laundry at the laundromat just down the street at the far end of the old town.  Eventually got our laundry done (note to self--always pay up for the big dryer to save time) and headed home with no more rain in sight.
In the morning, after a very nice breakfast in the garden, we headed off quite early on our way to Agrigento, so basically we were once again going "coast to coast", this time from the north to the south of Sicily.  But first, along the way,we had a stop at the Villa Romana del Casale, near Piazza Armerina, to see the site with the vast array of ceramic tile floors, dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.  The mosaics are impressive, but the viewing experience leaves something to be desired, as you are basically herded like cattle through narrow walkways suspended above the floors.  Still, I think it was worth the detour.  Then, after a bit of a backtrack, on to Agrigento.

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2025-02-06

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