It proved fortunate for us that the day started a bit overcast. Although humid and into the mid 80s, it would have felt much hotter if the skies were clear. We arrived at the Valley of the Temples just as it opened - 8:45. It was hard to believe we were at a world-famous site given the rutted and dusty parking lot and ramshackle ticket office. The €1 map we got from the parking attendant showed the locations of the various temples and other features, but provided little other information. We decided skip the shuttle bus to the main park entrance. Instead we got tickets at the lower entrance, which was nearby, and walk up through the less visited part of the valley. We started at the Temple of Castor & Pollux then walked up to the Temple of Jove. We crossed the busy highway that divides the park in half and entered the main section. We walked past almond and olive groves, as well as numerous cemeteries (necropoli) to the Temples of Hercules and Concordia, then onto the Temple of Jove.
 
Our plan was to finish the tour of the ruins in the morning, then visit the Archeology Museum at midday to avoid the heat . We finished the tour of the ruins in about 3 hours and headed back down the hill to our car. As we left the park we checked with the ticket office to find out about parking at the museum. We were disappointed to learn that our €10 admission fee had not included admission to the museum (as the guide book stated). That required a special €13 ticket that we had not purchased. We were told it was impossible to exchange the tickets we had bought and we would have to buy new tickets (at €8 each) if we wanted to visit the museum. We did our best to argue with the man selling tickets, as there were no signs indicating special tickets were needed, but we got nowhere.

Frustrated, we headed back to our B&B to plan the rest of our day in Agrigento. After a quick shower to cool down, we headed to nearby San Leone (the closest beach to Agrigento) for our mid day meal. We had read great things about a restaurant along this beach, il Pescatore. True to its name, the restaurant had a great selection of fish and seafood dishes on the menu. We had spaghetti with sardines, fennel, pine nuts & raisins - a Sicilian favorite. It was delicioso. By the time we finished our lunch it was hazy, hot and humid, so we decided to postpone our walk on the beach until the evening when it would be much cooler. We went back to catch up on emails at the B&B and take a nap.

We ended the day with a short drive to a nearby beach in Canoletta. The water was warm, the beach was sandy and it was fairly quiet. We watched the sun set while we finished the last of the Nero d'Avola and said good-bye to the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow Siracusa and a different body of water - the Ionian Sea.