It was finally time to say goodbye to Sicily. There is much we had seen and so much more that we had wanted to see. We will long remember the people and the food as much as we will the sights we saw. While we hope to return some day, we leave knowing that we enjoyed our time here.

The weather was bright and sunny as we boarded the ferry for Villa San Giovannia, Calabria (a town located right on the tip of the toe of the boot that is mainland Italy) . By the time we reached the other side of the Messina Strait it was 10 am and the sky had turned gray. With 400 km (250 miles) to travel, we had planned to use the Autostrada for the first leg of our drive. This was just as well since it was threatening to rain.

By noon we had reached Nocera (the instep of the boot) and it was time to jump off the Autostrada and take the coastal road - SP 18. The sun was shining by the time we got to Amantea. We enjoyed the stunning views of the Tyrrhenian Sea to our left and the mountains to our right as we drove through Paola, Celtraro, Belvedere Marittimo and Scalea. We left the main road near Praia a Mare and followed the local coast road through Tortora Marina and Maratea before heading on to Sapri. These were absolutely spectacular places, every bit as beautiful as the Amalfi Coast. Even if the winding roadways were not quite as dramatic, there were virtually no tourists here - at least not on a Friday afternoon at this time of the year . With the mountains of the National Parks so nearby, we definitely want to return to this area and spend more time.

It was getting later in the afternoon, so we took the main road (SP 517) from the Gulf of Policastro through the valley that led to Sanza and then on to our final destination for the day. We arrived in Sala Consilina by 5 pm - not bad for a full day of driving. The daily adventure of finding our lodging amid the unmarked Italian roadways (although now somewhat more rural) was made only slightly more difficult by a labor rally that closed several roads. (It was not immediately clear why the roads were closed, but the rally did make the local television news.)

The place we booked for the night was the only "agritourismo" of our trip. Agritourism is now big business in Italy, with its own association - similar to Bed & Breakfasts. This particular agritourismo, however, seemed to be more "tourismo" than "agri". Although they had a few horses, a small field and a restaurant, it just wasn't very clear from the signage or literature how much farming they did. (The restaurant also seemed to be closed. Perhaps they just open late.) Since we had another full-day drive ahead, we decided to ventured into town to shop for some dinner. We made our way around the closed streets and found a lovely little grocery store where we bought some bread and cheese to go with our Sicilian wine. Tomorrow we head to the Gargano Peninsula and the Adriatic Sea.