Walking Across and Driving Around Sicily

Sicily. Just the name conjures up images of crumbling ruins, mountains, vineyards, quaint villages, unique cuisine, the White Lotus TV series, and the Mafia. It has been on our bucket list for years, and we thought walking 80-100 miles across it would be easier at our ages than 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago was three years ago. We were wrong.

We started in Palermo, NW on map and trekked due south,
to Agrigento, on the SW coast. Then drove to Ragusa,
Syracuse, Catania, Cefalu, Trapani, then back to Palermo

Walking Across Sicily

Our trek started in near Palermo, a chaotic blend of medieval lanes, Baroque churches, street vendors, upscale restaurants, and refugees trying to make a place in their new home. It’s also the birthplace of the Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, as well as where the Mafia was mostly subdued in the 1990s and 2000s.

This was the wrong path—Again!

We bought trekking poles and trail provisions and started off. We used a company called Slow Ways to book our accommodations, transport our bags, and provide an app with maps and support. During the afternoons we listened to Jamie McKay’s excellent The Invention of Sicily, a Mediterranean History on Audible. We wished we had read it before we got here, and we highly recommend it, even if you never plan to go here.

It turned out to be tougher and more remote than we had imagined. Day One was supposed to be 16.5 miles but stretched to 20 thanks to poor so-called trails that were sometimes tractor tracks in tall grass, thistles, or cow paths. Also, our app didn’t always work, especially the “off trail” alarm. There were no villages along the way, and toward the end we ran out of snacks and water. There was no shade.

Fortunately the streams were easy to ford.

The final push was a 17% uphill slog into Corleone, a town known as the fictional home of the Godfather. It’s a sleepy hillside town with stunning views and preparations for a festival we wish we could have stayed to enjoy. While Kathy was fast asleep upstairs at 9:30 and I was finishing dinner, I enjoyed a loud multigenerational family materialize for a Friday night dinner.

Day Two wasn’t much better, turning out to be 17, rather than 12 miles for the same reasons. But the hilltop village of Prizzi was worth the effort, so much that we

Prizzi was behind the ridge in the upper right.

decided to stay there for the day and just take the luggage van to our next destination. We enjoyed English-speaking Guissippe, an electronics engineer in Milan, home on holiday to help at his family’s restaurant. Like so many others, he had to go north to find work. Sicily has a huge depopulation problem, and all the deserted homes and buildings we passed along the way attest to it. Fortunately, according to several sources we consulted, the refugees are starting to invigorate the island. 

The remaining days got easier with less mileage and a village en route for coffee, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and 

Sutera Village, where immigrant enrollments
are helping to keep the school open

lunch. This was no Camino de Santiago, with its regular villages, culture, hostels, cathedrals, and convivial pilgrims. It was remote, rugged, and lonely, especially with so many deserted or dilapidated buildings we passed.

We wouldn’t do it again, not even for the first time. But at least it was very beautiful, and we got to experience a side of Sicily that few visitors do. It gave us both a sense of pride and gratitude that we can still do this kind of thing, but it was also a reminder that we’re getting older.

Driving Around Sicily—An Even Bigger Adventure!

The amazing Greek ruins are thought to be the
best preserved anywhere. Later the Romans
converted them to their own temples.
Built 5th Century BCE by 7,000 slaves

After two days in Agrigento for laundry and touring ruins, we squeezed ourselves and our carry-on bags into our rental “Clown Car,” a tiny six-speed manual Fiat 500. We felt excited that we were embarking on an even bigger adventure than the trek. Kathy, my amazing navigator, didn’t have control of the car and thus had more stress than me. Google Maps often sent us on crazy so-called shortcuts and was often about five seconds too late to announce a turn. The country roads were a rollercoaster of potholes, sharp curves, tailgating drivers, suicidal motorcyclists, and steep grades. Lane lines, traffic signs, and speed limits were merely suggestions. We got “off trail” more than on our trek.

The villages were even worse. In a few tight spots we folded in the side mirrors, and Kathy directed me out. No wonder so many of the cars here are severely dented, scratched, or with dangling side mirrors. We’re so glad we didn’t take the free upgrade to a larger model!

Small photo for a small car. 

For me, I eventually got into the zen of it, totally engaged, constantly working the gears, obeying Kathy’s directions, and driving like an Italian by asserting our right of way in roundabouts and intersections, using the horn, but not tailgating or passing on blind curves.

But most of the time, the countryside was beautiful. We loved the freedom to go where we wanted, change plans on a whim, or pull over for a photo at a rare wide spot. The Clown Car was a manual hybrid, and we got 60-70 mpg, but we paid much more for parking.

Food and Wine, of Course!

Spaghetti with fresh mussels and a delicate
tomato-parsley-seafood broth.Most dishes had
only three seasoning ingredients.

No blog about Sicily is complete without mentioning the food and wine. In fact, they are reasons in themselves to go here. We quickly tired of Sicily’s signature arancini, a fried rice ball filled with diced vegetables, meat, or seafood, as we’re not into deep fat fried food of any cuisine. But we loved the pasta, fresh seafood, pizzas, and gelatos. When not on the road, we settled into a routine of a BIG late lunch, and then a “small” pizza in the evening, sometimes in our apartment. And of course, nice wines, often cheaper than soft drinks. You can see a few food and pizza photos here.

Churched Out!

Some of the churches here originally started out as pagan altars, then morphed into Greek temples, then Roman temples. Then the Normans came and converted them into churches. Then the Muslims came and converted them into mosques. Then they became churches again. Quite often the building materials were repurposed from religion to the next. The big earthquake in1693 leveled many of them, but often the bones of the Roman temples remained.

The spectacular Monreale Cathedral,
built 1174-89, has several tons of gold
in its decorations, and is a fusion of
Arab, Byzantine,and Norman styles. 

They were rebuilt in Baroque style with a vengeance. So after awhile, one church starts to look like the next, except for the occasional outliers. Many of them have Arabic influences. The small towns have a church for every sin, and the larger ones have a church for every sin in of all the world’s major religions. 

Special Sicilian Moments

The ruins, monuments, cathedrals, and beautiful countryside were amazing. However, like any other country we visit, we enjoy our encounters with the locals the most. We just wish we had learned more Italian before we arrived. But thank you, Google Translate and to the warm-hearted Sicilians trying to communicate with us. Besides the many waiters, shopkeepers, baristas, and Italian tourists we met, here are a few memories of people we will cherish:

·      On the second day of our trek, an elderly farmer on his way to the market gave us some of his fresh fava beans. “How are we going to cook them,” we wondered. They tasted good raw.

·      Guissippe, mentioned above in the village of Prizzi.

Guissippe in Prizzi

·      In Sutera, a 70-year-old woman we met in a bar who left at the age of 12 when her family migrated to Germany to find work. She comes back every year to sell the family home, but no takers, not even for 5 euros!

·      Being in a small pizza joint in Agrigento that erupted in cheers when the TV monitor showed white smoke emerging from the Vatican.

·      Valeria, our BnB host in Syracuse. A mother of two young children, she met her husband in a cave. They were both paleontologists at the time. She talked about life as a young family in Syracuse and tried to give me Italian lessons.

Valeria in Syracuse

·      Getting nudged by a crowd surge into a marching band at a festival. I got in step and fulfilled a lifelong dream to be in a marching band. 

·      An older couple having a special Sunday lunch in the resort town of Cefalu. They couldn’t speak English, but wanted to know about us, and before long we were exchanging children and grandchildren photos.

·      In Trapani, a fun haircut with Abdullah and his patrons patiently waiting their turns. He came from Nigeria on a refugee boat a few years ago.

He seemed to be the mayor of this town, as everybody greeted him as they walked by.

We loved this place!

From beautiful beaches to Mt. Etna; from quaint villages to bustling small cities; from Greek and Roman ruins to modern art galleries; from unique wines to fresh seafood, Sicily has it all. It has more layers of history than a thick lasagna.  Its known history is older than Europe’s, later shaped by Europe, and now trying to catch up with it. It’s not quite Italian, not quite North African. It’s Sicily!

You can see different photos on this link that narrate our three-week adventure even better. They are mostly in chronological order and best enjoyed on something larger than a phone screen. You can find an almost daily commentary on my public Facebook page.

“What We Can, While We Can”

“What We Could, While We Could”

 

Mt. Etna