Life's a Gas

I must just be getting lazy I guess, over a week since I last wrote a few
words. It is just trying to find a few minutes in the day spare for it that
is the problem.
We have moved on a few times since the last entry. San Leone just down the
road from Agrigento was our first port of call. It was a nice enough site
for one night, and thankfully sunny weather to get 2 loads of washing done.
Neither the site nor the washing machine was very cheap, but it served a
purpose. Apart from getting washing done, the other reasons for visiting the
Agrigento area were the folk festival and the ruins of the Valley of the
Temples. Unfortunately we did neither. As the campsite was expensive we did
not want to stay more than a night and due to the festival there were no
options for wild camping in town. As for the ruins, the parking was 9€ a day
for a camper and then 6€ each for entry. Needless to say we gave it a miss,
well that is just plain daylight robbery. We have seen quite a few historic
sites so far and there was a nice place coming up on route in a few days
anyway.
So we instead headed inland and to the hills. We had chosen to visit some
volcanic mud pools on the way, but they were closed. In the end after a long
and very scenic drive up into the hills we arrived at the large hill town of
Mussomeli. We were intending on wild camping in a sosta parking that was in
the town somewhere. We stopped in a large car park to get our bearings and
check a town map but we had no idea where our destination was. We drove into
town and Sue asked in a Tabaccheria. Amazingly the owner spoke fluent
English as he had lived in London many a year ago. It turned out in the end
that the car park we had just come from was actually our destination, so
after a quick circuit of the town we returned and parked up. A few minutes
later Anne and Steve arrived. We just can't seem to get away from each
other!
Not long after parking and having lunch the weather hit. We ended up
completely enveloped in cloud and could not even see across the road. It
rained a fair bit also. Thankfully the air had cleared by morning and we had
a very nice wander around the pretty old part of the town. The views from
the height of the town were amazing. The area is mainly wheat cultivation
and was bright green with the newly growing crop.
The clouds were starting to gather again so we departed before they got too
bad and headed east to Caltanisetta where we thought we might park for the
night. We found the parking area we were after, right behind the main post
office, but it did not look too appealing. We just parked up for lunch and
then continued on to Piazza Armerina. Just outside P Armerina is the UNESCO
site, Roman Villa of Cassale, with its stunning 3rd/4th century mosaics. We
stopped off briefly to check how much and if they were open on Sundays, the
next day, and then moved on into town to find a campsite. We had heard of a
site from other travellers and were told to follow the 'Red Fox', on the
signposts. We did thus, and eventually after 20 minutes passing thru town
and out into the remote countryside we came across our night's stop. It
looked closed but we drove in and were greeted by the lady owner. The place
was in a typical 'out of season' run down state, but it did for the night
and we got under charged as well, so can't complain!
We returned to the mosaics the following morning, and they really are pretty
spectacular. Some of the scenes depicted are just amazing, and so much is
still in 'almost new' condition. A must if you ever come this way. One of
the most famous rooms has a floor with ten girls nicknamed the 'Bikini
Girls' as they are wearing very daring bikini like costumes that precede the
bikini by over sixteen centuries.
After 'doing' the villa we decided to head back to the coast as we needed
some sunshine and warmth after a couple of chilly nights inland. We aimed
for Punta Braccetto and a site that Kevin and Libby had told us about a few
days ago. They were still in residence when we arrived. Everyone on site has
there own private toilet and washbasin in a locked room, but the showers are
communal. The site looks almost new and is very nice indeed, and only 12€ a
night and 14 nights for the price of 11. So needless to say we will do 2
weeks here! The next day, who should arrive but Anne and Steve! We are all
doing the same loop of the island and trip over each other every now and
then.
Since being here, 5 nights now, we have not exactly tired ourselves out. We
visited Ragusa Ilba, 'we' being the six of us in Kevin's van, and the old
town was very nice although deserted by the time we got there. R Ilba is the
old town next to the new town of Ragusa. We have been into the market at San
Croce 5 miles up the road, on bikes, and got some supplies. Thankfully Kevin
and Libby drove in and then carried our load back to site for us.
The weather has been mostly sunny and warm but we had 2 days of very strong
winds, which cool things down a bit, but we can't complain. It is very nice
here, and the site owners are very friendly and helpful. We were presented
with a carton of tomatoes on arrival, and also an extra bag of 'freshly
picked that morning' tomatoes by the owner's Mama as we had told them we
liked the local fruit and veg so much as it was lovely and fresh. We think,
and are hoping, that they might show us how to cook the locally grown
artichokes this weekend. I wont mention the fun we had trying to get our gas
cylinder refilled locally, but lets just say it was an experience, and we
got 'some' gas.
Ciao
M&S

Born to be Wild

Yep, we are getting wilder be the day. I must point out that we are still
having a shower every morning, so we may be wild but we aren't smelly, well
not very.
After leaving San Vito we headed down the west coast past Trapani as we
didn't feel the urge to pop in to the city. The guidebook doesn't exactly
rave, and other people we have spoken to on our travels said it was not
really worth a visit. So, we decided to skip it and head for Marsala
instead. However we didn't manage to find anywhere suitable to park and
leave the van for a while so we just stopped for 30 minutes by the harbour
and had some lunch.
Our next stop was Mazara del Vallo reputed to be the largest fishing port on
the island. Again we only found temporary parking, at the harbour. We could
have stayed the night there but as there we no other campers we didn't
really feel safe, so we decided to push on and try and find an alternative
safe haven for the night. Fortunately we came across the small town of
Granitola Torretta not much further down the coast. There was a small
parking area right above the beach (rocky and covered with sea grass) and
also 2 Italian campers already parked up so we felt ok to stop. We stayed
there 2 nights and it was very pleasant. The town was mostly deserted which
meant it was nice and quiet.
We then ventured further along the coast via Castelvetrano (to stop at the
Lidl there, yes we are a bit pikey) and ended up at the small port of Porto
Palo just a few km from Menfi. We had a great spot there just off the beach
for 5 nights doing not much else than reading and enjoying the sunshine,
when the cold wind wasn't blowing. Steve and Anne were also there, they must
think we are stalking them, and also David and Bernadette another very nice
English couple in a large converted Iveco truck.
Apart from reading etc. we were also on Puppy watch! A local stray dog had
recently had a litter of eight and they were sleeping under the beach bar
shack right by us on the beach. The mother was a lovely dog and the puppies,
too sweet. We don't hold out much hope for them and fear they will end up
being culled sooner or later. For the moment there is a German couple there
keeping an eye on them, and they seem to think that their lazy old Retriever
is the proud dad. He most certainly isn't as we have seen the real dad who
has the same white mark on his head and tail as all the puppies do. At least
while the Germans are there the poor puppies might just stand a chance for a
while longer.
This morning we hit the road again, without any Puppy stowaways although it
was very tempting. Stopping at Sciacca for lunch and watching all the
fishing boats come in with their catch for the day, mostly anchovies and
some swordfish. After trying and failing to locate another Lidl at Ribera,
the home of the orange, we have ended up on another sandy beach at Siculiana
Marina. I think a couple of days here will be nice before we eventually hit
Agrigento this weekend and possibly a campsite for a few days. Well we need
to get some washing done!
Ciao
M&S