Noddy has left the Island

Yes we have now left Sicily. Are we sad to leave? Yes! Have we had a great
time? Yes! Will we return some time? Most definitely, especially as there a
so many places that we did not get around to seeing. We did however manage
to defeat one foe at the eleventh hour!
Our last week was not our busiest I admit. That is what this business is all
about. We are not on holiday, this is our life, and there is no rush.
We are not the only ones who have left the island. Anne and Steve passed
through Giardini on Sunday on their way to get the ferry. We (us, Kevin and
Lib) popped down to the port in town where they were parked and had a final
chat and said our farewells. It was good to catch up one last time and we
will most definitely keep in touch and possibly even see them back in the
UK.
Just as one set of new friends departs another set arrives. The young Dutch
couple, Peter and Yvonne, we met at Scarabeo had been around the island and
came to the site in Giardini as their last stop before leaving the island
too. To mark the occasion we had a great BBQ on the Monday, and gave Kevin's
gas BBQ its annual dusting off, probably only it's second since they bought
it! We popped to the shops in the morning to get some meat, oops, it was
Monday, and the shops are closed! Thankfully we found another supermarket
that was open and we managed to get what we needed, disaster averted! This
is the life, you can pop next door for a BBQ have a few drinks and not have
far to go home afterwards, ideal!
After much boasting of cycling prowess at the BBQ Kevin Peter and myself
talked ourselves into cycling up to Castelmola Tuesday morning. It was a
great ride out, and the weather held despite the odd rumble of thunder not
long after setting off. I was wearing the yellow jacket so it was only fair
that I was first to the top! Coming down was cool, but unfortunately on the
run back through Giardini some dozy old sod opened his car door on Kevin and
knocked him off. He only got a couple of grazes, lucky. Peter and I did not
witness the accident as we a bit further ahead. We waited for Kevin for a
while but after 5 minutes we decided that he had either gone another way or
he had come off. The latter proved the case as he was already back at the
site getting first aid and 'sympathy' from Libby! You see it is not just me
who falls off two wheeled vehicles.
On Thursday we hit the Internet café in town. I went with Kevin and Libby,
as I needed to use their laptop on a wireless connection to do some online
banking. I also managed to have a chat with my brother via Skype, and he
even had the pleasure of seeing me via a web cam, isn't technology brilliant
when it works. Two hours or so later we returned to base to find Sue
wondering where the hell we had got to. The poor thing had been left at base
doing washing and cleaning. Well someone has to do it, don't they!
Friday was meant to be our departure day, but we didn't quite make it, and
anyway we wanted to cook a 'last supper' for K&L. I toiled over a hot stove
for most of the afternoon making Lasagne, and Sue made the pudding. The
lasagne was great, and the pudding was 'alternative'. The plan was to do
profiteroles but the cream wouldn't whip so we had chopped up ice creams
instead inside of the 'lovely fresh profiterole casings' and lashings of
melted chocolate over the top, very nice indeed. It was a great last evening
with our new friends.
Saturday morning was an early one. We wanted to get going as soon as
possible as we were heading for the ferry back to the mainland. Kevin and
Libby were also leaving but later in the day, as they were booked on a ferry
from Catania to Livorno. Our plans changed however on getting up as the view
to Etna was just too good, and its magic changed our minds, we decided to
have one last go. So we said our farewells first to Peter and Yvonne, we may
bump into them on our way back up through Italy as they are taking a similar
route to us. Then we said ciao to Kevin and Libby. We have spent quite a bit
of time together over the last 4 months, and were sad to finally part
company. Well we were anyway, they were probably popping the champagne as
soon as we had driven off!
Anyway, we are so glad we changed tack and headed for Etna, we had a great
time up there! We made the ascent in Noddy to the base station, no icy roads
to be seen, at Nicolosi Nord 1900m, and parked up with a few other
motorhomes. It was very windy indeed up there, and quite a chilly wind. We
were not sure if we would take the cable car up higher or not, but we
eventually decided to do it as we knew we would kick ourselves later if we
didn't. Cough, 51€ later we were elevated to 2500m via a wind induced
swinging cable car, interesting ride. Then it was on foot, couldn't afford
the 15.03€ each for the 4x4 ride, for a long hike up as far as you were
allowed to go without a guide (an extra 7€ each), another 500m to the still
smoking craters that had spat out a large cloud of volcanic dust only just 3
weeks previous, the day before we arrived at Giardini. You follow the road
that the 4x4 vehicles take, at places a 20-foot gully carved out of the
snow. It was quite a walk, but the sights were amazing. We took a 'short
cut' near the top across the snow instead of following the road all the way.
Boy that was hard work. We nearly turned back, but after passing a young
German lad who told us it was not much further to go and the hike was well
worth it, we kept on going. Thank god we did!
We walked round the edge of one huge crater that was still steaming away. If
you dug out a hole with your heel the ground was moist and very warm if not
very hot in places. Totally bizarre! The views around of the mountain itself
were fantastic, but it was quite hazy so the surrounding areas down below at
the coast were not so easily seen. It was well worth our 3rd attempt to get
there, just a shame that K&L never made it with us. Strangely enough it was
not at all windy up where we were.
After descending back to Noddy we decided to stop there for the night
despite the wind that was still blowing back at car park height. The view
out down on Catania below was superb, especially after dark and the haze had
disappeared, just shimmering lights in every direction. We are not sure, but
we think we saw K&L's ferry leave, or perhaps it was the boat that was still
in dock until much later. We received a text from them Sunday evening saying
that they were 5 hours late arriving, poor things, hope they found somewhere
to stop for the night.
After leaving Etna bright and early Sunday morning we made for Messina and a
ferry back to the mainland. As per usual Italian efficiency the ferry
boarding was manic and very tight for motorhomes. We used a different
company to the one we came across on. Next time we will revert back to the
former as this ferry was not very suitable for motorhomes. Anyway we had a
good crossing and hit the Autostrada aiming for somewhere up the coast for
the night, and Briatico was the place we found. It is a small village by the
sea on the west coast of Calabria. Not much here, just a car park on the
beach and an old Torre (watch tower). As usual for a Sunday the world and
his wife appeared for their afternoon stroll and some even took a paddle in
the water, summer must be coming. A German motorhome appeared late on so we
were not on our own.
Today we are off again, to where we don't know. We are stopped at the moment
in Falerna Marina to get some bread and have a coffee break. So I thought I
would finish the blog as the laptop battery died last night and it has been
charging on the move.
Ciao
M&S

What goes up must come down .... somehow

Boy we have had a busy week. After leaving the wonderful Siracusa we stayed
a single night wild camping at the small fishing village of Brucoli on the
southern edge of the Golfo di Catania. We eventually found a nice spot to
park on the beach just outside the village after quite a while driving
around looking for something suitable. It was nice and quiet and the village
sleepy, and in the morning we had a great surprise of being able to gaze
across the bay towards Catania and the snow capped bulk of Etna! What an
amazing sight, even despite the haziness. Although the weather was not
great, sunny with clouds looming we upped sticks, and made our way around
the bay, decided to give Etna a go, and made for the southern approach.
You will never guess who we passed on the road, coming down whilst we were
going up. Yep, Kevin and Libby! We knew from a SMS that they may be around
there somewhere but it was quite funny to suddenly pass them on the road. As
you can probably guess, we both turned around and then proceeded to pass
each other going the other way! We told them to stop just up the road and
after we had turned again and headed back we finally both managed to come to
a halt in the same place. The poor things had just come down from the car
park at the top off the road and were frozen, especially as the heater in
the cab was not working too well. They said it was cloudy up there and very
windy with quite a wind chill. We sat and chatted for a while with our
heater on full blast to warm them up. We parted and ploughed on up the road
in Noddy aiming to get to the car park our selves. Sadly we did not make it
all the way as the clouds engulfed us and it started to hail. We chose to
leave it for the day and go and find a site for the night instead, ending up
at Giardini Naxos just south of Taormina, and parked next to K&L.
We have been here for almost a week now. The weather at the weekend was
great, hot and sunny, and perhaps we should have tried another assault on
Etna. Instead we relaxed, wandered around the town, had a very nice weekend,
and decided to return to Etna in the next window of opportunity. Typically,
the weather changed and Etna was invisible underneath thick cloud for 2
days!
Eventually today the sky was blue and after some discussion we chose to
return to Etna on the Tourist Bus, i.e. with K&L in their van. It all
started very well, leaving at 08h00 and aiming to get to the car park on the
southern side for breakfast and then take the Gondola up and spend the day
walking in the snow. Things can go very wrong very quickly in a mountainous
environment, and they did! Icy patches started to appear on the road, but
they just looked like old snow that had been blown onto the road and crushed
by traffic. Then progressively it got worse and before we knew it the road
became impassable for us just after negotiating a hairpin bend with no
traction for the front wheels! Shit! I climbed out and examined our
precarious situation and we eventually decided our only choice was to roll
back down the 600m or so of icy road, including 2 hairpin bends, to clearer
tarmac and somewhere to turn around. It was touch and go for a while with
some scary slides but thanks to Kevin's prowess behind the wheel, me finding
the best parts of the road to use, and the girls on traffic duty we
eventually made it to a 'safer' place to try and execute a scary 32 point
turn! It very nearly went pear shaped during the turn with the van
lengthways across the road and spinning wheels, but after some good clutch
control and me with one hand on the bonnet and the other on the crash
barrier assisting the van backwards we made it. Phew, bloody relief, and a
lucky escape. We drove slowly back to a pull off and had breakfast and
contemplated our 'experience'. Plenty of coaches and cars seemed to pass
with apparent success, but motorhomes with front wheel drive and no studs or
chains don't do icy roads, not now, not ever. We did have a great day out in
the end after visiting Zafferana Etnea and the amazing lava flow from 1992
that stopped just short of the town.
I think Etna will have to wait for another trip sometime. Shame, but that is
the way it goes sometime. All the rain over the last couple of days
obviously fell as snow, melted, and then froze up on the mountain road. You
never know, we might get up there this trip, but at the moment even if you
get to the Gondola and get up the mountain it would be very, very, very cold
in the wind up there.
We will probably stay here until sometime next week after Easter as
everywhere will get very busy for the festival period. There is Taormina to
visit and Castelmola perched on the hill above it, and hopefully plenty more
hot sunny days to laze in.
Ciao
M&S