Happy New Year 2007

It has been a long and tiring 2006, but we have made it into another year.
Life on the road can be tough at times. It may seem, to those of you who are
still doing the 9-5 every day, that we are just on a damn good non-stop
holiday, but let us assure you we all have our problems. Ours may only be on
the scale of what time to get up and what to have for dinner, but they are
hefty issues to resolve for us.
We managed to see out the last few days of 2006 in much the same style as
the majority of the preceding 360 or so, doing very little. The weather has
been pretty good, warm in the sunshine during the day, and not too cold
during the night. We haven't really started to get too touristy yet and
haven't ventured further than the village we are based in, Finale, and the
next big town Cefalu. We manage to find everything in the local shops that
we need for the moment and sooner or later we will make a plan for reaching
out a bit further into the Sicilian countryside.
The sea is so clear here, and not too cold. Steve, from the van next door,
and myself did a bit of snorkelling a few days ago. It was lovely in the
water and there were quite a few fish to be seen. It was bloody cold after
getting out though. It took a good long hot shower to warm my bones again.
I have been on a few cycles here and there, and ventured up to the hill town
of Pollina a few miles inland from here. It was a very nice ride, total
climb of around 800m, but by the time I reached the top the clouds had
descended and the view was limited. There is an amazing amphitheatre right
on the top of the town that looks out over the surrounding countryside
below. I assumed the view was magnificent as I could only see 50ft! It was a
bit chilly up there also, but after a nice easy downhill I retuned to the
warmer seaside climate. I repeated some of the route the other day, not
right up to Pollina, but had a wee mishap coming down. My rear wheel decided
that it was not terribly important to remain in contact with the road whilst
hurtling around a sharp corner, and a few slides and bumps later I was
sitting on my backside wondering what had happened. Thankfully there were no
crazy Italian motorists around and the only damage, apart from my dented
ego, was a few scrapes on my elbow and a couple of holes in my jacket. It
was only made slightly worse as I was out cycling with Steve, so I had to
share my experience. He tried not to laugh too much. Back at base Sue read
me the riot act and has now banned me from going cycling on my own. In her
dreams!
Last night we saw in the New Year in the company of Anne and Steve with a
large pot of Goulash and the odd tipple or two, and a bottle of cheap
Italian 'champagne' at the stroke of midnight. It was a grand night despite
the Italian invasion for the party at the campsite restaurant not to mention
the early hour firecracker show by one of the youngsters in the cabins
behind us. God help him if he is still at it after the witching hour
tonight, he has been letting them off all day.
We are considering renting a car for a few days with our neighbours so that
we can head for the hills. It will be easier in a little runabout than in
Noddy and shouldn't cost too much. More than that we have not yet planned,
although dinner is already sorted for tonight as Anne is cooking a lasagne
for the four of us. It's nice to have one of our major issues resolved so
easily on day 1 of 2007.

Ciao

M&S