21st March.
A night in Monreale tourist coach park. We slept… fitfully. Around 0500 the bin men arrived: Crash! Bang! Heave... Just getting light at 0630, still half asleep, keep hearing voices...
A drowsy peep out of the window: white vans, people
setting up stalls, chatting, heaving boxes… “Sue – wake up! They’re setting up
a market, we’ve got to go!”
We only just made it. A quick recce revealed there was
still a passage through, but by the time we got to the perimeter our escape was
in jeopardy: some more trestles and a canopy had been set up, blocking our
path. The marketers were good-natured, waving us on, but the gap wasn’t big
enough. Sue got out again, pleading, and they shifted some trestles and held
back a canopy – but only just enough.
Back into the traffic – the nerve shredding, morning rush hour traffic – in Palermo! At some junctions so many cars were jumping the red
lights it just became a mad, frenzied free for all. Trying to carry straight on
at one set of lights, I was squeezed to a standstill by a stream of cars on my
right side crossing in front of me in order to turn left! I felt like a lonely wild dog cut off by a
herd of racing wildebeest. Eventually I just moved stubbornly forward, inch by inch, until
somebody gave way and finally freed us from this nightmare.
At last we made it onto the autostrada – physically
unscathed, but nerves stretched to snapping point. We saw a hypermarket and
pulled off into the vast car park for a sanity check. After some breakfast (and
paracetamol), a quick nap and a refreshing shower, we eased ourselves back onto the
autostrada, then re-joined the S187 near Terrasini.
At Alcamo Marina, the road eventually crosses the railway
line and follows the seafront, and in bright sunshine we pulled into a dirt car
park that runs along the whole stretch of beach. The rhythm of the crashing
waves was music to our ears and after a leisurely lunch it was obvious we were
going nowhere – we had found our pitch for the night.
A welcome pitch at Alcamo Marina
Beach-side stopover
GPS: 38.0251 N, 12.9138 E
Joggers and cyclists came and went, a few cars and dog
walkers; nobody gave us a second glance, despite being the only motorhome in
sight. Around midnight however, a stream of cars came off the road and sped
past our side, tooting their horns in unison – what was that all about? Peering
out we saw a car parked right underneath our back window, a couple blissfully
snogging with the light on. (No use hiding behind us my lovers, your mates will
find you!)
22nd March
The sun popped over the mountain skyline at 0630 sharp,
blasting through our rear window and casting a long Rapido-shaped shadow across
the sand. Rejuvenated after a good sleep, we had an early breakfast and then
continued on the S187, skirting around Castelammare del Golfo. The cool but
brilliant sunshine, clear sky and light green sea lifted our spirits – this was
more like it! At the west end of the town there is a panoramico with fabulous
views along the coast and a birds-eye look over the little harbour and new
marina under construction.
A new marina takes shape at Castelammare
Then onto Capo Puntazza, where we found a Swiss and two
German vans sunning themselves on a waterfront car park after a free night.
Beach-side stopover
GPS: 38.0563 N, 12.8399 E
After a brief chat we followed the road onto Scopello, an ancient little hamlet overlooking the Gulf of Castelammare. There is a cute
paved square which formed the centre of the 8th Century Baglio and is dominated by a large water trough and fountain . We wouldn’t
recommend driving in here – two large vans would virtually block it up, but there
is a bus park just before the square you can use, and in season a large car park
opens up in a field. The village’s inhabitants were busy painting and
refurbishing, gearing up for the summer season. There are several restaurants
and a small hotel, as well as some newly built holiday apartments.
Early season tranquility at Scopello
The road through the village is too narrow for a van, so
we went back to the fork and followed the road as far as it goes along the
coast. There is no road route to Capo San Vito on this side, but lovely views and a
couple of camping sostas (not open yet). On foot however, you can enter and explore the Zingaro Nature Reserve.
Retracing our steps slightly past Castelammare, we did a
quick spell on the toll-free autostrada and then the S113 to Segesta: the site
of a magnificent Greek temple placed in a beautiful hillside setting; also an
amphitheatre – the latter a 1.5 km trek or bus ride up another hill, but worth
it for the views alone. Entrance to the site is €6 and the bus ride another
€1.50, but parking is free. About 0.5 km before the main park is an overspill
park, which would do for an overnight; if you got up early enough you could
visit the site for free as well!
Segesta stopover
GPS: 37.9442 N,12.8384 E
...in a glorious setting
...with the usual suspects!
Fantastic views from the ampitheatre
Leaving Segesta, we took a minor road to Bruca and then
onto Busetto Palizzolo, passing a couple of Agriturism vineyards and a pizza
restaurant that would probably provide a pitch for the night. After Bruca the
road almost disappears – probably where jurisdiction for the two townships meet
– but it soon returns to a passable stretch of tarmac, despite some unfinished
repairs.
After returning a merry wave from an old shepherd with
his sheep on the road, we came across a parking area and picnic site at Mt
Scorace. This European Community registered site is noted for the biodiversity
of the woodland: rare mushrooms, wild boar, rabbits and hares. Amazingly there
is also a large laid-out seating area, built-in BBQ pits, games areas and
toilets – even an outside tap!
We couldn’t resist this one, settling ourselves easily on
the largely flat parking area. As the sun began to disappear behind the far
hills, the sound of cow bells tinkling grew steadily louder – soon they were
milling past the van, one young bullock turned his head round for a long stare,
checking us out!
The tinkling of cow bells as the herd goes home
Rural stopover
GPS: 37.9788 N, 12.7705 E
At nightfall the sky was still clear with a half moon and
bright stars, and eerily quiet, just the beep…beep… of a Scops Owl filtered
through the trees, evoking memories of Croatia.
23rd March
At dawn we suddenly heard the howling of wild dogs and
the anguished cries of some other animal – young wild boar perhaps? By sun-up
we saw two young hounds, fast asleep, curled up against each other at the foot
of a pine tree – sweet as could be, like family pets.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from such a great
spot, but the sun was starting to get some real heat in it, and our plan was to
get to the campsite at Capo San Vito and do some much needed laundry. Almost
immediately we came across another parking area in the forest and then a
roadside spring pouring bright clear water into a trough.
Roadside water spring
GPS: 37.988313,12.761604
Some great views along this road, so rural, it felt
wonderful to “out in the sticks” again on such a beautiful day. Rounding a
corner, our passage was completely blocked by a herd of goats, some with huge
and spectacular horns. The shepherd nodded his thanks for our patience as they
tinkled past, a postcard-sized smartphone pressed to his head the whole time!
Shepherding’s obviously not the lonely job it used to be – though wasn’t that
half the point? As with the sheep the day before, the herd was followed up by a
motley collection of mongrel dogs, though it didn’t look as if they had their
work cut out – the goats knew exactly where they were going.
Just another goat herd... with a little modern technology!
On the broad, wide main street of Castelluzzo we parked
easily to get some provisions. The woman in the bread shop quickly spotted me
for an English speaker; amazingly she was from California – her parents had
emigrated from the town, brought up a family and then returned, leaving her the
bread shop – for which she had left her life in America. Interestingly, she
didn’t recognise the rubbish-strewn Sicily that we had seen so far.
La Pineta is a four-star ACSI site just outside the
resort town of Capo San Vito. Almost all the pitches are under dense pine
trees, which afford superb protection from the sun in the height of summer, but
it was a little chill at this time and not ideal for drying the laundry! The
wi-fi was not site-wide as shown in the ACSI guide, but is free in the bar
area.
On the service bay we grabbed the first hose that came to
hand – big mistake: this was the non-potable desalinated water which supplies
most of the plumbing on site, it is very slightly salty and hence undrinkable –
and we filled up our tank with it! I always used to test the water that came
out of a long hose to make sure it was sweet
– funny how you have to keep re-learning things!
Free camping is obviously the norm around here, and the
campsite wisely makes the camper service bay (for which you pay €10) accessible directly from the road. On the way into Capo San Vito there are huge areas of
beachside parking – peppered with just a few motorhomes as we passed.
There would be plenty of shade under the pine trees at camping La Pinetta
GPS: 38.1738 N, 12.7480 E
Capo San Vito is a pure resort town; it was just shaking
off the cobwebs for Easter, prior to the key months of June, July and August.
We wondered about the prevalence of German and Swiss vans in the campsite, but
a walk into town in the evening explained all: there were literally dozens of
Italian vans parked up all along the beach front, outside still-closed hotels
and restaurants, and in any spare parking. One group on the beachfront even had
a large wooden brazier blazing away and their children had turned the car park
into a playground.
In the last week of September the resident population of
just four thousand plays host to a mind-boggling 200 thousand visitors for the annual
Cous Cous Fest – a three day celebration of local food, music and dancing and,
naturally, a couscous competition – entered by some of the best cooks in the
world. Typically, €10 will get you a plate of couscous topped with what ever
you fancy, a glass of wine and a dessert.
24th-25th March
The sunshine of our first day disappeared and the weather
deteriorated: cold, howling winds, occasional spells of rain; nothing else to
do but get the laptops and Kindles out and batten down the hatches!
26th March
As we left La Pinetta, it was still dull and windy but
the rain held back, all the Italian vans in the town had disappeared and the
car parks had been blocked off. We moved along the coast, past the formidable
mount of Erice and into Trapani.
By happy accident we realised that we would be in time for
the world famous Easter processions, the Processione dei Misteri: an
archetypal Sicilian event in which twenty excruciatingly heavy tableau are
carried around the town by volunteers for nearly 24 hours, accompanied by brass
bands and marchers bearing flags, flowers and icons – then followed by a festival
and celebrations that take over much of the old town, well into the night.
In the large central Piazza Emanuele car park (supposedly
free) a tout tried to wave us in and charge us for the privilege. It was packed
anyhow and we certainly didn’t fancy it for an overnight so we headed for the
waterfront. Here we witnessed some more atrocious driving – just run into somebody’s path at a junction and if
they swerve to get round you then move to block them again until they give up –
unbelievable…
Sue had tracked down a sosta called Le Saline about 4km
out of town – it is in fact the car park of a small hotel tucked behind a busy
fuel station, but as it turned out, with good facilities. When we arrived most
of the spaces had been taken with cars, but as the only motorhome present we
squeezed ourselves into a corner.
€15 per day, free wi-fi in the bar.
Le Saline, an unusual but well equipped sosta
GPS: 37.9820 N, 12.5308 E
27th March
Primed up and ready for an assault of the town, we
crossed the road to wait for the No 31 bus that should arrive according to the
timetable we had been given – give or take 15 minutes or so...!
After a 20 minute wait, the owner of Les Saline suddenly
appeared in his 4x4 and offered us a lift into town – thank you kind sir! He
dropped us off at the Piazza Garibaldi on the waterfront and we strolled along
the waters edge and around the fish market. The inner harbour was packed with
the type of small fishing boats that you hardly see anymore in the UK – perhaps
just a few if you live in Cornwall or the west coast of Scotland.
Fishermen, from dozens of boats, repair their nets
On the pleasantly paved Vialle delle Sirene we observed
the strange spectacle of workman digging holes to plant a grown tree with no
roots! Apparently the winter winds had broken or felled the existing palm trees
and these were the replacements; I’m no horticulturist but it looked like a
grim fight for survival for the poor tree to me!
Looks like a tough new start in life for this specimen!
Lunch was in the nearby Le Mura restaurant: grilled fresh
swordfish with salad, baked rosemary potatoes and two beers came to €44 – not
cheap perhaps, but superb quality and very enjoyable.
A good swordfish lunch at Le Mura
Moving towards the old town centre we picked up the
sounds one of the warm-up processions: soon it was passing by, the slow
haunting music of the brass band instantly recognisable as the inspiration for
the “Godfather” theme tune.
Our first sight and distinctive sound of a procession
Some small adjustments necessary
We nipped into the tourist office and purchased two
Trapani Welcome cards: for €9 you get a three day pass for all the urban bus
services, a return ticket for the gondola up to Mount Erice (worth €7), plus
various free entries and discounts for other attractions, city map and guides.
www.trapaniwelcome.it/index-en.html
Next was a walk through the Villa Margherita gardens, dedicated to Queen Margherita of Savoy, the first queen of Italy. The amazing Moreton Bay fig trees were planted in the late 19th Century.
www.trapaniwelcome.it/index-en.html
Next was a walk through the Villa Margherita gardens, dedicated to Queen Margherita of Savoy, the first queen of Italy. The amazing Moreton Bay fig trees were planted in the late 19th Century.
Finally we headed back into the old town and the Purgatorio Church where the tableau for the main procession on the 29th were on display: all dramatic, some artfully lit and the whole space glowing with large candles – a very reverential atmosphere.
After a coffee in a waterfront cafe we tried to identify the bus stop for the trip back to Les Saline. Despite some enthusiastic and willing advice – one woman even entered a nearby travel agent on our behalf – nobody seemed to be sure where to get the bus (or even if there was a bus!). In the event, we picked the wrong side of the road and watched our 18.20 bus disappear into the night! (It enters the town first by the fire station before leaving on the other side of town)
We headed for the nearest bar – which happily, was next to a take-away Pizza parlour! Sorting out which size pizza to order was confusing as the other customers all chipped in with their explanations, so in the end we settled for the fairly obvious “Medio”. All the other customers had long gone when we were finally presented a large oblong box containing the best part of a metre of pizza! A family size pizza for €10? The chef was “aving a larf” and took great enjoyment from the look on our faces. When I offered him €20 he shook his head, still laughing, and gave me €10 back – the Sicilian’s humour was growing on us; and we snacked on pizza for days!
www.turismo.trapani.it/en/home.html
www.trapaniclickandgo.it/en/default.asp
No comments:
Post a Comment