Trip Report #9-2000: Northern Sicily

Filed from El Kantaoui, Tunisia
35 53.64 N 010 35.90E

September 30, 2000

Hello family and friends:

We left Tindari and sailed to Cefalu (pronounced Chefalu) on the north coast of Sicily. On our way, we poked into some of the small harbors, Cap d'Orlando and Santa Agata di Mitello, but found that they were crowded with small local boats and were too shallow for a boat of our size. The wind was light from the northwest and the harbor at Cefalu west of the city would offer good shelter while we explored the beautiful old fishing village and the well-preserved twelfth-century Norman cathedral there. Cefalu has a long face dock that is reserved for the ferry, but one may tie up on the opposite side of that dock. There is no charge for staying there and it is available on a first come, first served basis. Unfortunately for us, it was already occupied when we arrived. We anchored behind the mole north of the harbor with 2 other boats. During the night the wind began to pipe up and a new weather forecast predicted winds of Force 8 from the northeast by next day. Since the harbor was open to the northeast, we left early the next morning and sailed in fairly rough seas to San Nicolo L'Arena, about 20 miles west of Cefalu.

PHOTO: THE HARBOR AT SAN NICOLO L'ARENA, SICILY

San Nicolo was a pleasant surprise. It was a beautiful harbor with a well-run marina. Local boats filled most of the slips and we were given a place on the very long fuel dock for a fairly low fee by summer standards. We walked through the town and bought some fresh vegetables and bread. The town here is not yet overtaken by tourism and as we walked through, we got a real sense of the town as a community - people meeting friends and families watching children play in the square. We talked with two families who had boats in the marina and they gave us some tips on harbors and good sailing destinations in Sicily. They were very interested in how we managed on our boat while crossing the Atlantic and they asked specifically, "How is the marriage relationship in such close quarters for such a long time?" Tom paused, trying to figure out how best to describe this and finally answered, "It's like Stromboli! Always interesting, sometimes peaceful, but every once in a while - fireworks!" They laughed uproariously at this - I think it struck a familiar chord.

We continued on to Palermo and settled in at the Villa Igeia Marina in Aquasanta. The marina is in a commercial area of the city, near the commercial docks. There are grocery stores and shops that one can walk to during the day, but we did not feel secure walking in the area at night. There was good security in the marina, but right outside of the marina, the area was somewhat dirty with lots of stray dogs and feral cats. There was electricity on the dock, and water, but no potable water. And no laundry facilities.

Getting laundry done in Sicily can be a problem. There are no self-service laundromats that we could find. We took our three large bags to a recommended laundry and watched as they dumped the contents (previously sorted into whites, colors, etc) on the counter of an establishment that was like our dry-cleaning facilities in the US. They then sorted the laundry again into many piles that included t-shirts, shirts to be pressed, pants, shorts, underwear, socks, etc. And then counted and made a charge for each individual piece - each sock would cost about $.50US. When it was all totaled, our bill would have come to $123 US. When I said something like "Mamma Mia!", the owner and his sister came out to speak with me. They were wonderful people. They explained that everyone in Sicily has their own washing machine and so all laundries are for high quality work. I told them that we were cruising on a boat and that they could omit the pressing and just wash and dry; and we finally settled on $50 US, still high for a laundry day. On our way out, the owner came after us and gave us a bottle of olive oil produced by his family's olive grove, and then he delivered our laundry to the marina free of charge. Since then, I have been doing laundry the old-fashioned way on the boat. I put the really dirty clothing in a large pan with detergent and stomp around in my bare feet until all is clean - and I do it on the dock. I learned this trick from Chris on Skittles and I'm getting really good at it. I'm thinking of going on to wine making.

On our second day in Palermo, Allen and Chris on Skittles sailed into the marina and were berthed next to us. We had met in Rota through Bob & Judy Bailey on Pooh Bear, and though we spent only a small time with them, we found them to be a very charming couple. It was such a happy surprise to see them.

While Allen and Tom spent time working on the computer and checking out cybercafes, Chris and I took the bus to Monreale and toured the Norman Cathedral and cloister. It was well worth the visit.

 The entire interior of this huge cathedral is covered by pictorial representations of biblical events and pictures of saints, all done in mosaic tile, much of it adorned with gold, and looking as brilliant as it must have on the day it was finished. It was absolutely breathtaking.

PHOTO: MARK & LUANN AT GOLFO DI CASTELLAMARE, SICILY

On September 15, 2000, we met our friends, Mark and Luann Weinheimer of Oriental, N.C., at the airport in Palermo, Sicily. Mark and Luann are experienced sailors and arrived with one small soft-sided bag apiece. We decided we could take the bus back to the city, have lunch there and then take another bus to the marina. As we boarded the bus to the marina, Tom suddenly started shouting, "Pickpocket - that man is a pickpocket - give me back my wallet". The man he was referring to seemed quite an average person, neat and casually dressed, with a jacket draped over his arm (even though it was quite warm). He had jostled against Tom in the crowd boarding the bus and Tom had immediately felt for his wallet. When Tom began shouting, I grabbed the man's jacket and while Tom demanded his wallet, the criminal stared wild-eyed at me and demanded his jacket. Tom's wallet suddenly appeared on the floor of the bus, the pickpocket was ejected by the busdriver, and there was sympathetic murmuring from the bus passengers about how glad they were that Tom had his wallet back. This was Mark & Luann's introduction to Sicily.

We managed to get back to the marina with no further excitement and after getting settled, Luann and I walked to a nearby cart where fishermen were selling their catch. We bought shrimp, and were encouraged by the fishermen to also buy some fresh squid and octopus. The fisherman cleaned the octopus for us, cutting it into rings of calamare. He told us to clean the squid the same way and then to drop it into boiling water for a maximum of two minutes. We had the shrimp for dinner that night and prepared the squid for use the next day. The next day, I tasted the calamare and to my uneducated palate, it tasted very tough. I told Luann I would have to throw it out, as I had apparently overcooked it. She tasted it and said " It's perfect - we should have it on a big salad tonight". We did and we have since become calamare enthusiasts. We're beginning to enjoy the slightly chewy texture and when tossed with mild onion, garlic and herbs, olive oil and vinegar, it is excellent. Previously, when faced with a seafood dish that included little squid tentacles, we had always pushed them to the side, treating them as so much garnish - kind of like a sprig of parsley - but no more!

PHOTO: THE HARBOR AT SAN VITO LO CAPO

It is rapidly building its' tourism industry, but for now still retains some of the charm of an old fishing village. And the people are very friendly. Tom was looking for a cybercafe for an internet connection. There seem to be none in San Vito, but he stopped into an office, a real estate and rental agency, and asked if the staff knew where he could find one. They said that they had a line to the internet and he could use it free of charge. The people who ran the agency are Antonina and Giovanni and they are typical of the people we've met in Sicily.

PHOTO: ANTONINA & GUISSEPPE

The day after we arrived in San Vito, Mark and Luann got to experience their first (and they hope it's their last) Sirocco. The wind from the south blew hot, dry and fiercely for two days. In Sicily, they say that if the Sirocco blows for more than three days, all crimes of passion committed during that time are forgiven. We can understand that now.

While the Sirocco was blowing, we took a trip up into the mountains above Trapani to the town of Erice. Erice is the only Sicilian town that has been inhabited since prehistory. We enjoyed the views of surrounding countryside from the top of the town

PHOTO: CASTLE TOWERS AT ERICE

and also enjoyed walking through the narrow centuries-old cobbled streets. We had great food at the Ristorante Monte S. Giuliano in S. Rocco Lane - excellent food and great, friendly service.

While we were in San Vito, there was a four-day Couscous festival going on. This involved the presentation by chefs from around the world of their best couscous recipes. Samples of these recipes were available during the festival at a multitude of booths. We particularly liked the Tunisian, Moroccan and San Vito entries. Every night, after the couscous sampling, there was a live music concert in the square.

It was a very well attended event. The entry from Morocco won the contest and the chef was declared the world's best couscous chef - in an area of the world that takes its' couscous seriously.

During the time that Mark & Luann were in Sicily, they were on a constant hunt for a hat (baseball cap style) that was representative of Sicily. We could not find one. Caps for sale in the shops were all from the US - Nike Air, Calvin, etc. Mark finally hit on the idea of trading his Bank Sails cap (his business) for a San Vito Couscous Festival cap with one of the festival staff. He was successful, and in the ensuing days, even after Mark and Luann left, we continued to see the "Bank Sails" cap in the streets of San Vito de Capo.

Next stop: Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia

Arrivederci, Peg & Tom

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