"To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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| Segesta, Sicily |
While Jon was enduring a month of "combat tourism" in Sicily in May, I was at home in the Netherlands having to hear about his quests to finding the most delicious fresh seafood restaurant, his trips to the beach and the access to yummy cannoli. After a while, I couldn't take it anymore, and headed on a direct RyanAir flight from Maastricht (NL) to Trapani (Sicily) for one week of Sicilian bliss. Although Jon did have to work at times, we were able to spend a lot of time together, and luckily, there is a multitude of sights to see within a one-hour radius of Marsala, where he was staying.
Sicily was described to us by a Northern Italian we met, as a "rougher, scruffier Italy." This was apparent walking around Marsala and the lack of sidewalks, trash strewn about. constant horn-honking, and generally, a more gruff attitude than what I'm used to in northern Italy. However, once inside the pristine old town, or on the white sand beach, you seem to forget about these things and fall in love with the beautiful countryside that has so much to offer.
After two days of exploring Marsala, we headed to San Vito Lo Capo for a beach bum day. The water was the most beautiful turquoise color and the white sandy beach was pristine. I hadn't been to a beach in so long, and was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful paradise, only 45 minutes from Marsala.
After being at the beach for several hours, we explored the small village of San Vito and enjoyed some afternoon gelato. Jon tried the local favorite "brioche" which is ice cream in a bread bun. I think I'll stick to mine in a cone.
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| A beautiful vista on the road from San Vito Lo Capo |
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| A beautiful vista on the road from San Vito Lo Capo |
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| Erice street |
After the beach, we made a stop to the medieval hilltop village of Erice. The narrow cobbled streets and fortress ruins were impressive, but the most amazing thing about this city is its situation on the top of a mountain. The views were spectacular of the Sicilian coastline and city of Trapani below.
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| Erice fortress |
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| View from Erice |
Another excursion included visiting the nearby Mozia salt flats and trekking to the ancient ruins of Segesta. Salt is still in production today in these ponds on the outskirt of Marsala. They are already beginning to change their hue, but supposedly in late June, the ponds turn bright pink. The old windmills that used to power the production are beautifully lit at night.
The ancient ruins of Segesta was at one time the home of the Elymian people, one of three indigenous people in Sicily. The population was mixed Elymian and Greek. The sites are divided in two with the temple on one side of the mountain and the ampitheatre and other civic structures on the other side. The impressively massive Doric temple dates from the 5th century.
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| Segesta - the Doric temple in the background |
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| Segesta with the Doric temple |
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| Segesta - Doric temple |
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| At the top of Segesta, looking out across the Sicilian countryside |
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| Segesta ampitheatre |
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| Segesta ampitheatre - striking a god-like pose with our Danish friend, Rune |
It had been a couple days since we'd hit the beach, so it was time for another water-related adventure. We took the 40-minute ferry from the Marsala harbor to the island of Favignana and had a day to explore the gorgeous coastline via a scooter. We ventured off the main roads of the island and traversed down the bumpy and rocky dirt roads to explore the coves and beaches of Cala Rossa, Cala Azzura and Cala Rotonda. The views from the rocky and craggy Cala Rossa were magnificent and I had never seen water so vibrantly turquoise. We enjoyed exploring the nooks and crannies of the rocks by the water and the many passageways along the coast.
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| Cala Rossa |
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| Cala Rossa |
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| Cala Rossa |
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| Cala Rossa |
Cala Azurra was a small, sandy beach that all the other tourists in town seemed to know about, so after a quick visit, we continued on to Cala Rotonda.
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| Our ride on Favignana island |
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| Cala Azzura |
At Cala Rotonda, we managed to find a small cove around the corner from where the other beach bums were, and enjoyed our own private hideaway. It was the absolute perfect day and is exactly how I like to explore beaches; immersed in nature, away from others, with the most beautiful horizons in the distance.
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