This was I imagined Sicily to be, but this is what it turned out to be:
Ok. That’s unfair because there is SO much variety just on this little island. Both due to history and geology. There are picturesque villages, built in collages of different architecture styles, canyons with freezing rivers, and hot active volcanoes. Sicily has been shaped by all those who passed by- the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, Normans, the Spanish and now tourists.
We saw so much in our one week here but had to leave out much more for “next time”, “next life”.
Sicily in 1000 km
Pre Sicily Day 1: We spent Day 1 in Rome for a 9h layover (argh!) but we tried to make the most of it.
Actual Sicilian trip: Day 2: Palermo, Cefalù, and a beach in between
We were approached by a random lady in Palermo who offered us a walking tour. I was a bit skeptical but it turned out to be really informative.
Tip: If you have 30 min to spend in Palermo, spend it here.
We then drove to a beach just outside Cefalu. The sun was hitting hard and the sand was lava. So we cooled off with some Granite and did a quick watercolor stop.
One of our best meals in Sicily was in Cefalu at a restaurant called Triscele. But the town is very touristic, so we would not recommend it.
Day 3: Cefalù, a beach in between, Ragusa
Next morning we tried to pop onto La Rocca, the huge cliff rock that looms over the city but it was closed for maintenance. So we ate some cannolis instead.
Cefalu is small and there is only so much to do. So as in all afternoons, we headed to a beach East of Cefalu on the north coast.
Some swimming, some water coloring, some scowling at the locals (the ones on their phones), and we were ready to hit the road for Ragusa.
Hindsight 2020: should have just put base in Ragusa and travelled around from here. I loved this place beyond words.
Day 4: Ragusa, Modica, a beach in between, Noto
We walked around Ragusa, had more gelato, and left for Modica as happy bunnies.
Modica seemed like larger Ragusa and we decided to go to the beach instead (surprise!). We chose the beach at the southern most tip of Sicily and boy was it beautiful.
We were desperate for shade too but the guy renting umbrellas and decks was outright rude. He said – “learn some Italian before you come to Italy.” So we left and bought a beach umbrella from a peddler, in English.
Tip: buy a beach umbrella and carry it around
Then we set out for Noto, the Baroquest town in Sicily (big earthquake, city rebuilt in the 1700s in the style of the rulers back then). We caught the golden city in the golden light of a nice sunset. The “city” has a nice feeling to it.
At night, Noto became crazy (very Noti 😛). The Main Street was PACKED, lots and lots of party goers, hundreds of people breathing in each other’s face. Masks? Naah, that’s a day time thing. And even during the day we saw people only wearing them on their arms like a band of resistance. Yes, that would keep COVID-19 away.
Day 5: Noto, Cava Grande, Ortigia
After a great breakfast in Noto, we headed to Cava Grande, a beautiful limestone canyon with wonderful little pools.
Next, we headed off to the island of Ortigia (near Syracuse). It was pretty and all but also very touristic and pricey.
Despite dining/ drinking in, we saw blatant use of plastic in Sicily. As one cannot drink tap water in Sicily and there are almost no places to reuse plastic bottles for water, the streets are littered with plastic. Places like Indonesia have moved on to bamboo straws. Even Starbucks is doing paper straws. Why is Italy lagging behind?
Ditch the plastic, Sicily! How about pasta straws?
Swiss bunny
Day 6: Mt. Etna and Taormina
I could dedicate a full post to Etna. It was so amazing, so surreal, so alien, so awe-inspiring. With every eruption the landscape changes, new hills and new colors are formed as the mountain spurts different minerals.
We drove upto ~1900 m ( very beautiful road) then took a cable car to 2500 m, and Etna was already putting on a show.
Then a bus ride and then the hike from 2900 m to 3300 m. Doesn’t seem much but it was tough – sometimes very steep and uneven terrain. And oh the thin thin air!
We came down a very steep lava field literally surfing down. It was quite intense. Here is me applying my new skills:
We saw some other craters as well and the guide explained how each eruption completely altered the landscape, creating new land by lava flowing into the sea, creating hills within craters, and hills collapsing onto themselves. So fascinating.
Although I died a little, it was my favourite hike ever. EVER.
Then, we set out for Taormina.
We hiked down to go to the city, had great Sicilian sweets at Pasticerria D’Amore, found a place to eat our only pizza in Sicily, and hiked back up (ugh Swiss bunny!).
Day 7: Taormina, a little trip to the beach, and Catania
We began early to go to the Greek theatre. By the time we came out the lines were huge.
After that we walked around in Taormina and found it very touristic.
It’s nice and all but the attention to this place seemed quite bloated by travelers’ reviews. It was very crowded and and these are still corona times! Imagine what it would be in normal peak season.😐
So we left Taormina behind to go to Alcantre, a river gorge formed in igneous rocks on the north side of Etna. It looked quite nice but also very crowded, so we didn’t go down into it and went to a quieter beach instead.
We reached our beach but soon it started raining. The beach umbrella was once again our savior. We stay put and we saw this wonderful site:
When the rain had driven all the tourists away from this beach, we saw the beach taken over by seagulls (the next Sicilian conquerors).
We left the seagulls to their business and headed for Catania and it rained like.. massively. The Italian traffic got crazier and it looked and sounded just like India in monsoons.
I have mixed feelings about Sicily. While the landscape and the food (never eaten tomatoes like this- packed full of sun), are something to die for, but the towns we visited have become an amusement park (just like Venice and Malta), with shells of past glory and a very imbalanced ratio of tourists to actual citizens. Will we arriverderci? May be not, but the warmth of the Sicilian sun, and the taste of the sweet cannolis will stay with us for a long time to come.
After all Tan and fat are hard to get rid off. 😉
bunnygoespoppoppop 