Destination: Zafferana Etnea
Much later than I had hoped, I emerged from the TentBox to pack up and ship out. Luckily by now, I was so practised at putting the TentBox up and down I could do it in a couple of minutes.
I literally could not get out of Villa Teti fast enough.
Despite not leaving as early as I would have liked, I was still hoping I could fit in a quick visit to Palermo, to make up for the previous nights disaster.
Stop 1: Palermo
As I approached the outer suburbs of Palermo, it became clear that it was highly unlikely I’d get into the town. Traffic was at a standstill and according to Waze there had been several road traffic accidents. It was looking like getting into Palermo would take 2-3 hours and scupper my plans for the rest of the day.
With that in mind, I took the next exit and headed for my first planned stop of the day, the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
It was a lovely drive, very warm with clear blue skies and the traffic flow was steady on the country roads. It took a couple of hours to reach Agrigento and as I approached I could clearly see the Temple of Concordia dominating the skyline.
Stop 2: Valley of the Temples
Super excited, I found my way to the entrance to the Archaeological Park, where I would need to get my ticket.
The first challenge was getting into the car park. It was very very busy and there was a huge queue to park so I was waiting around half an hour. Once inside the car park, it was absolute chaos. The parking was not in any way organised, and people were just parking anywhere. I got ‘moved on’ twice by quite aggressive guys ‘saving spaces’ so it was at least another 30 minutes before I got parked.
Finally, when I saw the hour long queue for tickets I had just about had enough. The shenanigans of the night before, the traffic, the bad tempered people in the car park had all taken their toll.
Just at that moment, I remembered a tip that a friend of mine had given me. My good friend Franco has family in Sicily and visits frequently. He had told me of something called ‘Scala dei Turchi’ that was not far from Agrigento.
I immediately decided to forget about visiting the Valley of the Temples that day. I was definitely going to have to come back to Sicily and explore it properly, so I would just add that to my list of things to see.
Instead, I went back to my car, popped Scala dei Turchi into Waze and off I went!
Stop 3: Scala dei Turchi
Oddly, I hadn’t investigated Franco’s tip before my trip. I’d heard ‘scala’ (the Italian word for stairs) and immediately thought it was some kind of viewpoint … with lots of steps.
Having reached the location I parked up and headed for the signs to the ‘Scala dei Turchi’, interested to find out what lay in store.
I’m not going to lie, the thought of clambering up steps was not filling me with joy. So words cannot express how absolutely delighted I was to discover that the steps were part of a cliff and I was finally near the sea! Like an excited child, I kicked off my shoes and ran down to the beach.
Although there were a fair few people about, the beach is long so it wasn’t crowded at all. I met a lovely lady and her daughter and chatted to them for a while in my broken Italian, they were really appreciative when I took a photo of them both. A timely reminder, that most people are really nice.
I wandered up the beach, letting the cool water lap around my feet. This was it, this was how I wanted to spend my day.
Grazie mille Franco!
I had a lovely couple of hours just chilling next to the sea, but eventually I had to make a move to my next planned excursion.
I’d be heading over to the east side of the island to pick up a sunset tour of Mt Etna. It was another highlight for me and I really didn’t want to miss it, so brushed the sand off my feet and headed back to the car.
I’d not got very far when I bumped into my first set of roadworks. Initially I found the guys waving flags in the road quite funny … just because it’s so very unlike anything that happens in the UK. But after my third set of roadworks and diversions I was running late again and was getting very hot and bothered.
No matter which way I went the roads were closed. It seemed the universe really didn’t want me sticking to any kind of plan today!
When I eventually reached Mt Etna I was far too late to pick up my tour. But I’d had such a wonderful time at the beach, I couldn’t find it in myself to be annoyed.
Instead, I made my way to my overnight camping and decided to see if I could book another tour for the morning.
Overnight: Zafferanea Etnea
My Mt Etna campsite was another Pitchup booking and I was hoping it would be better than the previous nights site. The one was the Area Sosta Attrezzata per Camper Spuligni.
It’s a funny little site, tucked away in a tiny hamlet on the side of the mountain. But it is absolutely charming and completely secure! As with the area around Vesuvius, the ground around Etna is made up of loose gravelly volcanic matter, which the trees and plants absolutely love. The site was surrounded by the most lush vegetation, which was quite a contrast to much of the dry landscape of Sicilia, it having such a warm climate.
When I arrived I was met by a very nice older gentleman with sparkly eyes who checked my details and asked me to fill in my details on some paperwork. When I had finished, he very kindly presented me with the pen I had been using as a souvenir of my visit. What a really lovely gesture, it instantly made me feel very welcome and totally at ease and was such a contrast to the performance of the previous day.
Best of all though, it was totally secure. Surrounded by tall fences, and with locked gates that were fully manned at all times. The gentleman who had welcomed me appeared to live on site with his family, and told me how to find the local supermarket a 15 minute walk away. When I returned, I was pleased to note that he came to meet me and unlocked and locked the gate behind me.
After the scare I’d had the night before it was exactly what I needed to help restore my confidence. It had been a very long day and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.
