SICILY AGAIN

Arriving at the ferry terminal we had to choose lanes between two ferry companies. Having come from Sicily with Caronte & Tourist we chose the other to try it, Bluferries,  to return. It seems they carry much less traffic, and run less often. They are part of the Italian Railways company. We waited over an hour, but paid less than on the other line.

Finally on board we were surprised to see train tracks on the ferry. It is a roll on – roll off ferry for trains too.

We were starting to see a few of the leading yachts competing in the Rolex Middle Sea race and were lucky to get close to Kuka 3 to make photos. It is a major race in the international yachting calendar.

Avoiding toll roads in Sicily we drove the slow coast road, stopping north of Taormina to use some exercise machines, just behind the beach, and to make our own coffee with cake using the new camping gas burner we had bought in Greece for the first time.

We came to Camping Mokambo where we had stayed on the first night in Sicily while driving north.  Finding it closed, but the owner was there doing some Sunday maintenance, I asked if we could pitch the tent as it would soon be dark. 

View of Mount Etna from Mokambo Camping.

The obliging owner allowed us to stay and did not charge us, Thank you so much.

On Monday we drove south to Ikea on the outskirts of Catania. There is always something we want to buy there, as well as use the fair priced restaurant / café but the restaurant closed earlier than we expected but there was still food left.

We continued south going much faster on clear roads now to a campsite Azienda Agrituristica Agricampeggio "CAPO SCALAMBRI" just 8 km from Marina di Ragusa where we had left the boat for the winter of 2017/ 2018. It was well priced at 12 euros and really peaceful. We had to pay a little extra for wifi.

Next afternoon we spent an hour relaxing naked on the deserted beach in the warm afternoon sun, and gentle breeze before final coffee and cake, and hot shower. Each day at the campsite we prepared green smoothie drinks with our blender, so refreshing. Kale is our ideal main green ingredient but parsley, spinach and a little celery are good, with apple, banana and grapes, as available.

Passing through Marina di Ragusa we bought an LED light for the boat cabin, and stocked up with fruit and cheese from two supermarkets we know before driving to the ferry. 

The catamaran ferry left at 21.30 and we drove off in Malta at about 23.45.

That marked the end of our camping touring in Southern Italy as well as the summer sailing in Greece, both of which were amazing. Unless the boat is sold we plan to do the same in 2020.

It is much easier camping with a camper vehicle. We can say in many places free to sleep, but with the tent we need power for the fridge and avoid fines for illegal camping. The tent and equipment are a small investment and can be packed in the car. Hard ground makes it difficult to secure with tent pegs. We are glad to have a three man tent to give us extra space inside. Weighing just over 4 kilos it is heavy for backpack trekking and camping, but perfect for car touring. I did buy the 30 second tent once, the one which opens it-self. Getting it folded away however was the problem.  It took me an hour !!  Sadly that tent was stolen from a house in Malta used for storage.

DRIVING SOUTH FROM BARI, ITALY - MATERA, TROPEA

We had a week to reach Pozzallo, Sicily from Bari, Puglia, for the ferry to Malta. As on the way north we wanted to experience different places. First was Matera.

Matera  is a beautiful  UNESCO world Heritage site, 400 metres above sea level,  and what an interesting place. The older of the two Sassi districts consisted mainly of homes carved  into the rock, cave houses. As recently as 1958 locals were living in squalid conditions without water or electricity as they had done for centuries before. It was only when a poet reported this to the government in Rome that action was taken to “improve” their lives by moving people out and breaking up communities. 

The other Sassi district comprised stone houses. To walk around these districts now is enchanting and many buildings have received  modern make-over, some offering tourist accommodation.  There is more to the town, the hill top castle, churches, palazzos, piazzas etc.

We sat outside a small restaurant for a light lunch before seeking a campsite before dark. 

We had trouble finding it without internet. We were paying 12 euros a month since May 2018 for 20 GB roaming wifi with WIND in Italy, but in January roaming was restricted to 4.4 GB, but with 30 GB in Italy. EU in Brussels had made a ruling to restrict freedom of roaming to be a small part of annual local use. That works when going abroad on holiday but discriminates grossly against people always on the move like us. The regulations allowed service providers to be more generous but WIND Italy screwed us up here.

We paid the August payment but lost connection, not even being able to call the customer service number as the line was dead. WIND Greece were of no help when we went to their shop.

So WIND Italy took our money and cut us off, leaving us without generous coverage for our week in Italy.

Finally we did manage to find the AgroTurismo camping place, which was very much secondary to their expensive restaurant, and whilst offering camper vehicles reasonable facilities, it was less easy for us with a tent, and at the same time the most expensive site we used in Italy. There were no dish washing facilities and the showers were only useable on paying an extra fee.

Our next goal was Tropea but the distance was too great to reach before dark so we went to a campsite with forest and beach on the coast of Basilicata. On arrival just before dark we found it closed for the winter but found another about 15 km further south. It was really dark when we pitched the tent.

Morning gave a lovely sunrise and we decided to take a rest day and enjoy the peace and tranquillity under the pine trees and a short swim in the sea. Wifi was good here.

Next day we crossed from east coast to west coast to Tropea, Calabria where we were told by the campsite, ideally situated close to town and beach, that they would not give us the ACSI discount price as we had the 2018 card. Actually ACSI was the problem as they will only send the book and card to the registered address of the bank card, and when we applied we were not going to Malta for some time. We paid 7 euros extra per night but the showers were hot and unrestricted.  Wifi was less good but possible and included in the price. The location was excellent to explore the fascinating historical town.  The volcanic island of Stromboli is often visible in the distance and sunsets over the Aolian Islands are splendid.

 Amazing clear water.

 Italian and Sicilian ice cream, gelato, are amongst the best in the world.

 Climb up to this church for the sunset viewpoint.

 The local area seems to be specialist in growing onions.

Both Matera and Tropea were buzzing with atmosphere with locals and tourists.

We stayed two nights to enjoy Tropea before heading south to catch the ferry to Messina, Sicily.