Hello Sicily!

Sonny, the motorhome has a fab view of the beach, turquoise sea and lovely blue sky.  We are parked up at campsite La Focetta Sicula (N37° 55’54” E 15°21’20”) in Sicily.  We can use our ACSI card in Sicily until 15 July and get all the campsite facilities for €17 a night, or most campsites offer 7 nights for 6 –what a bargain!

The previous night we had stayed on a campsite near Tropea, having done a long stretch down the motorway (225 miles/362 kilometres).  It said in the ACSI book €17 but when we got there we were told we would have to pay €20 as our motorhome was over 6 metres.  Do we get a special plot then for that price we asked?  No, she said you can go anywhere!  The thing is most motorhomes are over 6 metres so they are tricking people into paying an extra €3 a night for no additional benefit. The campsite was marked as a 4* in the ACSI book but there was nothing 4* about it - the restaurant and shop were closed and the showers and toilet block needed a facelift.  We had planned to stop 3 nights here but given the facilities we decided one night was enough on this 'rip-off' campsite.  We did enjoy a nice dip in the turquoise clear sea though on the campsite's private beach, that had fish swimming around our feet!

Mel enjoying a dip in the clear seas of the Tyrrhenian Sea

The next morning, we set off early and reached Villa San Giovanni at 11am and went straight to the port.  Next to the ticket office we were flagged down by an Italian man speaking very good English.  I'll help you get a ticket, how big is your motorhome? he asks. Mel told him it is 6.95 metres.  Ah okay we will say it’s only 5 metres says Italian man, I will get you a good price. Erm okay Mel says, if you say so!  We followed him around to the ticket office – €95 for a 3-month open return.  It is only a short journey of about 30 minutes but knew it was going to be this much from what we had read on the internet, so we guessed he hadn't told the ticket office it was only 5 metres long!  As we walked back to our motorhome the Italian man showed us where to go and then said you give me €10 .  A bit of a con but we handed over the cash, just relieved we had got our ticket and no hassle.

We followed the snaking queue to the ferry.  As it was a Friday quite a few people were going across.  Lucky for us a ferry was just loading and after a few beeping horns from angry Italian drivers (as they were all trying to queue hop as 5 lanes went into one), we were on!

You can stay in your vehicle if you choose on this ferry as it sails – no health and safety rules here then!  We chose to go up on board to get a nice cool breeze and excitedly await landing on Sicily, as we crossed the narrow Strait of Messina.

Look out Sicily, here we come!

Once in port, the doors open and again the sound of hooting Italian car horns - it is survival of the fittest to get off.  Mel decided he was going to drive by weight and cut-up a few Italian drivers to make a quick getaway.  Go Mel!  We decided to take the autostrada to the campsite, as the coastal road looked congested and bumpy!  The toll road only cost €1.50 for a 50km journey.

Arriving at the campsite it was nice and quiet and we had a lovely view across the Ionian Sea and to mainland Italy.

Campsite La Focetta Sicula

The campsite has all the European flags up and it took us a while to figure out this one as it is like the Isle of Man flag (a triskelion) but not one we had seen before:

The triskelion flag of Sicily with the (winged) head of Medusa and three wheat ears.

Time to get that Sicily sticker on our map of places visited!

The Sicily sticker on at the end of the boot!

Later that day there was a small forest fire just behind the campsite, we are not sure what caused it but presumed it was brought on by the heat of the sun. We watched closely to make sure it wasn’t coming our way, as the plane circled over about 15-20 times spraying it and eventually got it under control after a couple of hours.

Plane putting out the fire behind the campsite

By mid-day Saturday the campsite was chocker with Italian motorhomes, coming away for the weekend but by Sunday it was empty again.  We realised that we may have to book on to a couple of campsites whilst we are here, as the holiday season is fast approaching.

The beach here is very shingley but the sea is nice and clear.  There are a few old fishing boats moored up on the beach just down from the campsite, but as yet we have not seen any signs of them going out.  The fishing industry plays a big part in the island's economy.

On Sunday, we took the scooter for a ride around the coastal road to Taormina, 15kms away and perched high on a rocky cliff.

There are the remains of an ancient theatre here, founded by the Greeks in the 3^rd century BC but the visible remains are mostly Roman, dating from the end of the first century AD, when Taormina was under imperial Roman rule and was used to stage gladiatorial combat.

The Greek Theatre at Taormina

It has to be said that the views from the theatre are more stunning than the ruins and provide fabulous views of Mount Etna and the lovely sweeping bays.  Well worth the €10 each to get in.  With the cloud hovering above Mount Etna, it looked like it was having a cheeky smoke!

View from the Greek Theatre at Taormina, with Mount Etna in the distance.

Taormina is very popular with tourists and especially cruise ships that dock nearby. A walk through the main street saw what appeared to be a classic car rally, it took them a while to get through all the crowds.  So glad the SatNav didn’t try and bring the motorhome down these narrow streets!

The classic cars coming up the narrow streets of Taormina, 

A lovey classic car that had an original AA badge on it.

There are lots of lovely narrow streets in Taormina and some great ceramic art products to be found.

Unusual ceramic art products in Taormina

On the way back from Taormina we went into Savoca, a lovely quite and unspoilt Sicilian village perched on the top of a hill.  The villages’ claim to fame is that some of Francis Coppola’s film ‘The Godfather’ were shot at Bar Vitelli.

Bar Vitelli, where some of the filming for 'The Godfather' took place

You have to park at the square near Bar Vitelli and walk up the steep hill to the village and its many churches. There are remains of castle walls dating to the 12^th century.

The old doorway to the village

The Chiesa Madre, Savoca’s Mother Church was founded along with the village in the 12^th century.  It sits in a panoramic spot on a narrow ridge, above a crypt once used of mummifying corpses - nice thought!

We leave tomorrow and head for Mount Etna - Europe's highest volcano.  There is a Sosta you can stay on, at the bottom of Mount Etna - let's hope the volcano behaves itself and remains dormant!

Sally x