These things happpen (Sicily, Italy - Day Two)

Well I guess it’s to be expected that when you spend about 13 months driving around the world, with already at least 50,000km driven across three continents, there are going to be complications with cars. In a rental car in the Salta region of Argentina I had a navigator that wouldn’t charge, and driving on an unsealed national highway I got a puncture without realising, damaged the wheel and had to pay $200 for a new one. In Germany I attempted to buy a used car far too cheaply, that turned out to be a lemon and lasted only 4,000km. Thus I was forced to rent a car in Milan that I would return in Palermo (Sicily), driving for 32 days across 11 regions, then fly back north for the next leg in the South of France. I accidentally booked the return date a week too early, and had to have it amended over the phone. I didn’t realise they changed the terms, so that rather than having unlimited km I was restricted to 4,800km, and was charged for an additional 332km. With only three days remaining, the Fiat 500 broke down on the southern coast of Sicily, had to be towed back to Gela where I had to stay in a hotel for the night, then get a taxi to a town an hour away to collect a replacement rental car. So I lost a night and half a day of wasted time, and was charged significantly extra for a completely different contract, additional fuel and kilometres. I also wasn’t reimbursed in either office in Sicily as promised, so am out almost 200 euro, which I now have to try and get back from customer service. The lesson learnt from both rental car experiences is never trust Europcar, as they were the company in both cases. I should have known better. It was definitely worth the drive to Agrigento before my appointment, as the Ancient Greek ruins are breathtaking as the photo below will support. The province of Agrigento is very warm, dry and relatively flat, so ideal for viticulture where the majority of fruit comes from in Sicily.

The Valley of Temples in Agrigento

Isle be there (Sicily, Italy - Day One)

Thus I have arrived to my eighth and final week in Italy (for now), ad I am doing so in quite possibly the most diverse and misunderstood region in the country; Sicily. After spending the weekend in the chaotic city of pizza, Napoli, I boarded the overnight ferry to Palermo. The ride was uneventful, apart from some terrible service for overpriced pizza, but I am glad I paid a little extra for a berth in a cabin, as trying to sleep out in the halls would have been challenging. The ferry arrived an hour earlier than indicated, so when I disembarked in Palermo it was 7:00am and of course nothing was open, so I hit the road. My goal was Faro, a region very close to Messina, where I had an appointment with a very small producer. Unfortunately the address I had failed to get me to the winery and the contact number had similar problems. Therefore after several hours I was forced to abandon this plan with great disappointment, and head south through the Etna region where I unfortunately had no appointments. It was fascinating to see fossilised volcanic lava on the sides of the mountain, and hard to believe that vineyards are planted metres away from this lava. It was a shame that I didn’t visit any producers here, as it would have been interesting to learn more about the specific viticulture and interactions of the varieties with the environment. I look forward to the chance to taste some wines from this part of the island, and hopefully I will be able to visit again. From what I have seen so far, Sicily is most definitely different to mainland Italy, but then again, each region is different from each other. Like in other parts of Italy it is not so easy to get around; the roads are not in great condition, there is often traffic, rarely is there a direct route between places that you don’t have to pay for, and the landscape being hilly also makes for slow-going. But I made it to Vittoria, for three sensational visits on my second but first day in Sicily.

Me at Mount Etna