Sicily's North Coast
Aeolian Islands, Cefalù, Palermo and San Vito Lo Capo
We spent many hours trying to find a quick way back to Sicily from Puglia, but it doesn’t exist. So our day started at 6am with a hot, sweaty walk to the bus stop, then a two hour bus to Taranto, plus two hours waiting for our delayed bus in Taranto, then seven hours on the bus to Messina. Phew. We were back in Sicily, which was immediately evident by the aggressive and chaotic driving. And the forthright nature of its citizens, one of whom loudly declared disgust at Rosie’s zorali sandals scoffing brutta (ugly) when she looked at them. Unperturbed (because the sandals are extremely comfortable) we carried on to our hotel for the night. The next day at the ferry terminal Rosie got another comment about her sandals. Her extremely limited Italian vocabulary means witty comebacks aren’t possible so a passive scoff is all she can muster. Amber’s Italian is somewhat impressive when it comes to insulting others but considering we are in the land of the Cosa Nostra (mafia) she thinks better of it.
After a three hour ferry ride we arrived at Salina, and celebrated our arrival with a tasty arancino (we have missed Sicilian snacks). We were back in UHT milk land though so didn’t wash it down with a coffee. Our Airbnb required another ride on the formula one bus to Malfa. We were lucky to get a seat, and lucky to get into the bus. Our packs have swelled somewhat since we left, and we are barely able to squeeze down the aisles. Turning around to get off again is difficult, and involves reversing into an empty seat bay and doing a three point turn.
In Malfa, we unlocked a new Italy skill - ordering from the deli. We discovered the small dodgy looking supermarket in town is actually very big inside and full of delicious things, many of which sit behind the deli counter. Deli counters are usually quite busy with Italians and a daunting thing to approach when you have no idea how to order, or how to tell the other Italians to stop pushing in (they are SO bad for this). This one was quieter, so armed with some new words (etto - 100g, fetta - slice) we decided to approach. With lots of pointing we managed to procure enough things to make a tasty platter, which we enjoyed with a sunset view from our balcony.
After our deli indulgence, and a few weeks of languishing in the heat, we decided another hike up Monti Fossa would do us good. We left out the really steep bit to the top, but made it up into the clouds, and enjoyed being amongst trees again (Puglia is very arid and the only trees are the very non-lush looking woody olives).
The next day, we were joined by the main reason for coming back to the Aeolians - Amber’s parents. They got themselves to Malfa on the local bus and we carried straight on to Rinella for a cafe granita con panna. And then the clouds rolled in. Rather quickly, and they looked very ominous. We jumped back on the next bus (cancelling whatever plans we had for lounging on the beach, though Rosie snuck in a quick dip) and by the time we got to our next stop the rain had come and gone.
We never got to Lingua during our last stay on Salina, but its clearly very popular for day trippers with Amber’s Dad attesting to the top notch food. They all come here to eat the cunzato which here means a loaded bruschetta open sandwich, usually topped with tomato, cappers, anchovies and herbs. They are enormous, and for the first time ever Rosie was the only one able to eat the entire portion put down in front of her (usually Rosie elects for half serves when eating with the Raffaele’s).
The following morning we ferried across to Lipari to join Amber’s folks in Canneto for a couple of nights. We spend our days lounging at the beach, sipping cold Messina beers and dining in Lipari. Life is still slower on the islands but we both noted a definite uptick in vibrancy and a decrease in the median age with high season. The town is abuzz in the evening with restaurant tables (tavoli) spilling onto the main street and hibernating stores and bars we had no idea existed have popped up everywhere. Amber’s Mum continually remarks on the liveliness of Lipari, it has jokingly been referred to over the years as “prisoner island”, we feel lucky to experience it as it is today (Rosie would probably like the old quiet version too though).
Our Italian bureaucracy ride has come full circle and Amber, Rosie, Bart and Jennie make the short but steep climb to the municipal offices to collect Amber’s residency card. It is a momentous occasion, we could not have gotten this far without our kind hosts Maria, Ivan and Ruben who welcomed and cared for us like family. Additionally Lara, our Italian lawyer who has assisted us compassionately and expertly at each turn. And Google Translate. It’s not been an easy journey but we came here to experience authentic Italy and that (we have learnt) means dealing with a generous serving of bureaucracy.
While Amber fires up about the Municipality staff and their customer service, two nearby volcanoes decide to join in. The one we climbed just a month or so ago, Stromboli, lets out some big eruptions and lots of lava which necessitates an evacuation of the island. We can make out some smokey grey smudges in the sky from afar but we have to get closer in a boat for a proper look, an idea Rosie surprisingly isn’t keen for because she doesn’t trust Italian safety standards. Mt Etna also rumbles to life at the same time, and we wonder if there is a super eruption about to take place in the volcanic archipelago since they’re both going off at the same time (spoiler, nothing happens).
We hire a scooter on our final day to say goodbye to the places we’ve come to love during out time on the islands. We actually hired the exact same scooter from the same guy, who went and retrieved it for us especially. We made a beeline for the beach, leaving the crowds in town, and enjoyed a few hours getting in and out of the water and Amber sunning on her rock lido. We drove through Pianoconte one last time, and stopped for another deliciously large cannolo with a view. We carried on around the remainder of the island, surprised by how quiet it was and how nice it is to scoot on the (quiet) roads with ocean views in every direction.
Our journey to Cefalu didn’t get off to a good start. It began with the scooter drop off being delayed by a no-show from the owner, followed by a no-show from the scheduled bus Rosie had expected to catch back to the accommodation. Stuck in the port without money or a means of communicating, Rosie had to steal some wifi from a cafe her phone had thankfully remembered the password for to hatch a new plan. This required multiple trips running up and down a large flight of stairs to and from the bus stop with heavy luggage for Amber, which cost Rosie some brownie points. We made the ferry with ample time to spare, but copped a slow catamaran ferry which arrived late necessitating a high-speed taxi experience to the train station. In hindsight we didn’t need to encourage our driver to drive any faster than he otherwise would’ve. We made it onto the train platform to find our train waiting, but frustratingly the doors wouldn’t open and then it pulled away. Missed it by seconds.
Cefalu is a beach town set around a big bay with what appears to be one beach chair and umbrella for every person in town. There are some small sections of beach set aside as spiaggio libero (free beach) where you can lie on your towel in the sand like a peasant (I believe this is how the Italians must view us). The water here is beautiful and calm and refreshing, a delightful contrast to the busyness on the sand with humans everywhere and beach vendors pimping their wares. We spend all our days this way, in and out of the ocean until we’ve had our fill, then out into the old town for drinks and dinner. One evening, Amber and I pick the drinks location and we end up in a little place that has a Super Nintendo set plugged in. We indulge in the nostalgia and for a short time there are two enthusiastic gamers in this relationship.
We do experience the quiet side of Cefalu one morning, for you guessed it - 5:30 am photography. It is the only hour where you can have quiet in Italy during summer and it is really lovely to see places without the crowds. Backed up with a coffee and a cornetto it’s a nice way to start the day.
Leaving Cefalu we bid farewell to Amber’s parents and journey west to Palermo. Sicily’s capital has been conquered and ruled by Romans, Arabs, Greeks, Normans, Germans, Spaniards, French and most recently Italians. These influences were immediately obvious as we left the train station and walked through the centre of town. Kind of like a southern Naples (the two were once joined in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies), lots of vibrancy, plenty of grunge, rubbish and distinctly less white and Italiany. On first impressions Palermo got a big tick from both of us.
We arrived in the midst of the city’s major festival for their favourite saint - Santa Rosalie. It was the 400th anniversary year from her miracle (stopping the plague) so it was an even bigger deal than normal. We joined the festivities by 7:30 pm, securing a good pozzy for the procession which was scheduled to come through at 9 pm. The wait turned out to be quite painful as anytime we tried to sit down (on steps, a ledge, a curb) the Cameriere (local police) would tell us to get up. I’m not sure why we couldn’t sit but their job that night was to make sure no one got comfortable. As night fell the lighting came on and the streets looked amazing, very atmospheric. There was a DJ there to add to the ambiance but he had a habit for only partially playing songs. He’d start the track, then stop it a few seconds later to then repeat it. The practice set annoyed Amber greatly, and he did this on repeat for an hour. 9 pm rolled around but the procession was no where to be seen. We decided to wait a bit because it’s Italy and of course it wouldn’t come on time. By 9:30 pm we were hopeful it would come soon but by 10 pm our tired legs won out and we gave up and went home. We found out the next day it didn’t arrive until gone 11 pm.
The next day we met outside Teatro Massimo for the best walking tour either of us have ever done. The Anti-Mafia tour run by AddioPizzo foundation gave us a fascinating insight into the history of the mafia and the ongoing fight against the violent organisation. The mafia still demand a pizzo (the small payments taken from businesses to intimidate and control) and for fear of retribution for refusal, most still pay. The AddioPizzo (goodbye pizzo) foundation help support individuals to say no, and testify against the perpetrators in court. Our guide Valeria was a born and bred Palermitan and spoke very passionately about her city, and it was very moving hearing her stories. Both of us are too young to remember the violence of the 1990’s but it doesn’t feel that long ago. The two magistrates spearheading the fight against the mafia in the courts, Falcone and Borsellino, were brutally murdered and they are remembered as heroes in this city. Despite all the good work of the people, very sadly the newly elected mayor in Palermo has strong mafia ties, and there are rumours of growing mafia influence in Milan (where the money is). But, there are many shops displaying the discrete AddioPizzo sticker which means they are refusing to pay, and we made a point of eating at anti-pizzo places for the remainder of our stay.
We backed up our excellent walking tour with another, this one on the history and architecture of Palermo. We took in some of the big ticket UNESCO World Heritage buildings, many of which were hiding in plain sight. It’s always nice to have an understanding of what you’re looking at, and it was an interesting tour but the bar had been set very high the day before. Though on this tour we did each get an excellent cannolo at the end.
Teatro Massimo is an opera house, one of biggest in Europe. It is the biggest in Italy and Palermitans seem quietly proud to have something like this over the mainland (those of us from WA can relate to this kind of thing with the east coast). It is a beautiful building from the outside, but we were keen to get inside and see a show too. Amber was keen to experience her own White Lotus moment like Jennifer Coolidge aka Tanya who was mesmerized and crying to Madam Butterfly in Season 2. On our last night in Palermo we booked booth seats to see an orchestra. Wow - it was amazing inside, and even though there was some peeling paint and chipped paneling, it kind of added to the ancientness of it. The performance was top notch, and we had seats looking right out over the orchestra. It was over too quickly for our liking.
As we got ready to leave Palermo, one thing we weren’t going to miss was the aroma emanating from our bathroom. The drains. Think hot soupy stagnant grey water, it stinks. We tried to enquire about it with our host but apparently it’s a city-wide issue with the sewers in summer (they dry up and stagnate). We both loved Palermo and will remember it fondly but please know if you ever go in summer to expect this “Palermo Smell”.
Our next stop was San Vito Lo Capo. We’d seen it on an SBS travel show we watched on Sicily and decided we wanted to go there too. It’s not a secret to Europeans but we’d never heard of it and didn’t hear any Australian accents there (despite there being many in Palermo). It’s a beautiful very non-Italian looking beach set in front of a huge mountain nearby a beautiful nature reserve with more pristine beaches you can hike to. We hoped to hike and sunbake but of course failed to account for the stinking hot weather so all hiking was ruled out. We were ok with sunbaking for a few days.
Rosie was insistent that a lido was unnecessary and the free beach would be fine, but didn’t know that San Vito has an interesting beach culture of illegal lidos. They set up a grid of umbrellas and chairs in the free beaches as a cheaper alternative to an actual lido. To those not in the know (us), they will try and move you along or plant chairs and umbrellas right next to your setup, effectively pushing you. Whilst we deliberated on whether we needed to move or not, Amber did a quick search on her phone and found out what was happening, and we resolved to hold our ground. We spent our day surrounded by a sea of orange and pink umbrellas feeling very out of place but proud to have beaten these lido mafia to this patch of sand.
Amber has been hanging out for a lido experience so in San Vito she booked us a spot. We were a ways back from the water because unless you book weeks out that’s what you get. It was nice to sit under a bigger umbrella and not have to worry if it would invert itself in the wind (someone else’s problem to deal with that). They also had some SUPs which we took out onto the water, which was a good bit of activity to break up all the relaxing.
We are over half way through our time in Italy now. It feels like our upcoming month in Marsala has come around very quickly, and we are keen to see if our random selection from Booking.com (that didn’t break the bank for high season) is going to be any good. We catch a bus south to find out.
We made a short doco of our time in Sicily:
Fantastic, so many lovely memories. Love reading your blog. 😘🤗
Another great travel video. So many memories to look back on and only half way through. Very good blog too.