It was our first day in Sicily. We had arrived late the night before so it was our first real day in Sicily. Mar woke up, dropping her pillow (which may or may not have contained a dead cat), to the floor. The previous night had been rather sleepless for both of us as Mar spent the better part of it killing mosquitoes with loud and violent claps… I think her grand total was somewhere around 9 or 10 (a veritable mosquito genocide).
Heading out of our room, we saw the sea for the first time of the trip. We did not notice that our hotel (or should I say motel) was perched on a hill with a lovely view of the sea. Reinvigorated, we headed to meet Mar’s parents for breakfast, which consisted of a coffee and a croissant, both of which were pretty good. After breakfast we got into the car and headed east to see our first set of ruins of the trip (many, many more to come).
As Antonio, Mar’s father, weaved in and out of traffic, turned, stopped, and turned over and over again through narrow, winding streets I began to feel a little sick to my stomach. I don’t get seasick, I’m fine on rollercoasters, and airplanes don’t bother me a bit (even when they are flying through strong storms), but I tell you, dear reader, this ride almost got the better of me. If it weren’t for a brief stop, during which I scarfed down some blood sausage, I might not have made it to the ruins at Segesta. Luckily for all of us I did.
Segesta has the ruins of a Greek temple circa 450 B.C., and what’s left of a Roman amphitheater and medieval castle. Over the course of the centuries (or I guess in this case millennia) many different groups have occupied Sicily, from the Greeks to the Arabs. Each has left its mark on the island in some way, and in many areas, such as this one, marks from several different civilizations overlap. Standing at the castle’s main wall, which looms over the valley below (it was a pretty smart place to put a castle), I wondered about all the wisdom Sicily must have – all the innovation, development, and conflict that it must have seen. The temple begs the question, how did people almost 2500 years ago carry giant pillars to the top of a hill. The answer can be nothing other than sheer determination. It amazes me that people could accomplish this without the aid of the devices that we now take for granted every day of our lives. Furthermore, the castle made me realize our capacity for violence. Before I had time to fully process this thought, we had to run to catch a bus back down to the car (being on Antonio time means you don’t wait for the next bus, you run to catch this one). Leaving these ruins I felt incomplete, just as Sicily must feel knowing that yet another occupant undoubtedly lies in its future.
Continuing to Trapani, a town that overlooks Sicily’s capital, Palermo, we went to see a cathedral filled with breathtaking mosaics. It was built during a competition in the 11th century: whichever town built the most beautiful church (according to whom, I do not know) would be made the capital of Sicily. Palermo ultimately won the competition and remains the capital of Sicily to this day (I don’t know how because this cathedral is much nicer than the one in Palermo). After the church we had lunch at a restaurant with a patio gazing out at Palermo. The bruschetta at this restaurant was prepared with one of the best tomatoes I have ever had.
Palermo in few words – better from a distance, stairs from Godfather II, Mar liked the cathedral because some Catalans are buried there. Ok, enough about Palermo.
After our brief interlude at Palermo, we headed along the coast to Cefalu. This coastal town was built around a massive rock that explodes from the surrounding scenery as you approach. Perched atop the rock is, you guessed it, another cathedral. The town itself would be beautiful even without the giant rock. It has that classic fishing village feel with the Italian flair of many narrow, zig-zagging pedestrian streets. The streets are so beautiful that they appear planned, almost as though a movie is to be filmed just after you disembark. The town also holds another of the dueling cathedrals of the 11th century – beautiful, but still not as nice as the first.
I didn’t want to leave but eventually it was time to move on. We piled back into the car and continued on the winding roads to our nightly accommodations. Along the way I observed the main highway that crosses the north of the island. The entire way, the road alters between bridge and highway, bridge and highway, never seeming to transform into a normal road (apparently the Sicilians could not make up their mind in deciding to build their roadway above the mountains or through them). Apparently the mafia put this principle to good use in silencing a pesky judge (but that is another story for another blog).
The hotel this night was much better, the finest Asian luxury as Antonio would say, and did not contain any pillows with skeletons of dead cats. What it did contain was a fantastic ocean view. Next to the hotel was a restaurant with an ocean view from its back patio. I tell you, eating dinner there as the waves gently rolled in was closer to heaven for me than any church ever will be. Yes, it was a good first day…
-Greg
That tiny mountain at our left is Mas Montells.
We also went to the cactai Botanial Garden. Then my back hurts and I wonder why....
Exploring the Botanical Garden. They allowed us to leave the bikes in the entrance.
A nice pond.
The Botanical Garden ends in this gorgeous beach. The water is so clear! My parents took their wedding pictures in this place 33 years ago!
We went downtown Blanes. I live up in a hill so the beginning is nice, all the way down. The view is very nice also. This is Blanes port. And that rock in the middle is called Sa Palomera.
In front of Sa Palomera. This is Blanes main beach.
In front of the beach there's a very long promenade where everybody hangs out at sunset. I live in that mountain behind me, the top of it has an observation tower called Sant Joan.
Coming back home.
Arround 9pm, the farmers start pouring water to their crop. They wait until the sun is about to go out to avoid evaporation of the water. Water is very expensive in Blanes!
