We set out with the intentions of going to a place called Noto. The campsite we were heading to was only about a mile outside the town. Unfortunately as we neared the campsite we spotted a sign stating no vehicles over the height of 2.4 metres, due to a low bridge. This posed a bit of a problem as our motorhome is just over 3 metres in height. So we pulled over and made the rash decision to continue to the next campsite. The campsites in Sicily are scarce but the one we found was about 10 miles down the road.
Now 10 miles doesn’t sound very far but when the road consists of driving up a mountain with hair pin bends and down again it does take a lot longer than you would first think.
So its coming up for 6pm when we saw the sign for the campsite and we turned into the road that leads down to the campsite. When we turned in, the road was so narrow I was too scared to breath. Colin kept telling me it was going to be ok and just to remain calm and drive slowly. We drove at 5 mph down the road, when we got to the bottom it was a dead end with no campsite?? Next problem ..We needed to ‘3 point turn’ to get out. It was now dark and I was having a sense of humour failure. Colin kept me calm as he does in situations like this and after about 45 minutes we were back on the main road and breathing a sigh of relief. We found the next closest Aire which was just outside Syracuse and headed to there. We were greeted by Claud who immediately made us feel welcome and we bedded down for the night.
Initially we were just going to get off in the morning and drive to Catania which will be our last destination in Sicily but Claud offered to take us into Syracuse and pick us up again. So we jumped on the internet agreed it looked nice and after such a stressful day yesterday it would be nice to relax.
They say some things just happen for a reason and this is definitely a good example of this. Syracuse is absolutely spectacular and should be on everyone’s list of places to visit if you come to Sicily. It is notable for its rich Greek history, culture and amphitheatre although we didn’t visit the Greek sights here instead we wondered through the market which was incredible. The market sold all local produce, fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other scrummy delights.
We bought some olive oil which had just been pressed last week and delicious.
We then headed up to the piazza and went into the Cathedral and continued taking in the sights before stopping for some lunch.
After lunch we decided to take a boat trip around the island out to the caves.
We had seen from the shore when the boats were going around the headland the waves seemed a little choppy but I don’t think either of us appreciated how choppy it was. It was certainly worth the gritted teeth, the caves were majestic although we were both glad the boat trip was only an hour!
We had a really nice day and we are so glad that our bad day took us to somewhere where we have both agreed as been one of the best days we have had in Sicily.
