Dean & Ginny's excellent adventures... Main Adventure Page
Trip to Sicily & Rota, Spain--07/06: Part 1 Part 2 >> Part 3 >> Part 4 >>
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Dean found a military flight leaving from Jacksonville early on Tuesday July 18th bound for Sicily--an offer we couldn't refuse. The stopover was on Terceira, on the Azores Islands. This Portuguese territory is an archipelago nearly 100 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal in The Atlantic. Because we didn't have much time to wander, we took just a few photos in the evening while there was still some light. We'd like to go back again sometime and spend more time here. << A charming, blue-trimmed chapel dated 1888 and its church just outside the military base on Terceira.
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The view across the valley to the fields, carefully delineated with stone walls. We saw these small fields all over the island--some had crops or livestock, others did not. >> We asked a local about this, and she said that these are lands that have been divided among the heirs and with every generation, they are further divided. |
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The next day we landed at
the Sigonella Naval Air Station in
eastern Sicily. This is a divided base with two separate locations
and part of it is sectioned off for the Italian forces. There was an air
show on the weekend which consisted of the normal stunt flying circus, and
ending with the Italian version of the Blue Angels. They put ten (!)
jets in formation with wild maneuvers topped off with their streams of
green, white, and red smoke.
Anyway, the accommodations were great and the base has
lots of impressive, new construction including this main piazza >>
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in a courtyard. We saw
the DaVinci Code at the base movie theater. It seemed appropriate to
see it while in Italy.
On the second day we rented a car. Once we had wheels, a cute Renault Clio diesel, the real Sicilian adventures began...
Our first day trip was to Catania, a city not far from the base--one of the few real cities on Sicily.
We came upon piazza with this arch adorned with grisly statues with missing body parts, trumpet playing angels, and a clock.
 The view down one of the streets from the arch. >> |
<< Italians greet each other at the
cafe at this piazza. Oh, I should tell you that people drive
like maniacs, and the ones on motor scooters are the worst--they are likely to pass on the
left and right, simultaneously. |
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Interesting courtyards and tunnels provide some quiet from the noisy streets. >> |
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These two buildings make the
best use of their narrow locations.
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We came across a neighborly card game in an alley with a table hockey
mural in the background.
Spectators surrounded the game. Dean asked permission to shoot
this photo. We didn't want any trouble from these guys...
We stopped a few times to walk around, but mostly we slowly worked our way north as we absorbed the sights and sounds of Italy. Many of the names of Sicily are familiar like Pachino and Paterno. But this wasn't Kansas, that's for sure.
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In the town north of Catania, Asi Castello, the traffic was less harried--maybe. Somehow these goats knew they could head across the street right in front of us! The goatherd and his dog trailed along. He's next to the blue car. >> We
stopped north of town to look out over the cliffs. (The two photos
below record
the upper and lower cliff area.) People
perched upon and swam from any rock they could find along the
coast here. There are sandier beaches farther north. |
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We continued north toward Taormina, a town famous for its Greek and Roman ruins, its amphitheater, and for being built on a rocky mountaintop. |
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Dean, the ever-vigilant driver, expertly took on many hairpin turns on the very narrow road toward the top of the mountain. The buildings clinging to the rocky outcrops ranged from ancient ruins to impressive modern villas. It had been a long driving day, so we stopped for an
early dinner at 4pm about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. The
photos to the left depict the panoramic view from our restaurant. The top photo is the top of
Castelmola (to our right and northwest),
the next is Mt. Etna, Sicily's active volcano (the distant blue
mountain with the steam to our west), then the beaches
and coastline below and finally Taormina with its Greek and Roman ruins and its houses out on
the point to our left and to the south. We ordered an antipasto for two and some house red wine and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful food and service. The stop also provided a relaxing respite. We took the fast toll road base to the base.
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