Sicily 2006

0/286 – Bologna – Autogrill

Departure in the afternoon at 14:30, dual carriageway to Portogruaro and then onto the very crowded highway, at Padova toward Bologna and a stop for the night at the first service area before the Apennines, after dinner, good news, a pretty young woman from the Traffic Police knocks and informs us that the highway will be closed at 22:00 until 6 in the morning, great news: it means there will be no traffic and no noise of trucks arriving or departing.

562/848 – Napoli – Autogrill

A quiet night, on waking good weather which will turn to rain during the day, lots of traffic, a continuous line of trucks on the right, we stop at a service area before the SA-RC, here we get acquainted with a camper couple from Genoa, they are 81 and 84 years old, who with a new camper, the 7th they point out, self-built on a Daily 35-13 van, are also heading to Sicily.

508/1356 – Messina – Autogrill

On waking we realize that the friends we met last night have already left, we're the lazy ones, we set off and further on we enter the SA-RC, it's been a long time since we traveled this road and we hoped it was finished, unfortunately there are still quite a few open construction sites, much better than the previous time, but there are still many stretches to be completed, the weather is terrible, it's pouring rain and at the height of Lagonegro it's snowing. Arrived at Villa S. Giovanni the queue for boarding begins from the highway, after more than half an hour we reach the Tina ticket office, my wife is among the first to buy the ticket, cost € 30.20 and if you did round trip you'd save € 10.00, but not having yet decided how to do the return and when, one decides for one way only.

meanwhile the camper from GE catches up with us, given the queue to buy the ticket they give up, they'll take the next ferry, boarding is quick and after half an hour we reach Sicily. The new highway begins right from the port and after the toll booth we stop at the first service area (Agip service station), a nice new parking area equipped with a loading/unloading bay (free). After dinner, the couple from Ge catch up with us, they had a bad experience: the bow gate of the ferry wouldn't open due to a fault, as a result the ferry had to again cast off and dock at the stern and consequently have the vehicles exit in reverse, for cars and campers no problem, but for trucks it was a problem, as a result they took more than an hour to get off the ship.

189/1545 – Montemaggiore Belsito (Termini I)

After saying goodbye to the friends from GE, a new couple from MN and having emptied and filled water and the rest, we get back on the highway for PA, it's a toll road up to a certain point, the toll barrier resumes at the junction for CT, the first exit is ours, after a steep climb, passing through Cerda renowned not only for its artichokes but also for the Targa Florio, a legendary car race, at a curve there are still the concrete grandstands for watching the car competition. My nephew, notified by phone, waited for us at the entrance of the town and accompanied us to his house, we cross Montemaggiore B. making an extreme climb, another meter and the camper wouldn't have made it, it had reached the limit of its power, I thought I had done the maximum with the climb of the Trolls in Norway, but I was wrong, this one is even more so. Kisses and hugs from the sister-in-law.

Parking in front of the house, to compensate for the slope I use all the shims at my disposal, I don't manage to level it but it's in an acceptable position. In the evening Tina and the sister-in-law go to mass, I declined and I did well: it lasted three hours.

89/1634 – Cefalu’

Saturday, Easter eve, we decide to visit Cefalù. Unfortunately there's a market along the seafront; after various maneuvers I manage to park further ahead, almost at the end. We visit the magnificent Cathedral, now restored, the old town with all its shops and little shops, the ancient wash-house, and along the seafront we eat a good pizza in the company of our nephew.

0/1634 – Montemaggiore Belsito

Easter lunch with relatives, and after eating and drinking too much, we move on to another relative's place, where we only accepted a coffee—there was no room for anything else. Off to bed without dinner……!!!!

98/1732 – Palermo – P. P.zza Giotto

Departure for Palermo along the normal road, very narrow, but not very busy; from the city, to go up to Monreale it took us more than an hour, we were going at a snail's pace; at the top of the climb, at the first houses, illegal parking attendants were signaling that the road had been closed. I didn't fall for it and continued on through the town center, with some apprehension from Tina, who saw the side walls and balconies dangerously grazing the camper. I arrived at the municipal parking lot, where you pay €5.16 for a whole day; it's flat and safe. After lunch we want to visit the basilica; unfortunately it opens at 3:30 pm. We wander around the little town and inevitably end up in a gelateria—the usual small cup of very good gelato, and then a short walk to digest. After the visit, we return to Palermo city.

Leaving the parking lot, I realize that to get there, one shouldn't have crossed through the town, but: on the climb after the hospital, I should have turned left toward Trapani, and shortly after, there's a sign indicating it—you find the parking lot. In the city I parked before Porta Nuova; from here you can visit the Royal Palace of the Normans, the Cathedral, the Quattro Canti and the fountain in Piazza Pretoria. For the night we go to Piazza Giotto, a place listed online for overnight camper parking, an ordinary square with no services.

167/1899 – Marsala – P. in riva al mare

- Strong wind during the night - Mazara del Vallo, parking at the port—keep right, the canal port is at the end - The cathedral with a guide, then churches - Fish near the bridges - Coast road - Selinunte – go to the second parking lot – electric cars - Sciacca – parking at the port

9/1899 – Sciacca – P. al porto

- Strong wind during the night - Mazara del Vallo, parking at the port—keep right, the canal port is at the end - The cathedral with a guide, then churches - Fish near the bridges - Coast road - Selinunte – go to the second parking lot – electric cars - Sciacca – parking at the port

78/2076 – San Leone (AG) – Camping Nettuno

- quiet night - visit to Sciacca – not much to see - parking at the Valley of the Temples full – the second one freer – €1 per hour with scratch card - Hot with a light breeze – €10 per person including the museum - Camping Nettuno

0/2076 – San Leone (AG) – Camping Nettuno

A day of rest and cleaning the camper, nice weather but windy.

140/2276 – Ragusa Ibla – Parcheggio

Wake up at 7; after a day of rest we can leave early—dump and fill water and the rest, two nights for €45, not cheap…. In Gela we go to the port; there's nothing interesting there, so we set off again. If needed, anyone can refill water: there are two taps in the square. In Comiso there's a beautiful church with a castle to see: very interesting. Ragusa: after a lot of wandering around looking for a place to stop, we find one on the big bridge along with other campers and tour buses: the center with the Cathedral is beautiful. We continue on a road of twists and turns and reach Ragusa Ibla, the oldest part. We stop in a nice parking lot and on foot, down endless stairways, we reach some beautiful Baroque-style churches; in one of them we witness a wedding.

For the night we stay in this parking lot; we turn on the generator and watch the news and "La Fattoria"; tired of seeing people argue even on TV, we turn it off and go straight to bed, which also pleased the German camper that had stopped nearby.

392/2668 – Cosenza – P. Autogrill

Quiet but cold night; at 3 o'clock I turned on the heater—Schizzo woke me because he wanted to get under the blanket. On waking this morning, there were four other campers near us. Departure toward Catania, a beautiful road, narrow and winding, but with fantastic views, vineyards, olive groves and orange groves with their intense scent of orange blossom.

In Vizzini Tina insisted that I stop to buy the newspaper; she came back quite a while later without the newspaper, but with a tray of fabulous pastries……and then she says I need to lose weight!!!! Via the highway we reached Messina; at the first toll booth there was a sign "Embarkation of commercial vehicles," so I continued, even though it was the toll booth from which I had exited when arriving in Sicily, and I made a mistake because: the other exit for embarkation is two toll booths further on and then you have to cross the city—it's not worth it, it would have been better to exit at the new port. Embarkation at the old port with the same company as on the way there: "Bluvia," same cost: €30.20, little waiting, half-empty ferry, half an hour crossing.

Back on the RC/SA highway, at one of the first tunnels a forced stop: a car was burning in the next tunnel: difficulty getting through, among the stopped vehicles, the firefighters, the tow truck and the traffic police. It was all resolved in an hour. Now we're stopped at a service area near Cosenza.

661/3329 – Perugia E47 – P. Autogrill

At Orte, after leaving the A1, I took the E47—a lot of traffic and a bumpy road; the scenery is very beautiful but the driving takes a lot out of me. I found a rest area at the PG exit behind a supermarket parking lot; we thought we'd stop for the night, but trains were passing at the edge of the parking lot and the night didn't look very quiet, so we decided to stop at the next service area.

502/3831 - Majano

A day of driving home