Sicily

Castellammare del Golfo from the port

7^th July We are now in Sicily, moored in the port of Castellammare del Golfo, a lovely old town on the north coast, set on a steep hillside with mountains behind it.

We left Cagliari early yesterday morning for the 33 hour passage. We had gentle winds with a bit of swell and motorsailed most of the way. After feeling so sick on the last crossing to Sardinia, I decided to act on the recommendation of several other cruisers and try using a Scopolamine patch which is placed behind your ear and slowly releases the anti-nausea drug into your system. The patch certainly stopped me feeling sick, in fact I found I could go below and make a cup of tea or a sandwich without feeling queasy, but I wasn’t prepared for an interesting side effect: hallucinations!

Cliff humoured me when I said I could see trees, houses and masts in the distance when we were still miles from land, but became a bit concerned when I thought the white foam rushing down the side of the boat was a sheepdog in the water. He definitely knew something was wrong when I told him there was an old woman at the back of the boat talking to someone (in fact it was a pile of fenders topped with the bonnet of the outboard engine, and a conversation on the VHF).  I think I will stick to Stugeron in future.

The harbour at Castellammare del Golfo

8^th July It was a long hot walk to the shops at the top of the old town at Castellammare today, though we were rewarded with great views and we found  a wonderful selection of cheeses and  wines in the local shops. Tomorrow we will be leaving Castellammare to head towards the west coast, where we will be meeting our son Chris in a couple of week’s time.

San Vito lo Capo

10^th July We’ve decided to spend a few days at the beach resort of San Vito lo Capo which is on the north western tip of Sicily. The location is stunning with mountains on one side, a granite headland on the other and a long white beach between. The town is a huddle of low, flat roofed houses which sit among palm trees and remind us more of North Africa than Sicily. This is a popular holiday spot for Italians and the place is buzzing. The water is shallow for a long way out and a brilliant turquoise. In true Italian style the locals wade out until they are thigh deep in water then stand and have long conversations with their family and friends.