Day 80: Friday 6 June - A Strange Day in Palermo

I was up early sitting on the wall close to reception having another attempt at downloading the Europe Camper map for our satnav. While it had started from zero again, it seemed to be transferring quite quickly and wandering around with my laptop I could see there was a vacant pitch where we could get reception in Mabel. That would allow us to hook up the laptop to the mains in Mabel and leave it downloading the map while we were out for the day. Jane reluctantly agreed we should strike camp and move Mabel the 50 metres, or so.

The faffing with the download and shifting Mabel meant the morning was drifting past and I began to get concerned that getting hold of the map was beginning to dominate our lives and detracting from the trip. Today we wanted just a taste of Palermo, but a chunk of the day had been lost.

We set the laptop and satnav up in Mabel’s garage (there’s a power point in there) and after a breakfast of cereal and a croissant for me and a chocolate croissant for Jane, we set off to walk through the back streets to the railway station in Isola delle Femmine. We arrived with a good 30 minutes to spare before the 10:46 to Palermo Centrale departed. It was very hot (nudging 30 degrees) and we sat in the cool of the waiting room. After a while we were joined by an Italian couple with a shaggy white dog (a Scots Terrier we think) that took a lot of pleasure from rolling on the cool floor. Then a German couple joined us clutching the same map and leaflet detailing the train service as we had picked up at the camping ground at the end of last night’s briefing. The man was struggling to validate his ticket, incorrectly using the machine used to purchase tickets. I was able to take him to the correct machine and show him how to use it – a feat we had accomplished with difficulty 10 minutes earlier.

While we were waiting a train from Palermo arrived and unloaded a procession of beach sellers with their boards containing their offerings of sunglasses, jewelry and whatever carefully wrapped in cloth. There were at least a dozen of them and I wondered what sort of a living they make.

Beach Sellers Off to Work

As the arrival of our train was announced we were amazed to see the Italian man start to lower his dog tail first into something that resembled a small aircraft carry-on bag, except that the majority of its faces were mesh, rather than solid. The dog was uncomplaining as its owner folded in protruding limbs and ears and then zipped the bag shut. The bag looked very cramped, but I guess the shaggy coat made the dog look larger than it was and Jane thought she saw it turn around in the bag.

Our Train Arrives

Our train was practically empty, spacious, very clean and air-conditioned. It stopped at all seven stations into Palermo and we arrived at getting on for 11:30. As in every city, the railway didn’t pass through the most salubrious parts as it neared its destination. Leaving the station it took a while to orient ourselves, but once we spotted north on our map was towards the bottom left corner we soon found Via Roma and then Via Vittorio Emanuele that divides Vucciria and La Kalsa, two of the quarters of the old city dating from the 16^th century.  We walked towards the waterfront heading for the Museo delle Marionette.

Our Spacious Train Arrives in Palermo

According to our guide book, Sicily’s most vibrant traditional entertainment is its puppet theatre and the museum contains the country’s definitive collection of puppets and scenery. The museum has to be one of Palermo’s best kept secrets as it was virtually impossible to find. Our map showed its approximate location and we found a sign directing us along Via Butera. After walking for 10 minutes we decided we must have missed it somehow so we retraced our steps. Just before we reached the sign we spotted a small poster indicating the museum was along a side street off Via Butera. It was, but we had to look very hard to find it, the entrance seemingly designed to hide the museum’s prescence. Judging by a comment in the vsitor’s book it appeared we weren’t the only ones to have had difficulty in finding the place.

One of Palermo's Many Alleyways

I Would Like To see This Guy's Safety Plan!

Imposing Entrance to Museo delle Marionette

Our guide book showed the museum was closed for siesta between 13:00 and 14:30. It was after 12:00 when we finally found the place and we were worried that our late start meant we wouldn’t be able to take in the whole museum. We needn’t have worried, we were back in the street a good 15 minutes before closing! I think ‘bizarre’ best sums up the museum with an eclectic collection of puppets from around the world including Japan, Mali, Rajasatan and even the old British favourite of Punch and Judy. The presentation of the puppets was cluttered with dozens of them cheek by jowl with little, or no, explanation of what we were looking at. It might have been different if we had been able to see a puppet show, the museum puts on twice weekly performances of rowdy battles, chivalry and shouted dialect based around French and Siscilian history. Unfortunately, we were too late for the 11:00 Friday performance.

Laurel and Hardy, Greta Garbo and a Man on Stilts

Greta Garbo

Punch and Judy

Soldier Puppet With Woman's Face?

Assorted Puppets

Lots of Strange Looking Puppets Like This One

From the museum we walked along the waterfront for a while before diving into he Vucciria quarter in search of its markets and street food. We were out of luck and followed Via Vittorio Emmanuele again before heading north down an alley that looked more promising. This time we struck gold finding flea markets selling fruit and vegetables and assorted household goods and ‘hole in the wall’ food outlets which was what we were looking for. Palermo is noted for its street food and a lot of the locals eat on the hoof. We avoided places where we didn’t recognise what was on offer - a local delicacy is bread rolls filled with sautéed beef spleen or tripe. We opted for a small café in an alleyway with just six tables managed by Brendan McCullum. It was an easy choice – his menu was displayed by way of large coloured photographs on the alley wall. We both chose the Palermo speciality of pasta con le sarde – spaghetti with fresh sardines, fennel, raisins and pine kernels. It was absolutely delicious and the white wine Brendon recommended complimented it very well.

Scooters Use This as a Road

Fresh Fish ?

Fruit and Veg Stall

Jane Seated at Brendon's Place

Brendon Takes an Order

Tasty Dish

Pasta con le Sarde

Scooter Passing By While We Eat Lunch (note cigarette in rider's mouth)

After lunch we explored a bit more of the Vucciria before heading west until we reached Via Maqueda which we followed to the Quattro Canti, a crossroads at the centre of the old town that divides it into the four quadrants. In each corner of the crossroads are tiers of statues.

One of the Four Corners of the Quattro Canti

From the Quattro Canti we walked to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. It was quite a walk and it was very hot. Passing the enormous cathedral we stopped for an ice cream – something else for which Palermo is noted. We both felt ours rated an ‘average’. We walked and walked and just as we were giving up hope of finding the catacombs we spotted a signpost and found the entrance a few hundred metres away.

Cathedral

It seemed we had selected two of Palermo’s strangest attractions for our taste of the city. The catacombs under the church are where the Capuchin monks placed their dead brothers from the 16^th century onwards. Later rich laymen were also interred there. Various caverns are reserved for men, women, clergy, doctors lawyers and surgeons. It’s an eerie place with bodies standing in niches, while some are decomposed beyond recognition, others are complete with skin, hair and eyes. The eyes of one man in particular followed us as we passed by.

The most common form of preservation was dessication brought about by the environmental conditions. After lying for about 8 months, the bodies were washed in vinegar before being exposed to fresh air. They were then dressed and stood in niches, or sometimes laid in coffins. Other bodies were preserved by dipping in arsenic, or lime, generally during periods of epidemics.

Sadly, there are the remains of babies and young children in the catacombs. These include Rosalia Lombardo who died in 1920 aged 2. A new embalming process of injection of chemicals was devised by Dr Solafia, a Palestinian. The result was that Rosalia looks as she did when she was alive. Dr Solafia died without passing on details of his embalming process.

Photography wasn't permitted in the catacombs out of respect for the dead, but it didn't stop people trying. Someone was obviously keeping a close watch on CCTV and at one point a speaker burst into life saying "No photography" in a number of languages. The following are photographs of the guide pamphlet we purchased:

Rosalia Lombardo

One of the Catacomb's Many Caves

Children

Priests

From the catacombs we walked to Palazzo Reale Orleans station, two stops from Palermo Centrale where we caught the 16:44 train which was much busier than our earlier ride in. Contrary to the information provided at last night’s briefing the train didn’t stop at all stations but fortunately it did stop at Isola delle Femmine. There waiting on the platform were the beach sellers with their wares returning to Palermo, we wondered whether they had a good day? We walked back to the camping ground, we were tired and our feet were sore – the result of walking approximately12 km on a hot day. 

It was disappointing to open Mabel’s garage and find the download of the Europe Camper map had stalled at 7%. Tired though I was I walked back to the wall in the shade where I thought there was a stronger wi-fi signal and continued the download. It was working well and I was soon n the 30% range. Then it stopped and I found the 24 hours of wi-fi I had purchased had run out, it must have been ticking away during the day even though nothing was being downloaded. I bought another 24 hours, returned to the wall and logged in again. This time I could access the web page that allows me to install and uninstall maps on the satnav. Much to my surprise the Europe Camper map had returned. I tried to upload that only to be told there was insufficient capacity on the satnav. That had to be wrong as the only maps were Morocco and New Zealand, but I removed them just in case. Still there was insufficient capacity and then my laptop started to download the Europe Camper map from scratch again. I didn’t need it but there was no way I could stop the download and sort out an upload. I gave up and resolved to phone Tom Tom in Australia (from whom I had purchased the second copy of the Europe Camper map) in the morning.

While I was sitting on the wall the man from the station with his hairy dog on a lead walked by. The dog seemed none the worse for its ordeal and the man was wearing the bag into which it had been stuffed as a back pack.

I walked back to Mabel to tell Jane I still hadn’t sorted out the satnav, but was hopeful I could resolve it with Tom Tom in the morning. Jane wanted a shower but couldn’t face the palaver of the camp showers and used Mabel’s instead.

Dinner was what was the remainder of the cowboy casserole from a few days ago.

Day 79: Thursday 5 June – Our First Taste of Sicily, by Ken

We both woke shortly before the alarm was due to wake us at 05:30. There was a pink glow in the sky to the east and then an orange sun slowly rose over a calm Tyrrhenian Sea. The sea was like a millpond and it was doubtful there was any need for Jane to have taken her sea sickness pills. We both had a reasonable nights sleep although both were awake for a while during the night with the throb of the ships engine’s making it a struggle to get back to sleep.

Sunrise Over The Tyrrhenian Sea

After being worried last night that we were both going to bang our heads on the upper bunks, I realised that they folded upwards giving an unobstructed space above the lower bunks! After showering – the shower area was smaller than Mabel’s, we packed our backpacks and walked to reception to hand our key in. Jane stayed there while I went outside aft to watch the sunrise and Sicily come into view. About 2 km behind I could see the shape of the Grandi Navi Veloci ferry that had followed us out of Naples last night, it seemed to be following our wake.

The Top Bunks Fold Up!

Early Morning on the MV Vincenzo Florio

Our First Glimpse of Sicily

We berthed in Palermo at exactly 06:30 after a very smooth manouver involving turning the ship around and reversing to the dock, there was no hint of a bump as we came alongside. As time passed Jane began to fret that the doors to the escalator to the vehicle deck remained firmly closed. She wondered whether perhaps we should look for another way down. After a while a smartly dressed crewmember opened the doors and started the escalator, but was not allowing anyone to go down. Below we could hear the rattling of chains as the trucks were unshackled, but still we were not allowed down. At 7:00 the crew member finally stood aside and we descended into what seemed like hell. Most of the trucks had their engines running and those at the bows were starting to move. We had decided the previous evening that Mabel and Smarty would have to disembark separately as we had to leave through the stern and Mabel was facing forward nose to nose with a truck facing aft. We quickly unhitched Smarty managing to drop the A-Frame on my toe in the process.

Jane got into Smarty and I climbed into Mabel. I programmed her satnav to take us to Isola delle Femmine, a town approximately 20 km along the coast. Then all hell broke loose, the orderly and well directed loading process of last night was replaced by absolute chaos. It was every truck for itself, the truck in front of Mabel started pulling out but stopped with the driver indicating he needed another foot, or so, to clear Mabel. Her reversing camera came into its own at that point, I inched backwards with Smarty in view and then Jane reversed out of sight. The truck ahead started moving again, but was stopped by the shouts of fellow truckies as the swing on the very long trailer was about to take out the cab of a truck alongside. He was marshalled clear by the other truckies and then the driver alongside motioned for me to go in spite of a steady stream of trucks heading for the bow ramp. I started executing a U-turn and caught a glimpse of Smarty disappearing down the ramp. A truck gave way enabling me to finish the turn and head off down the ramp. Jane and Smarty were there waiting on the dockside where we hitched up again.

We were right by the exit from the port into the heart of Palermo, all the other traffic from the ferry had gone. The chaos of disembarkation was soon replaced by the chaos of Palermo’s early morning rush. It was our first experience of driving in an Italian city this trip and we had forgotten how challenging it was. Cars and scooters were everywhere weaving around us and trying to cut across our path at intersections. Then we remembered from last time that Italian drivers have good judgment and spatial awareness and what seems like a dangerous weave in front of you is actually a well-judged manouver. And vehicles drifting out of side roads in front of you are playing a form of ‘chicken’ to see if you will give way to them. After a while the antics of the traffic around us became entertaining, rather than frightening (although Jane didn’t always feel the same way).

A truck pulled alongside us at traffic lights, the guy in the passenger seat was beaming, he pointed back towards Smarty and gave the thumbs up. Our towing arrangement does attract a lot of interest.

The chaos of central Palermo gave way to much more orderly traffic on the motorway heading west along the coast. We cruised comfortably for a while before leaving the motorway and heading into the town of Isola delle Femmine. There we picked up signs to ‘Camping La Playa which led us down narrow streets with cars parked on one side. Often there was only just room for Mabel to squeeze through. Eventually, we reached the beach front road and spotted a park long enough for Mabel and Smarty.

We ate breakfast watching early morning joggers going backwards and forwards along the road. A woman pedestrian stopped by our open window and asked where we were from. She was disappointed it wasn’t the UK (she had spotted the ‘GB’ on Mabel’s number plates. She said she had lived in Wolverhampton, in English with a thick Italian accent. She cheered up when we told her we used to live in Birmingham.

There was a street market just along the road from where we were parked. Jane, of course, had to visit and I was happy to wander through at my own pace. Among a lot of stalls selling clothes there were numerous food stalls, one with an impressive selection of fish, others loaded with fruit, vegetables and nuts. There was also a stall with Gucci handbags manned by a gentleman of dark complexion – we had seen his mates in Barcelona and elsewhere selling the same stuff on our last trip.

Jane in the Street Market, Isola delle Femmine

Cheese and Salami Stall

A short distance beyond the market was Camping La Playa where we planned to spend two nights. It was still only mid-morning but we went in and asked if we could move in. We could and returning with Mabel. I spent 15 minutes being told about the many rules of the camp site, how the plastic token for the showers was to be used, what was available in the shop, be sure to attend the evenings talk on what to do in Palermo to be given at 19:15 ‘exactly’ in English by the receptionist’s sister, and more! Finally free to enter I approached the barrier with Mabel to be stopped by the receptionist who said I hadn’t told her about our car and it would be another €2 per night for Smarty. That’s the first time we have been charged extra for her.

All Set Up, Camping La Playa

Pitches in the camping ground were constricted by olive trees and I managed to graze Mabel’s roof on a branch. It didn’t look serious and I’m pretty sure the mark will polish out if only I can get up there! I did climb the ladder onto the roof to check her out but wasn’t convinced the roof was designed to carry my weight.

After lunch of bread, cheese and salami we drove into the town in search of an ATM to top up our Euro. There we saw a Smart car with three occupants – a man was driving and there were two women in the passenger seat!

The afternoon was spent on a beach a kilometre, or so, west of the camping ground. It was very hot and we made use of the beach umbrella purchased in Spain two years ago to give us some shade. I slept for a good part of the afternoon – I think we underestimated how tiring driving more than 2,000 km down through Europe would be. Jane managed two dunks in the sea to my one – my first of the trip. The Tyrrhenian Sea wasn’t as warm as we remembered swimming off he coast of Italy, but then we were here about a month earlier than last time. Loud music was blaring from a nearby bar. It was an interesting mix including Otis Redding, Lorde and lots of modern dance music with reverberating base notes. Much to Jane’s surprise I enjoyed the music. There were the usual assortment of beach sellers carrying their boards laden with sunglasses, jewelry and much more. Most left us alone.

Beach Seller

Beach Taken With Jane's Waterproof Camera

Another of Jane's Shots

All Shapes and Sizes on the Beach

Back at the camping ground I had first shower using an unnecessarily complex process that was described on a notice outside – this camp site really loved its notices! It involved selecting a vacant cubicle, noting the number on the door, leaving your towel there, going outside to a machine on a wall. There you inserted a plastic token that was punched to denote how many showers you had taken at €0.50 per shower. Following that two green buttons were used to select the number of your cubicle (very difficult to do with bright sunlight on the electronic display) which you then confirmed by pushing a red button. The notice warned that the shower would start 10 seconds after the red button was pressed but could be suspended for a minute by pressing a red button in the cubicle. Finally, the shower would run for 4 minutes. The shower was actually quite good. I returned to Mabel, gave Jane the token and explained the procedure. The technophobe in her wasn’t keen and, in any case, she would have to wear her glasses to operate the machine. I walked back to the showers with her and operated the controls while Jane shouted out her cubicle number and confirmed she had water running.

After the excitement of the showers I bought 24 hours of wi-fi access and tried again to download the Europe camper map. There was no access from our pitch, but I could get the internet sitting on a wall in the shade closer to reception. It started from scratch and was going to take hours to download, I abandoned the attempt for the day. We attended the 19:15 talk on Palermo. Very informative, with good maps and details of the best train stations to use to visit the various sights in Palermo. After that we returned to Mabel to plan our trip into the city tomorrow and eat dinner – some of the cowboy casserole remaining from earlier in the week.

Today's Trip (19km)