Day 92: Wednesday 18 June – Farewell Sicily, by Ken

We had been on Sicily for almost two weeks, we were really enjoying the island and pleased we weren’t able to get over on our last trip for just two days. There is so much to see and we hadn’t really done it justice in two weeks, but were pleased we had opted for lazy days on beaches rather than doing more sight seeing. While we would have liked to have stayed longer, we needed to move on, otherwise we would miss out on some of the other places we wanted to get to.

It was overcast and cool at Camping Etna as we packed up Mabel and got her ready for the road followed by a short trip to the camper service point to empty the grey waste tank and fill with water.

Mabel At Camping Etna

We could see from the satnav that our route took us back through the narrow streets of Mascalucia and into Catania before picking up the autostrada that would take us to Messina. Jane wanted to drive saying she needed the experience of driving in congested towns. After 3km we turned into a busy narrow street, she decided the experience wasn’t that important and we did a hasty swap.

The roads were busy with cars and scooters doing the usual jostling for position. In Catania parked cars made the way ahead very narrow. A big oncoming articulated truck had stopped 100 metres ahead waiting for someone to give way and let him through. Past the truck the street curved to the right and it didn’t look as though there was enough room between the truck and parked cars for us to get through. I decided to pull over and flashed my lights to signal the truck to come forward. The driver was very appreciative giving us a huge grin and the thumbs up as he passed. The drivers queued up behind me weren’t and signaled their dissatisfaction with a lot of horn tooting.

Once on the autostrada I suggested to Jane that she could take over the driving. She decided she would be happier if I got us to the ferry terminal in Messina and out of Villa San Giovani on the other side of the strait. As we headed north along the coast Mount Etna to our left was shrouded in cloud. To our right the mainland came into view. We passed by some very attractive resorts including Taormina where we thought John, Ruth, Olivia, Stella and Frank will be spending a week this summer. Inland slightly there were also a number of old villages perched precariously on the top of high rock outcrops.

Hill Town

We spotted a large five-masted sailing ship heading south out of the Straits of Messina and stopped in a lay-by to take photographs. We thought that perhaps it was an Italian navy training ship.

Five Master

Not wanting any distractions in negotiating Messina and finding the port we took a comfort break in a service area close to the town. While parked in a truck bay a police car stopped alongside and took a good look at Smarty’s towing arrangement before driving off.

Jane became more nervous as we neared Messina fretting about how we would find tickets for the ferry. Our guide book advised there were ticket offices near the port on the mainland side, we thought the same would apply in Messina, it didn’t. At a T-Junction near the port our satnav showed a left turn, a sign showing Traghetti Villa San Giovani pointed right. I wanted to turn right, Jane insisted on left. She was right, we were soon travelling along the edge of the harbour following signs reading ‘Traghetti’. While stopped at traffic lights two young lads armed with squeegies and bottles of soapy water approached. We shook our heads and shouted “no” but they cleaned Mabel’s windscreen anyway. They got very angry when we refused to pay, but which part of no didn’t they understand? As we pulled away I commented to Jane that they had done a very good job. At the next set of lights a woman wanted us to buy a wooden bowl consisting of a spiral about 1cm wide that folded flat. Very ingenious, but we didn’t need that either.

Soon we were in the port with still no sign of a ticket office. I parked Mabel at the kerbside and set off on foot to investigate. A few hundred metres around a curve I could see what appeared to be a drive through ticket office. I returned to Mabel and drove to the office. While it was drive through, it was necessary to stop short dodging yet more windscreen washers and walk to the ticket windows where I was charged €56.50 for Mabel and a further €38.50 for Smarty. That was about ¾ the cost of getting them across the English Channel, a crossing that takes three times as long!

There was only a short wait on the quayside before we drove on to our perfectly symmetrical Caronte and Tourist ferry with its two sets of funnels, two masts, two bridges and two bows. 

Mabel and Smarty On The Quayside At Messina

Our Symmetrical Ferry

On board Jane wanted to stay in Mabel, concerned that if we left we wouldn’t get back in time to disembark after the short crossing. I eventually persuaded her to leave the vehicle deck and with some directions from a truck driver that could see we were struggling to find a way out, we climbed stairs and emerged into daylight. It was yet another glorious day and we were able to watch other ferries, including a hydrofoil crossing the busy strait. The sea was very calm and Jane confessed to having taken her seasick pills thinking that the sea along the coast looked rough. I thought it was about as rough as the Freyberg Pool on a quiet day.

Mabel's Satnav Knew The Way Arcoss The Strait And Onwards (red line)

Jane Keeping A Wary Eye On The Turbulent Sea

All The Messina Strait Vehicle Ferries Seem To Be Symmetrical

Fast Passenger Ferry

Hydrofoil

We were soon on the autostrada heading north along the coast. We had driven this length of road two years ago and the road was being rebuilt on a new alignment just inland of the old. It still was, although this time we able to use short sections of one of the new carriageways which had two way traffic on it.

We left the autostrada and after a short drive we were on a road following the coast in the town of Nocera Terinese. The road was lined with hotels that all seemed to be closed. Our beachfront camping ground was completely deserted and we chose a spot as close to the beach as possible.

We were short of cash so after setting up Mabel I drove into the town to find a bankomat. The town only had one main street, I drove the length of it slowly and back again, there was no sign of a bank! I returned to Mabel to collect the satnav which has a function showing facilities such as ATMs and filling stations nearby. It showed there were three ATMs in a nearby town. I set off again back through Nocera Terinese climbing into the hills. A delightful town of pastel coloured houses sat on a hill ahead of me. While the town was delightful, none of the ATMs actually existed. I drove all its narrow streets to make absolutely sure there wasn’t a machine. At one point men sitting outside a café jumped up and waved their arms at me – I was driving the wrong way up a one way street. In my tour of the town I passed a man sitting on his doorstep three times, he must have wondered what was going on.

Not only didn’t I find an ATM, I had used valuable petrol reducing Smarty’s gauge to just one blip. That was going to make Jane nervous, but we would be able to fill Smarty on the autostrada tomorrow.

For dinner we ate a pot pourri of potato chunks, sausage slices and sun dried tomatoes. Afterwards we watched Spain v Chile on Mabel’s TV.

Today's Trip (244km)