Sicily

I’ve written several times about Siracusa, and mentioned that it is yet another of my favourite places. It’s always difficult when someone asks ‘Where is your favourite place?’ As there are so many and it’s hard to choose just one.

Siracusa looked quite different this time, once we had anchored in the bay, we could see lots of police, ambulances and naval officers ashore, with helicopters circling above and marquees along the waters edge. Port police and coastguard boats were also zipping around the bay.

We had sailed across from Greece along with some friends of ours also making the same passage to Sicily. As the sun started to set, they joined us on board for celebratory sundowners. During the evening, there was some swell in the bay but after our three day passage, this was not a problem as it gently rocked us to sleep.

The sea had calmed down the next day so we left Ziggy and went ashore. We discovered that the city was hosting the G7 Ministerial meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries.

There were approximately 200 stands and 600 exhibitors of agriculture and fishing throughout the city, including displays of machinery and technology related to fishing and agriculture, in which Italy is apparently a global leader!

The island of Ortigia had undergone a “green” transformation with areas of floral displays and Mediterranean gardens.

Focusing on the resilience and sustainability of agricultural and food systems, many exhibitors were offering tastings (in a bid to sell you their rather expensive products) and information. Speeches were being given by various dignitaries.

The town was quite busy as we walked through the familiar narrow streets. With the colourful customised ‘taxis’ taking people wherever they want to go.

Paul found himself a new girlfriend!

We soon found ourselves back by the water and the Fountain of Arethusa, and then continued along the waters edge, stopping at a traditional sea front cafe for a Sicilian granita on the way.

A visit to Siracusa would not be complete without visiting the historic Ortigia market. As you walk through, there’s always lots of shouting and gesticulating from the stall holders, selling an array of authentic produce including: fresh fish, cheeses, meat, wines, liquors, fruits, vegetables, preserves and various herbs and spices. Also, you can find plenty of souvenirs and other traditional creations.

We’ve often sat in the main Piazza Duomo with a coffee overlooking the Cathedral and but have never been inside so we decided to take a look, along with everyone else!

It is an ancient Catholic church, but the structure was originally a Greek doric temple, origins of which date back to prehistory. The present cathedral was constructed over the temple in the 7th century. The battered Doric columns of the original temple were incorporated in the walls of the current church and are still visible. 

Following the 1693 Sicily earthquake, the cathedral was rebuilt and the façade redesigned to its current Sicilian Baroque style.

Also standing in the piazza is the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia, now deconsecrated, the church building and adjacent monastery are used for special exhibitions and functions.

Inside the church is a famous masterpiece by Caravaggio the ‘Burial of St. Lucia’. Caravaggio created the painting in 1608 in Syracusa after escaping imprisonment in Malta.

The painting tells the story of how Lucia consecrated her virginity to God, angering a suitor. She was reported to the Roman authorities and was ultimately sentenced to death by fire. Although she miraculously survived the flames without harm, she was then fatally stabbed in the neck.

It all sounds very harsh after she managed to survive being set on fire!

Wind was starting to pick up so we headed back to Fred and Ed, to return to Ziggy, however, when we got away from the shelter of the town, the wind was much stronger in the bay and waves were crashing up against the dock. The swell in the bay was already too much for Fred and Ed to cope with. The forecast suggested that it would only last for a couple of hours so we found a cafe to have a couple of lemonades while we were waiting for it to calm down! The photo doesn’t do it justice, it was very choppy out there.

Eventually, the wind died down a little, but it was still rock and roll, we decided to give it a try and had a wet and wild ride back.

After a couple of days, the wind was favourable for a sail south so we lifted the anchor as the sun was rising, just as a cruise ship arrived. We decided to let it come in first.

Once we were out of the bay, the sea was a bit choppy but as we turned to head south the sails were up and the swell was coming from behind us, we were surfing down the waves. We could see Mt Etna smoking in the distance.

It was a comfortable sail, with a force 3 northwesterly wind, to the south east point of Sicily. There were lots of other boats around, all seemed to be heading the same way, and we had a brief encounter with some dolphins.

We anchored in the bay at Portopalo and planned to stay one night before moving on.

The following morning we prepared to leave early, the sun had not yet risen and we lifted the anchor under a starry sky. But there was a problem with the gears and the engine would not engage in forward. It bought back memories of the previous year when we had also experienced engine problems when trying to leave Portopalo, however, after a bit of manoeuvring with the controls, forward gear engaged and we motored gingerly out of the bay. Everything seemed to be working ok, we thought (hoped) that it was just a one off problem which had corrected itself ….. how wrong could we be?!?