26 March, 2016

On the road to Mazara

(Note:  There are some pictures of events mentioned here — namely lunch — that are on a camera that has not been loaded onto the computer yet.  Stay tuned for a future picture post)

Leaving Palermo

Monument at the site Giovanni Falcone, Mafia Don, was killed on 23 May, 1992

Leaving Palermo, we drove west on the autostrada to visit the ancient town of Erice. Situated on a hill 750 meters high, the town overlooks lush valleys all around and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, there have been temples and a city here since before the Greek settlement of the island. For us the views were hidden as we climbed the steep and winding road through the rain to the ancient town. Nearing the top the rain gave way to the clouds themselves, and the town was shrouded in fog. It was as though the ancient edifices were revealing themselves to us through the mists of time. We could see less than 50 meters in any direction before the fog reclaimed the city beyond. Perhaps we missed the beautiful views all around the mountain, but it was as though we got an exclusive look into a sparsely populated piece of history from the middle ages. There was, for me, a sense of mystery and magic in the way the buildings and towers emerged, and the streets and alleys receded into the mist.

Leaving there we continued to an agritourisme farm in the Segesta Valley. These farms are a way to encourage both rural tourism and bolster the farming industry. They pay a lower tax rate than hotels and B&Bs, with the condition that 70-80% of the food they serve be grown on the farm. Lunch was a wonderful anti-pasta plate of different grilled vegetables and fresh ricotta, followed by two pasta dishes as the main course. For dessert we were served a dish of mixed fruits and another round of amazing cannoli.

After lunch we hiked back to the main bus (we had ridden to lunch in the farmers’ minibus) along the two mile road from the autostrada. We were given the opportunity to view the ancient Greek temple across the valley from a perspective not possible if we were to have visited the site directly.

arrivederce!