Towns Visited:

Trapani:
We rode the first seven days straight before we had a day off the bicycles. We did not have adequate time to explore any town. We stopped for rest breaks and lunch as we traveled. The first city, in which we had a day off, was Trapani on the west coast. It was raining in the morning. We took the bus into town and walked around. The first thing I bought was prickly pears which are abundant throughout Sicily. We inquired about the bus to go to Erice, a lovely town close by. The next bus was scheduled in more than an hour. We were nine women and I. The ladies formed my harem. We took two taxis.
 
 

In Erice	Stone Spout in Erice

The town was beautiful. Streets were cobble stones, all geometrically laid out. Heavy rain water ran in the middle of the streets as the town was situated on a hill as were most other towns. The first place we visited was a church. I have seen many churches in Europe, but nothing as charming and tastefully laid out as this one. I consider the European ones as ostentatious. In Sicily’s churches, the pictures were artistic and not outlandishly colorful. A beautiful girl, Maria, who worked in the church in restoration of wooden pieces, gave us a private tour in the church. Maria told us she is not going to bring children into this corrupt world. We argued with her about that. We then walked the streets and saw many specialty shops with local decor and food like pesto, jams, wines and capers. Prices were reasonable, except when we tried to purchase Sicilian straw hats which looked like berets.  They were nice looking but pricey. Ceramics in Sicily are one of their prevalent products like the abundant olives and olive oil. We then had a nice vegetable lunch at a small but well known sweetshop. There was an impressive castle to which one could climb up to view.
 

	Maria

 

On the following day, we bicycled from Trapani to our next destination, Selinunte, a small town on the shoreline, as were all other towns we visited. Glenda, Pat and I took a short walk close to the hotel. There was a shop run by two old ladies who looked like sisters. We saw the straw hats in the shop at one-third the price of those in Erice. Pat and Glenda insisted on buying and pressured me into buying one, too.
 

The Hats with Glenda and Pat	Police for (mock) Arrest

One of the ladies put it on me and ran her hands gently and motherly along my face and said in English “beautiful”. As they were having dinner, they invited us to join them and we wished we had. They did give us pieces of bread on which they put some of their food. It was mixed vegetable including eggplant, in olive oil and tomato sauce. Eggplant was present in most buffets we encountered.

Agrigento:
The city was on top of a steep hill. It would have not been possible to cycle up to it. We therefore stayed in a hotel on the flats. We visited Greek ruins nearby. There were lots of activities from tourist buses and cars around that place. The busy commotion, in my opinion was not warranted. We then took the bus up to the heart of the city. The city was very charming. We loved walking around the town. There was a long street, which we called Fifth Avenue. It was lined on both sides with boutiques displaying artistic jewelry, smartly designed handbags, clothes and other merchandise. We enjoyed the time in town.
 
 

Agrigento	Lunch up the Stairs

Our lunch was very good in an interesting setting. Halfway up a long and steep stairway, there was a restaurant with its dining tables on a flat spot. There was an attractive roasted vegetable buffet. The bread was very tasty, the best we encountered on the whole trip. Bread in Sicily was generally excellent. Soon many other customers arrived and they all turned out to be Americans, from New Jersey, who were staying in our hotel.

Scogillita:
It was an easy ride to this town by the sea therefore we arrived early that Sunday. After checking into the friendly hotel, we all scattered seeking a place for lunch. We had a nice vegetable lunch in one of the town’s outdoor restaurants. The restaurants were located on a beautiful promenade overlooking the blue sea. Some people later went swimming. I took a nap and then went to the town square and watched people of all ages milling around. I saw a fruit shop and I bought a few pieces of fruit including my favorite, prickly pear which the owner peeled for me. He then gave me four or five more that he peeled and put in a plastic container, which I put on the breakfast table next morning. They were quickly gone.
 
 

Cactus Fruit (Prickly Pear)

In the evening Frank led us to a restaurant for dinner, but could not find it. Frank assigned me the task. We followed the directions I was given by locals, but we did not find it either. Luckily we ran into the fruit shop owner, who sold the cactus pears. He  was pleased to see me and shook my hand enthusiastically. I asked him for help to find the restaurant, and he took the whole group of us there. That was very nice gesture. When people in the group asked me curiously about the man, I said "he is my cousin."
 
 

Sicilians Friends and    Nuccia

In the evening, I saw two young men, and three women sitting at the bar eating nuts and laughing, not drinking . One of the women had her son with her. I joined them and we had good laughs even though we did not speak each other’s language. They were impressed that we had cycled that far and were still continuing. One of the girls whose name is Nuccia was outgoing and kind. She took her necklace off her neck and put it on mine. I had nothing I could have given her in return. I took several pictures of them and emailed them after I returned home. That was a good social event.

Castellammare:
We stayed one night in this small town. Its claim to fame is that it was the home of the Mafia. It was believed that in the 1950’s, about 30% of the population was murdered and 80% of the remaining imprisoned. The town otherwise looked nice. I walked the streets and bought good roasted chestnuts.

Siracusa:
It was our last stop before departing back home. We stayed a day here. We visited the Greek theater, which was the largest one I have seen. It is still used for cultural functions. Siracusa is one of the large cities in Sicily. Because it is a bustling city, we did not cycle. I was glad not ride in that city after our scary experience in Palermo. We actually handed in our bicycles before we arrived, as Siracusa was the terminus of our ride. It was pleasant to walk around as it is a typical metropolitan area. The next day, we took a van to the airport in Catania. I left Nuccia’s necklace in my room. From the airport, I called the hotel desk and asked them to mail it to me and they did.
 
 

Greek Antiquities

Wine and cheese parties:

Glenda suggested that we have a party on our off day. We bought wine, cheese, olives and crackers. We sat by the pool watching the sunset. Carol wanted to assert herself; she marched to the bar and borrowed or politely demanded a knife, an opener, plates and glasses. It was very pleasant social function and there were many laughs. We enjoyed it so much that we did it two more times.
 
 

Wine and Cheese: Glenda, Ellie, Judy, Nancy, Florinda, Raisa and Pat

Ceramics:

Italy is famous for its ceramics. Sicily produces large quantities of beautiful ceramic works especially in one town that we passed through. The designs, colors and shapes are stunning. They have ceramics everywhere; inside their shops, name plates, street signs, and even in bathrooms. Their obsession with ceramics is infectious.
 
 

	Ceramics Everywhere

Grapes and Wine:

It was grape harvest season when we were on the west side of the island. Workers picked grapes and loaded them on small wagons, which were driven directly to the winery. There was feverish activity throughout the area, which is famous for its grape quality. While in Sicily, we made sure that we had Sicilian wines every day. We were generally impressed with its quality.
 
 

	Grapes for Wine

The southwestern region seems to be the agricultural area of Sicily. Besides grapes and olives, vegetables especially Roma tomatoes, are produced in plastic houses. They are everywhere one looks. The soil looked nich and usually is black but sometimes, red.

Conclusion:

This trip was interesting because we were riding a maiden route, which has not been tried by Frank. We got lost at times, made wrong turns at others, and at times it took us a long time to find some of our hotels. Such difficulties, in addition to rain and wind, were part of the adventure. We had a few accidents that resulted in scratches but nothing serious other than Ben’s collision with a motor scooter. Fortunately, it did not turn out to be life threatening. We could have had more serious problems especially in dark tunnels, which freaked us out.

The trip participants, mostly ladies, I met and befriended were lovely and open; none tried to play the one-upmanship game. The laughs we had were memorable, but unfortunately not suitable for inclusion here. I would like to meet them on other adventures in the future.

I was disappointed by not having a Sicilian staff member with us, who could describe the social, historical and geographical features of the island. I did not learn much about the Island other than what I absorbed from being immersed there for 18 days. People generally are as nice as a stranger one would meet in any land. I felt they were hospitable. At a rest stop, a family came out of its house and voluntarily provided us with cold water and chatted for a while. Two men in the town of Cefala asked me to photograph them and I did. That sort of thing usually happens in small towns not in big cities. One of the disappointments for me was the dirty roadside. There is enough garbage there for one big landfill. Towns were however generally clean. All in all, the trip was pleasant and successful. I still savor it.
 
 

The End

Ned Audeh
audeh@ece.uah.edu