kwilenacat
- May 1, 2022
- 9 min read

Sardinia to Sicily, smoke on the water

We left Sardinia in the morning and passed these fishermen. Very idyllic.

Soon after, the wind started to pick up and was stronger than forecasted (30 to 36 knots). The waves felt higher than predicted (they were between 1.7- 2m high). Both wind and waves were to our favour and we were going pretty fast ...but it was also uncomfortable.

Check out the waves below. It felt like being on a rollercoaster up and down the waves.

Grateful for the pre-cooked meals as it would have been difficult to prepare a meal from scratch. The items would have rolled from one side to the other on the cutting board with me chasing them, whilst trying to balance/hold on myself. The pot restraints ensure that the food does not end up on the roof or floor.

This crossing took 26 hours - we decided to take 3 hour turns so each of us could get some rest. We were pretty tired when we arrived and slept 4 hours in the afternoon and another 10 hours during the night. Despite all this sleep we still looked tired the next day !

Each time we arrive at a new spot Sven points to the biggest mountain he sees and says: "Tomorrow we go up there"...

I knew he would also point out this peak....and we did hike up the next morning.

On the 3rd picture below you can see where we anchored.

Sven checking the ropes. One of the reef lines got really worn and needed to be fixed first before continuing.

Our plan was to go directly to Palermo from Spiaggia di San Vito lo Capo. However this time the wind and waves hit us head on which is uncomfortable as well. Click on below video to get a feel for it.

We therefore decided to stop earlier near the Palermo airpot in Terrasini Sud and to continue the next day only. We got treated with a beautiful sunset.

There was a nice atmosphere at night. So glad we decided on this additional stop.

On our way To Palermo. Sven got the urge to clean the BBQ whilst I made sure that we did not hit any floating fishing nets. The floating nets have no flags here. They are just empty milk bottles or empty clothes washing liquid bottles

Palermo

We managed to get the last marina spot. It was a pretty small spot right at the water edge and too low for most boats. We got briefly stuck on something when trying to park the boat (the marina should have told us that there were sudden low spots and not okay for our boat...). Sven shouted some obscene words ... Lucky for us it was just a sudden sandbank and not the cement block next to it. Walking along the water edge we could see lots of other items sunk in the water.

Palermo is a city where you best just wander off and get lost in the narrow side streets. There are no cars in the city centre which is nice. It was still very busy/noisy and it is not even high season yet.

The shops in the main streets sold similar items for the tourists.

The Cathedral of Palermo

We love markets - here a few impressions:

Poor Octopus.

We visited the Church Santa Caterina. The first picture below is the view from the roof top. The second is where the nuns used to live.

They still have a bakery in the monastery with the traditional Sicilian sweets the nuns used to make there.

Palermo, Sicily fashion - daring and colourful.

Seems this is one of the widest trees in Italy, but definitely the biggest in Palermo

And a selfie at the Palace before eating some local food.

Around Palermo

We hired a Renault Clio for the day. Our first stop was the

Catacombe dei Cappuccini.

Be warned, this is not for the fainthearted. The tunnels are filled with mummified corpses The catacombs contain about 8,000 corpses and 1,252 mummies (as stated by last census made by EURAC in 2011) that line the walls. The halls are divided by category: men, women, virgins, children, priests, monks, and professionals. Some bodies are better preserved than others. Some are set in poses; for example, two children are sitting together in a rocking chair. The coffins were accessible to the families of the deceased so that on certain days the family, including the deceased, could pray together.

The preservation of a body took one year which included draining / removing organs, washing with water and vinegar, drying body, filling it with straw etc. Some bodies were embalmed and others were enclosed in sealed glass cabinets. Friars were preserved with their everyday clothing and sometimes with ropes they had worn in penance.

History of the Catacombe:

Palermo's Capuchin monastery outgrew its original cemetery in the 16th century and monks began to excavate crypts below it. In 1599 they mummified one of their deceased brothers and placed him in the catacombs.

Initially the catacombs were intended only for deceased friars. However, in later centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed in the Capuchin catacombs. In their wills, local luminaries would ask to be preserved in certain clothes, or even have their clothes changed at regular intervals. Priests wore their clerical vestments, while others were clothed according to contemporary fashion. Relatives would visit to pray for the deceased and to maintain the body in presentable condition.

In 1871 Brother Riccardo was the last friar interred in the catacombs, but other famous people were interred after that. The last burials are from the 1920s and 1930s. Among the final interments was Rosalia Lombardo, then nearly two years old, whose body remains remarkably intact (she was preserved performing a special procedure). We have added the picture of her further below (this picture has not been taken by us).

The Catacombs have been closed for the last 2 years (Covid and renovations) but will reopen next month. We went anyway and spoke to this lovely monk. He was so kind and showed us the rooms via security cameras and let us walk down and peak through the glass doors.. This is just very strange but equally fascinating.

Next stop was the Monreale Cathedral about a 30 min drive from Palermo. The Mosaics of this Cathedral form the building's main internal feature and cover 6,500 m2. It is stunning. They are made of glass tesserae from the late 12th and mid-13th centuries and were layed by both local and Venetian masters.

The monastery garden

Walking back to our car behind a monk.

The last place we drove to was the

Parco Archeologico di Segesta

On a hill, just outside the site of the ancient city of Segesta, lies an unusually well-preserved Doric temple. Some think it has been built in the 420s BC by an Athenian architect, despite the city not having any Greek population. The prevailing view is that it was built by the indigenous Elymians (a barbarian tribe)

We walked up the hill to visit the theatre

The Greek Theatre

Spring is everywhere.

Cefalu

We arrived at Cefalu, a pretty village.

Next Morning a walk up the Rock and exploring this lovely place.

We were alone in the bay the next day / night. Being Easter this was a bit of a surprise.

The Church in Cefalu and a typical Italian "truck"

Stunning clear water. Sven picked me up from the steps so I did not get wet feet (nice).

Rather than eating on shore (the restaurants were packed as it was Easter weekend) we decided to do a BBQ on the boat.

Change of anchor spot.

Aolian Islands

The Aeolian Islands, sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea (north of Sicily). They are named after the god of the winds Aeolus. There are seven significant islands: Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea.

Vulcano

The crater.

Following on from the walk to the Vulcano we decided to hike up the mountain next to it.

We loved the "hot tub/jacuzzi" right in front of our boat at the Spiaggio delle Acque Caldi. The seabed has "fumaroles" i.e emissions of sulphurous gas from the earth's crust which makes the water there warm and relaxing. At the beach you can take a mud bath which apparently has health benefits than wash off / relax in your natural jacuzzi. So amazing to see this so close to our boat.

check out the short video.

There were more of these "hot spring" near the volcano.

Lipari

We were surprised how different the various Aeolian islands are. We stayed in the Lipari marina as gusts (up to 46 knots) were forecasted. During our walk we collected a small piece of black Obsidian Vulcanic rock along the walk (see therapeutic benefits below...). This volcanic stone is specific to Lipari and cannot be found on Etna for example. The houses have huge blocks in front of their houses for decoration.

Extreme pressures and high temperatures in the Volcano melt the silicates and give rise to magma. After an eruption lava cools quickly and creates Obsidian which is a form of “volcanic glass” (it is black and very shiny as shown on picture)

Obsidian has been used since prehistoric times for the construction of weapons, cultural objects and medicinal potions. It was also widely used by pre-columbian American civilisation of the Aztects, Maya, Omec and Incas in magical and sacrificial rites. Obsidian is a therapeutic stone used in meditation. It gives inner clarity, equilibrium and harmony. It can be used to calm anxiety and to facilitate learning and to act with calmness and reflection.

The walk up the mountain.

Panarea

For the last 2 weeks we sailed with Peter and Belinda from the UK. This was unplanned but for some reason we travelled at the same time (we could see their boat on AIS) and ended up in the same anchorage spots (as below) then had some drinks together on our boats.

The Panarea village reminded us of Greek houses.

The prehistoric village is dating back to the Bronze Age (14th century BC), The site consists of the remains of 23 oval huts and a quadrangular hut. The village was in a strategic position (thanks to the high coasts) and therefore difficult to attack.

A great Sicilian lunch in a restaurant followed by a coffee with view of Stromboli

Stromboli

Mount Stromboli, one of the three active volcanoes in Italy.

We were sitting on the water by 5 am and loved hearing and watching the Stromboli erupt every 10-20 minutes and the molten rock flying in the air. Very special! Due to recent eruption you are only allowed to hike up to 400m.

An online tool made our job very easy before crossing the Messina Strait (narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in Southern Italy). We only had to enter the date and time and it showed us the tide direction which can be 5 knots against you if you don't time it well. Below shows the hourly intervals we entered.

Once we passed the Messina Strait (which was easy for us as little wind and waves) we anchored in Taormina (back in Sicily mainland)

Taormina

Taormina is a beautiful touristic destination with high class shops and beautiful restaurants. The town is also known for the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-Roman theatre still used today. Near the theatre, cliffs drop to the sea and overlook sandy beaches. A few impressions below.

We went to Castelmola (above Taormina, built into rock,)

We ate in the restaurant below overlooking the water.

We found this amazing way back down. Must be the locals secret as it was not on the walking map and no signs anywhere.

The next stop was:

Catania (Vulcano / Mount Etna)

We wandered around Catania and came across this Banksy/Warhol exhibition which we enjoyed. Took a picture of each of the artists below to share with you :-)

We saw that there was still a bit of snow on Etna. Also with the recent eruption (February 2022) we were not sure if we could walk up. Etna is about 20 km from Catania.

After calling around we were told that we would be allowed to go up to 3000m with a guide but not up 3,300m as it is too dangerous at the moment. We took the public bus to the Cable car. The Cable car brings you from 1900 (6200 ft.), to the "summit" station at an altitude of 2500 meters. There were 4x4 wheel drives which take you a bit further up but we decided to take a guide from there (this is mandatory) and walk as far as possible and currently allowed . We are so glad we did. We would not have known where we are allowed to go to be safe. This Volcano is huge with so many Craters. All the active Volcanos (Volcano, Stromboli and Etna) were so different!

On the way back to the cable car it was like skiing down and so much fun. See orange arrow = Sven in front of me. I kept my distance due to dust. You can imagine how black the shower water was at the end of the day. The hike up and down took about 4 hours and was so worth it.