9 March 2024 – Cefalu

Miles driven today = 45

Total Miles to date = 2,199

We stuck with our plan to avoid the autostrada today and instead followed the coast hugging SS113 for the entirety of our journey.  Once we had nudged our way through the Saturday morning shoppers in Sant’ Agata di Militello and Acquedoici we found this part of the North Sicilian coast to be relatively underpopulated and the road surface on the whole was surprisingly smooth, so we were able to enjoy the scenery without having to worry too much about pedestrians and potholes.  The only other relatively large conurbation we passed through was Santo Stefano di Camastra which, judging by the number of outlets selling all manner of pottery, is a big ceramics producing town.

We pulled into Cefalu at circa midday and joined 7 other motorhomes all tucked up neatly against the harbour wall.  There is no official sosta here but this place is recommended on Park4Night and by all accounts the local Carabinieri actually advise people to come here.  They did a cruise past shortly after we arrived and seemed happy enough that we weren’t causing any obstruction.

Our friend Helen sent us a link to this story in today’s Guardian which totally by coincidence extols the virtues of Cefalu so after a quick lunch we strolled our way around the huge craggy outcrop of rock known round these parts as “La Rocca” and into town so that we could form our own opinion.

We explored the main thoroughfares which are full of Trattorias, craft and gift shops.  And we also explored a lot of the side streets and back alleys which have a far more earthy and genuine feel to them.  

We’ve seen lots of ceramics on public display since we have been in Sicily, much of it no doubt produced just a few miles up the road in Santo Stefano di Camastra.

Lisa quite fancied adding to her collection of plates in this shop but there didn’t seem to be anybody around interested in serving us so we wandered on.

The Church of St Mary of the Chain stands where one of the City’s gates (the “Earth Gate”) once stood.  It was built in 1780 but actually looks much older.

Up on top of La Rocca there is a castle and a Greek Temple.  It’s possible to clamber up there if the fancy were to take you but we decided to leave that to people who were fitter and a little less travel weary than ourselves.

This is a medieval laundry.  River water would flow out of the bronze spouts to the left to allow the locals to wash their clothes.

Each of these troughs has a stone scrubbing surface at one end.

We’ve seen lots of these three legged symbols, much like those from the Isle of Man.  I had to Google what their significance was and apparently they originate from the Greek name for Sicily, which was Trinacria, meaning Triangle.

There were a few hardy souls braving the waters on the main beach to the West of the town.

This was the view looking seaward through the Porte Pescara, which is the only one of the City’s original four gates still remaining.

And to the left of this picture you can see here how it looks from the beach.

Some rather unseasonal sand art of snow topped chalets.  It nudged 20 degrees today.

We plonked ourselves down for a couple of well deserved beers in a beachside bar.

And then headed back into town to visit Cefalu’s crowning glory, it’s Duomo, which was built in 1148 by Roger II, supposedly in gratitude to the Almighty for rescuing him from drowning in a shipwreck.

There was a fair amount of restoration work going on inside the Cathedral but the glittering Christ Pantocrator above the main alter is still very impressive.

We wandered back to the van and chilled as much as we could with a gaggle of local fishermen chatting away outside.  Then, despite the fact that we did a Euro Spin sweep this morning and completely stuffed the fridge, we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out.  So we ambled back up the hill past La Rocca, which was looking splendid in the evening light.

Lisa had picked out a place up by the lighthouse, which didn’t involve walking all the way back into town and which funnily enough is called “La Trinacria”.

It’s basically a wine merchant / deli / restaurant where we could have spent an absolute fortune on all sorts of delicious goodies.

But we stuck to what they had on the menu.  Lisa had grilled Cuttlefish while I had a “Boatman” pasta dish with swordfish, aubergine & tomato.  Both were excellent and together with a mixed salad, a shared tiramisu and a bottle of Sicilian vino bianco the whole bill came to €68, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

There are 11 vans parked up here against the harbour wall now including one Czech and one French, ourselves and a bunch of Italians.  The wind has got up which is causing the boats to bounce around a bit but the fishermen have all gone home now so we are hopeful of a peaceful night.

10 March 2024 - Wild Winds & Wacky Races