Sicily, Italy

It was a beautiful sunny day. We were headed from Giardini Naxos to Cefalù on the north coast. There were two options for our drive. We could take the super toll road all the way, north first to Messina, then west along the coast on another toll road, or we could take the scenic route over the mountains next to Mt Etna to St Agathe on the north coast and then take either the toll road or the scenic ocean road the rest of the way to Cefalù. We researched the mountain road and found it would only take ½ hour to 1 hour longer than the boring toll road route. A Finish couple staying at our B&B said they had taken the mountain route the previous day without a problem. It was a no brainer. The mountain route won.

There was little traffic the entire route. We used our map and the GPS and headed out of Giardini Naxos up the switchbacks into the mountains, circling around Mt Etna. The views of the volcano were great, although the volcano was quiet all day. We stopped in the mountain town of Randazzo and bought picnic supplies and headed up through the Nébrodi National Park, stopping occasionally to admire the forested mountains on either side.

Lunch was beside a summer recreation center closed for the season. Our only problem on the road was that we had to be careful turning the corners. Barnyard animals seem to have the run of the area. No fenced pastures for them. We had to stop for cows, flocks of sheep, goats and pigs, none of which had herders with them. It became a game to guess what animal would be claiming the road next.

 

If it wasn't cows...

It was pigs

Ray had been concerned about the extreme switchbacks on the route from the highest point down to the coast. We were relieved when we encountered a local bus in the village of San Fratello that was heading downhill after disembarking its last passenger. We just followed it the whole way. If there were any cars heading up the road, we had advance warning when the bus slowed down. The approaching cars always let the bus go first and we just slipped in behind the bus.

We made it to the coast and followed the bus as it turned onto the coastal road. We had intended to take the toll road, but the coastal route turned out to be more scenic and for the first half of the trip, bypassed all the small beach towns.

We made it to Cefalù without further incident only to be thwarted getting to our chosen B&B by no entry signs on the one way streets the GPS wanted us to enter. We circled the same roundabout a few times before finally heading down another street that led us to the beach road and paid parking. We had one hour to haul our luggage behind us to find our B&B, which turned out to be at the top of a steep, cobbled street close to the Duomo.

The manager at B&B L&P marked on a tourist map all the free parking areas. Of course there were no parking spaces free. We resigned ourselves to the huge, almost empty lot across from the beach charging €10 per day with the ability to drive in and out without additional charge. It was worth the cost.

We had time to explore the old port with its stone walls and archways, watch the swimmers and sunbathers and walk the streets up to Piazza Duomo. One interesting find was the ancient community laundry tubs, still with a stream providing fresh water to wash clothes, but obviously unused. Modern washing machines are much easier.

The Rough guide recommended a restaurant close to the B&B. La Brace wasn’t open yet when we first went to investigate the menu. It looked good enough to return after 7PM only to find the restaurant fully booked; that is what a top rating in a guide book will do. An English couple told us they had enjoyed their meal there so much the previous year they were willing to book a table for the next available sitting at 9:30PM. Ray was tired after our drive through the mountains, but we did reserve for 9:30PM as well and went back to our room for a well deserved rest. The meal later that night was good, but we would prefer to eat much earlier.