Sat. 10-21-2023 the Ferry to Palermo

 Even though the proprietor thought I was staying one more night, I packed up and walked to the port.  I arrived, thinking I could board at 5:00 PM for the 8:15 PM departure, but I was told to come back in an hour.  So I searched for some dinner. All I could find was pizza and sandwiches, but I’ve already had so much bread I couldn’t handle more.  Then I ran into this guy:


He had a little food shop with some killer eggplant Parmesan, marinated peppers, olives and capers and he made me a spot at his only table and sat with me as I ate.  He also poured a taste of a moscato wine. 


We all know moscato as a sweet dessert wine and indeed it smelled fruity and sweet, but it was super dry and unlike anything I have ever tasted.  Wow! (I’m having the leftovers for dinner tonight)

Big old ferry.



They started letting us board early so I had ample time to walk around, enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean air and the night descending on Naples and the hills beyond. 







Sleeping on a moving ship is delightful.  The slight side to side motion relaxes you.  But waking up later in the night, the wave action was a bit more strong and I could feel the boat vibrate, shake and pound against the water.  But the motion put me right out quick enough.

I pre-ordered a good breakfast, and was finished just before we docked.  Palermo!  





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12-6-23 Palermo

Image
 What have I learned on this trip?   Maybe I’m not the totally hot shit hiker that I used to be. I really didn’t do all of the Camino, and I am not into suffering for a badge of completion. And, I did most of the trail.  Hiked over 90 miles, just in those 11 days. I saw amazing landscapes that most visitors to Sicily wouldn’t see. There are a lot of super nice people, wherever you go, maybe especially in Sicily where the hospitality and friendliness and level of helpfulness permeates the culture.  Be aware of how you process the world around you. Expectations, anticipations and assumptions can cloud your awareness. They can bring you disappointments and dissatisfaction.  And you can choose to turn that stuff around to appreciation and gratitude.  Or by going into the world with an open attitude or positive intentions, you can maybe skip that outcome. I learned so many layers of eras and civilizations have passed through here.  It’s beyond my comprehens...
Read more

12-2-23 Cefalù

Image
This is the street I’m staying on. I just noticed this morning that it leads directly to the Piazza Duomo.  I’m going up that big rock later. I know there is a castle up there. I am still realizing today how amazingly fortunate I was to have figured out my way out of a terrible travel situation yesterday. A lot of luck was involved, and a lot of cumulative knowledge on how things work here helped tremendously. I knew buses don’t always leave from bus stations by making that mistake once.  I knew to ask everyone you can, because the locals have the information Google Maps does not.  Google maps had the bus listed, but wrong location and wrong time of departure.   Trip to find the castle. The alley up to the entrance. The park costs €5 but well worth it This place, now called Cefalù, has been inhabited for centuries.  The fortifications on this massive limestone rock began ages ago, as they say on the signs, in prehistory.  The fortress was probably started ...
Read more