Friday, June 10
The morning brought bit of a cool change, meaning it was no longer forty degrees in shade, just around thirty.I left town through a nice alley of trees and soon made it back to the coast. I could not resist the temptation of going in for a dip, I was the only person in the water at this nice local beach, yes, somewhat chilly, but the smile on my face was huge. Fortunately, as it turned out, I met an Englishman (not from New York 😉), who recommended a restaurant in the nearby town of Syracuse.
I soon made it to the town, mostly riding flat, next to the sea. It was a Saturday and the parking spots were quickly filling up. Mount Etna was now no longer just a contour, she was definitely filling up the horizon, with over 3,300 meters of elevation.
Little did I know that I would be spending most of the day in this area. There is a small island just off the coast of Syracuse, an island called Ortigia, connected by a bridge - full of history, starting from a Roman amphitheater to wonderful baroque churches and palaces. Statues remind us of Archimedes. who was born in this area - Eureka!
Getting hungry, I was headed to the restaurant the Englishman recommended, called Borderi. It turned out to be an amazing place - middle of a bustling market, filled not only by tourists, but also locals, tiny tables full of delicious cold cuts and sandwiches - prosciutto, pepper, mozzarella, cheese, olives, and so on and so forth. There was also a takeaway, with a huge queue. I waited for about quarter of an hour to get a table, then even longer to be served - but it was definitely worth it. While waiting, I struck up a conversation with my table neighbors, two professors on a study trip from Texas. Even though they spoke Italian, even they were surprised about the amount of food that wad served. We shared a bottle of excellent white wine (thanks for grabbing the bill, in case you are reading this!). For the excellent food, which filled me up for the rest of the day, I paid just Eur 10 - an amazing deal.
I was a bit sad to see the market having been closed by the time I was done eating - but then one cannot have everything. Now I wandered the streets of Ortigia and was amazed by the amazing buildings. On the main square, A German cyclist approached me, he was about to set off in the direction I was coming from, so I gave him some tips.Still in Ortigia, right next to the city walls, I went in from a rather hard-to-access place for another great swim, the colors of the water were amazing. Could gave spent an entire day there....
Now I rode back to Syracuse, and here was yet another highlight - the archeological park with a Greek theater carved deep in the rock, a Roman amphitheater and then more ancient ruins. I really enjoyed the Ear of Dionysius, which was most likely formed out of an old limestonequarry. It is 23 meters high and extends 65 meters back into the cliff. Horizontally, it bends in an approximate "S" shape, vertically it is tapered at the top like a teardrop. Because of its shape the Ear has extremely goodacoustics, making even a small soundresonatethroughout the cave.
Just as impressing was the centuries-old tree in the garden, it had kike seven trunks.
It was late by the time I left, for that, I have had a great time. The road in the dusk was heading towards Catania and I was in the mood for a beach. I did find one with fine sand and under the leave of a few fishermen, I pitched my tent right next to the sea, with a great view of Etna, the smoke of which was mingling with the clouds. Nothing to expense for that night....
