On a clear day, the views from the top of Erice must be stunning, but it was not a clear day. Sarah and i got up early-ish to wander around Erice in an atmospheric but gloomy fog. This is a guess at our walking route.
a street in Erice |
an alley made of stairs |
wind and rain, near the entrance to Erice |
looking off the edge of the city into the fog |
we found this castle in the southeast corner of town |
castle wall in the rain |
castle steps |
extremely windy castle courtyard - don't get blown off the mountain while taking a picture |
more courtyard wall |
this castle is literally on the edge of a cliff |
seriously, why would you build a castle out here? |
gardens attached to the castle |
monument to some dude, near the gardens |
leaving the castle and gardens, back on the streets of Erice |
streets of Erice |
a large building along via San Francesco |
As the construction of Erice predates the practice of interviewing software developers, this manhole cover is square |
more tile roofs with rocks on them |
an alley |
belltower in the fog |
looking up the belltower |
side of a building, with some sort of shrine |
vertical intersection, in the fog |
another side of this building (church? who can say) |
close-up of the shrine |
a street i cannot find on google maps, on which this building which i also cannot find on google maps is located |
distinctive facade of the building i cannot find on google maps |
inscription on a wall |
After breakfast, we set out as a group to reverse the previous day's route, gliding down the mountain from Erice. We then set out across the plains into a strong headwind, riding as a group about halfway, then splitting up. I rode with Bill, David, and Tom to the coast, where we caught up with the others just as Joe and Scott were boarding a ferry to one of the nearby islands. The rest of the group went on to a Marsala tasting, but Dave, Sarah, and i decided to head straight to Marsala, where we relaxed for a bit before joining with the rest of the group. We went grocery shopping for supplies for the next day, then walked to a restaurant recommended by the hotel.
panorama at the bottom of the cloud cover over Erice |
descending, we exit the cloud layer covering Erice almost immediately, and the difference is obvious |
approaching the first switchback on the descent |
the group, looking at the view |
the view east to Monte Cofano in the morning |
the road ahead |
the road and valley below |
Monte Cofano - i think the low land visible behind it is San Vito lo Capo, the northernmost tip of Scopello's peninsula |
Dave, ready to ride |
looking down towards the coast |
the valley east, seen from a switchback |
today's installment in Chaos's occasional Sicilian graffiti series |
this is the last iconic view of Monte Cofano, i promise |
looking back up the mountain as we descend |
all done with big mountain |
Scott, by the roadside |
looking back at Valderice |
another small town in the shadow of Erice |
our route intersected with these train tracks several times |
train tracks in context |
my bike odometer fell off and i had to run back for it, giving me a chance to snap a shot of this sign: 50 kph, no trumpets |
We had more instructions not to go to Fulgatore today. We concluded that these windmills must be in Fulgatore |
Sicilian countryside |
at a road crossing under a bridge, we encountered some difficulty |
this is our route |
So, that's pretty much not happening |
we hung out by the bridge and looked at the view while Sarah scouted an alternate route. |
on our alternate route, with bonus sheep |
sheep |
David and Tom contemplate our next route instruction |
members of the party, approaching |
members of the party, still approaching |
Castelvetrano! We're getting close! Maybe there are olives in this picture! (Spoiler: there are not.) |
more windmills |
today's riding was through a lot of open fields |
riders on the road ahead |
Tom, in the Italian countryside |
a train! |
us, waiting at the train crossing behind a long line of angry drivers |
suddenly, we reach the water (an inlet behind a barrier island on the west side of Sicily) |
a sailboarder |
we wondered briefly about the nature of these mysterious manmade barriers in the water |
It turns out they're salt flats! In the background of this picture, you can see enormous mounds of salt |
more salt flats |
a flock of kitesurfers over the island! |
Looking south along the coast, we see fishing boats and the Marsala skyline |
Pier and boats along the coast |
The fishing boats again - now they are to our north, because we have moved |
Looking out to sea at boats and barrier reef - we are pretty close to Marsala now |
I'm not sure what the island visible behind the reef is - maybe Favignana? Anyway, it's off to the west |
Dave and Sarah try to figure out directions to a bike shop in Marsala |
apartment buildings outside of Marsala |
lion above the arch of a building next to our hotel in Marsala |
This building next to our hotel, possibly a former convent, was having a a modern art exhibit. This is an interior courtyard with a wall exhibit made of pipes |
The attached historical archive is temporarily closed to the public |
front of our hotel |
view from our hotel room window, into a courtyard between several buildings |
exterior of the building with the art exhibit, in twilight |
the camera isn't lying - the sky actually was this color when we left for dinner |
facade of the mother church, which we passed on the way to dinner |
round ceiling of our restaurant |
vegetarian sampler plate - everything on this platter was terrific |
squid, mussels, and pesto - also pretty terrific |
beef and potatoes, sadly not so terrific - the sauce was tasty, but the beef was overcooked to no good end |
a street in Marsala at night |