Our love affair with Sicily began in Trapani. In August of 2008, we had sailed across from Sardinia in a short but grueling passage that was the bumpiest we'd ever experienced in all our years of sailing. We have since come to learn that sailing anywhere near the tumultuous waters of the Sicilian Strait can often be like that. But at the time, we were very relieved to arrive in Trapani. At the town dock, we were taken under the wing of Jaap and Diana on Kiara, who invited us to tie up alongside them. Things went a bit downhill when we realized that we couldn't get water unless we went into a marina at 90 euros a night. And that all the lavanderias were closed for summer holidays. Early one morning, we were evicted from the dock by the Guardia Costiera. We loved the place anyway.
Shortly after we moved to a mooring at the harbor entrance, our friends Roy and Joanne arrived for a visit. Together, we explored Trapani, Erice, Segesta, Selinunte, the Egadi islands and Monreale. We tasted our first cannoli and our first Sicilian wines. We learned to cook swordfish in a sauce of tomatoes and capers. On the night of the Ferragosto holiday, we watched the Madonna of Trapani being paraded through the streets under the dim light of an evolving lunar eclipse. For all these reasons, our memories of Trapani were golden, but we hadn't been back since.
Fortunately, our sail from Ponza was a lot smoother than the passage in 2008 had been. As we sailed into Trapani harbour for the first time in six years, I recalled the expression "you can never go back" and wondered whether we would be disappointed in what we found. We weren't disappointed. In fact, after a walk through the old section of Trapani, I wondered if they might have tidied things up a bit. The buildings looked more impressive than I remembered. Cleaner. They almost
glowed. The gelato was just as good too.
We just wished that Roy and Joanne were with us. In 2008, we'd taken photos of each other on one of the stone benches facing the waterfront.
So we took a new version using a timer and tripod and emailed it to them.
We visited the cathedral, had a drink at the Café Il Cappellaio Matto across the street, then moved on to Pipitone for pizza. Almost as good as the pizza in Napoli, but not quite.
Shortly after we got back to the boat, we got an email from our friends Victoria and Donald. They were in Trapani! And the next morning we looked out and saw the Australian boat "Fourth Dimension" in the anchorage. Onboard was Bill Anderson, whom we had met with his wife Linda in Porto Empedocle last year. Unfortunately we just had time for a quick hello before we headed to shore to meet Victoria and Donald. By the next day Fourth Dimension was under sail again, headed for Turkey at a breakneck pace.
After a slight mix-up where we were waiting for Donald and Victoria at the Piazza Mercado del Pesce, and they were waiting for us at the real-life Mercado del Pesce, we rendezvoused at the Café Il Cappellaio Matto. Back-up plans are always wise. Over cappuccino for some and beer for others, we got caught up on the story of their vacation thus far. Days of rain and dozens of mosquito bites in Corfu. A drive through some of the grimmest and grimiest towns in Sicily. Somehow, they had managed to drive past some of the loveliest places on the island without seeing them. In fact, Donald informed us that they were thinking of writing their own blog about Sicily, a kind of anti-blog that would describe soot and garbage and oil refineries and traffic. They were clearly having a great vacation in spite of it all, but we were determined to show them the nicer side of Sicily. A trip to the nearby medieval mountain town of Erice seemed like a good place to start.
Victoria doesn't like heights much, so she braved the trip up the gondola to Erice with her eyes closed all the way. But when we arrived, I think she was glad she'd made the trip.
We wandered through the narrow streets for a while, but quickly settled ourselves at La Pentolaccia, a Rough Guide recommendation for lunch. If you go there, try the tagliatelle "gemme di fiume". Rick was wise enough to order it, and generous enough to share it. Next, off to Maria Grammatica's for a round of cannoli. Yes Joanne, it was as good as the first time! We climbed to the castle,admired the wonderful views over the Sicilian countryside, bought some colourful mats and then made our way back to the gondola and Trapani.
The sky was looking ominous as we piled into the dinghy, but we made it onboard before the rain started. After a very light supper, the rest of the evening was given over to playing bridge. Rick and I did not expect to win, but we didn't expect to be trounced quite as soundly as we were!
The next morning we had breakfast onboard Aisling, then piled into Donald and Victoria's rental car and headed for Segesta, where the remains of a 2400-year-old Doric temple and theatre sit majestically on a hillside. The origins of the site may go back to around 1200 BC when, according to legend , survivors of the Trojan war were led there by Aeneas. Construction of the temple began in 424 BC, possibly in preparation for a visit from an Athenian delegation, but it was never fully completed due to wars with nearby Selinunte. We had visited both Segesta and Selinunte with Roy and Joanne in 2008 and at that time, visitors could walk inside the temple. This is no longer allowed, but the experience was still downright awesome. So was the view from the theatre at the top of the hill.
Lunch might have been the best part. As we were parking the car, a man had approached us with a flyer advertising a lunch special at Baglio Segesta, a nearby(sic) restaurant. Normally, we would ignore this type of advertising, but something about the way he stressed that this was "No Turistica" convinced us. After going under the autostada twice as directed, we followed signs that led us onto a dirt road and through a farm, where vineyards and olive groves seemed to go on forever. "This could end either very well or very badly" I joked, but we were all happy when the trail ended at a lovely restaurant on the site of an old "baglio" (fortified farmhouse). Lunch was abundant and delicious. This is just the antipasta- we were each served a plate this size, followed by two varieties of pasta and topped off by mini cannoli for dessert. We said no to lemoncello.
Our time with Victoria and Donald was too short. After lunch, they drove us back to Trapani and then made their way to a hotel near Palermo, where they would catch a flight to London the next morning. We would soon leave for Tunisia, but we had to make time for a visit to the fish market. It had moved across the street from its previous location, but the selection of fresh seafood was great. Watching this guy chomping on the stub of a cigar as he cleaned our sea bass was a classic Sicilian moment!
Late in the day, we saw a boat of what we presumed to be would-be immigrants being taken ashore by the Coast Guard, marched up a guarded gangway and taken away in buses. With thousands entering Sicily illegally, perhaps this too is becoming a typical Sicilian sight.
Cruisers Notes:
As mentioned above, it's been a while since we visited Trapani. A few things have changed. First of all the Ameica's Cup boat moorings are now all gone. However you can still anchor near the Columbaia mole beside the old fort. There is room for 5-10 boats here in 25' of water with a mud and sand bottom. Good holding. The dinghy can be left near the boat Guardia Costiera dock beside the public boat launch. There are iron loops to affix your lock. In the morning on the street perpendicular to the boat launch there are vegetable markets and a truck carrying smoked fish, salamis, cheese and other Sicilian specials. A little further down the road on the left is the town fish market. If you keep going and turn right there is a grocery store, not too far from the store at the corner where you can exchange camping gas bottles. If you continue eastwards on this street in turns into a pedestrian street with some nice restaurants, Pizza shops and café/bars. The old architecture is easy on the eyes. There is a chandlery on the main drag near the Guardia Costiera under the trees. We did not take on water here this time but last time were told it is non potable but can be had at the marina further in the harbour near the ship yard.