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Visitors and visits

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In late January our friends Nett & Peter came to visit for a week. It was great to see them ....... and holiday time for us too, as having visitors gives us the excuse to get out and about to do a bit of site-seeing! The local buses are quite good but we can go further afield in a hired car! So despite several days of bad weather, the four of us made day trips to some of the local towns and villages. We wandered through the wet streets, admiring the plethora of grand churches and popping into cafes to escape the frequent downpours! We saw Scicli, Ragusa, Ragusa Ibla (stunning old town), Donalucata, and Modica – famous for its chocolate (unusual, dark and grainy – definitely an acquired taste!!)

We also had a night out in Vittoria where Irio De Paula, a Brazillian jazz guitarist, was giving a recital. Several other yachties came along and 10 of us went for a pizza before the show, which took place in a wonderful little theatre in the square. It’s like a mini opera house inside, complete with tiers of gold-embossed boxes – a good night out!

We managed to choose a warm, sunny day to visit the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, one of Sicily’s most famous historical attractions. It’s quite a distance away to the southwest and we drove for 2 hours to get there, but it was definitely worth the trouble. This is a UNESCO National Heritage site where the remains of eight temples and various other ancient buildings are situated along a rocky crest south of modern day Agrigento ( ...so not really in a valley at all!). The temples, in various states of repair, date from around 500 BC and are sited in commanding positions overlooking the surrounding countryside - overall a stunning site. As an added extra, an exhibition of bronze sculptures was taking place and individual pieces had been erected in the shadow of many of the temples – a double dose of culture!!!

Nett & Peter had rented an apartment close to the marina for their stay - a good venue for a musical evening! With John on guitar, me (Belinda) on clarinet, Nett on tambourine and copious amounts of food and drink on the table, we all (8 of us) had a great time playing and singing late into the night. ...and no week would be complete without a ‘Friday curry’ on board Quilcene!

The wet and windy weather continued through February (although it was occasionally interspersed with glorious sunny periods!) so it was good to get off the boat in early March and fly back to the UK for three weeks! We’d been hearing what nice weather the UK had been enjoying over winter, but guess what?? It rained all day on our first day back!! Never mind, it didn’t spoil our trip; there was plenty of fine weather whilst we were there. As usual it was a round of visiting and catching up with friends and family and the time flew by.

Flying back into Catania, we hired a car from the airport for 4 days. This solved two problems; how to get back to Marina di Ragusa after the last bus had left; and a vehicle to do the BIG spring shop. ....not to mention another day out! So! Pre-sailing shopping means stocking the boat lockers full of heavy, long life food - tins, bottled water, vacuum packed foods etc., and of course, lots of the good local wines! Shopping was quite painless - very reasonable prices here, especially in Lidl, and the little Peugeot 106 managed several heavy loads valiantly!! Then it was fun time and we set out with John and Janine (Orca Joss) to visit a vineyard to the southeast. Spring had arrived by now and the Sicilian countryside was carpeted with wild flowers, the roadside verges a blaze of yellows, pinks, blues and reds. Sicily is so beautiful at this time of year!

The Rudini Vineyard at Pachino was an excellent choice! We were warmly welcomed and given a tour of the plant; it was fascinating to see the huge casks of wine aging in the cellars (the expensive stuff!), and the tall stainless steel vats (our price range!). Modern methods include automated bottling, stopping and labelling; we watched mesmerised as shiny bottles whizzed along various tracks collecting their allotted measure, and arrived at the end all labelled up and ready for packing.

...then came the best bit – tasting!

We tried a selection, they were all pretty good, finally settling on a delicious white and a red that were available in 3L boxes, and a few ‘special’ bottles for occasions!

Naturally all this gave us an appetite so we headed to nearby Marzamemi for a pasta lunch (what else??) on the quayside in the sun looking out over the small harbour! Marzamemi is a small picturesque village dating back to the Arab domination of Sicily, and has low stone buildings and archways and a lovely square - Piazza Regina Margherita – with two churches. It was once a busy tuna fishing port but now the old fishermen’s dwellings house several bars, restaurants and chic craft boutiques (still not yet open in the early spring) which suggest it is a popular summer destination.
Reluctantly we took back the hire car and returned to pedal power! In the marina, more and more people began arriving back on their boats after a winter break, and it became a hive of activity as sails were rigged, decks cleaned and brightwork polished.

More visitors at Easter when Chris, an old friend of Kits, came to Marina di Ragusa with his partner Joan and son David, daughter-in-law Liz and baby Isabella. By coincidence Liz has family here, many of whom we met when they all descended upon Quilcene for afternoon drinks! It was great fun having them on board and despite language difficulties we managed to chat quite well – aided by Liz and her sister Julia, who translated the difficult bits!!! ...and Kit and Chris enjoyed a spot of reminiscing over childhood memories.

With the lockers fully stocked, new Windex atop the mast and the stainless all bright and shiny we were now ready to go. All that remained was to bid fond farewells to friends; some we may never see again because our paths will take us in different directions, and some also heading west so we may meet up again later this year. Either way, it was with mixed feelings that we finally headed out of Marina di Ragusa on 27th April bound initially for Malta.