Sicily
We were a couple miles out from Siracusa when Pete and I came on watch; very fitting as I was at the helm as we sailed in considering my grandparents had left here by boat many years ago. The lighthouse is in an old castle on the headland, the structure still very intact and open for tourist to explore.



The lighthouse and castle at the entrance to the harbor

The marina here doesn’t have any facilities so we anchored in the harbor; being in the open will allow a nice fresh breeze to come through the hatches at night. Once the boat was safely tucked away we took the dingy into town, first order of business pick up Italian SIM cards for our phones. We walked along the busy street and found someone who could speak English to give us directions.
After accomplishing our task, we went back out to Skyelark, where the rest of the crew were now awake and motored to the fuel dock to top up the tanks and take on fresh water. Peter departed with his bag just as Fred and Bob, Ems replacement, arrived. Introductions were made all around then Fred and I went ashore to explore the city. Fred had been here a couple days already so he knew the bus system and the location of the market, very important information for Team Skyelark. We went to the Teatro Greco, located in an archeological park with other important sites. The admission was 10 Euros, so having just come from Athens I opted to relax at the café near the entrance with a few beers and a cigar while Fred went in to look around.
Fred and I walked back, stopping off for a beer and sandwich at a small café. We then explored the old city, situated on a small island where the marina is located and connected to the mainland by a short bridge; our assigned task was to scope out a spot for dinner.



The intricacy of the details on the buildings is evident in the supports for this balcony



Laundry hangs in one of the may narrow alleyways


Following the advice of the woman at the tourist office we avoided the restaurants directly on the waterfront and only considered those that had the menu posted outside. We a few possible spots identified we went back to the dingy dock at the predetermined time to return to the boat and get ready for dinner.



Fred and I in front of the cathedral

Some of the places we had looked at couldn’t accommodate our group so we ended up at one with tables outside under a large tent off one of the many narrow alleys. They had a jazz trio there, improvising as they played; you could tell they were having fun entertaining each other as well as the restaurant guests. The food was very good, and the local wine cheap and plentiful.
Back onboard we celebrated Tinas birthday with an ice cream cake and lemoncello; as I had been up since 5:00 am and with the wine flowing freely at dinner I made it an early night anticipating exploring the old city and the market tomorrow.
We got up early the next morning and headed into town; Dan had to see Em off as she was taking the bus to Catania and then flying to Genoa to pick up the Oyster she will be skippering for the next month. The mission today was to go to the market and re-provision the boat, Fred and Jim had been there before so they led the way. The market was basically fruit and vegetable stands along the road interspersed with fish shops and delis. Fred took us to a deli he ate at yesterday and we had the best fresh made sandwiches ever. You just choose your meats from the deli case then let the butcher take over from there; even better they were made on the very crusty bread I love.
Walking through the market the fish shops were very well stocked, and the tuna they had were the largest I’ve ever seen; some of the bodies were a good two feet across, if we hook one of them during our travels I have no idea how we will get it aboard. We stocked up until everybody had a handful of bags and then went back to the dingy to drop it all off at the boat.



A fish vendor poses with a large swordfish head


I stayed onboard a while, posting one trip report and uploading some pictures while Dan worked on boat chores. After a while he dropped Bob and I off at the dock, the others were already ashore, and we did a bit of the tourist thing strolling around the old city.



A young boy earns tips playing the accordian outside the cathedral at Piazza del Doumo



a fountain in the Old Town

We made our way over to the castle and paid the 2 Euro fee to get in; it’s in good shape and interesting from an architectural standpoint. We didn’t see any museum type stuff but it offered a lot of good photo ops from the walls and walkways.




Next stop was a small café for lunch, one we had looked at last night but couldn’t seat our large group; I had wanted to try pasta with sea urchin, a thing I’ve never had before but was disappointed to find out they are out of season as they breed this time of year. Still there were plenty of interesting offerings on the menu and specials board; for starters we had swordfish capanetta and baked ricotta, our mains were tagolini with dried tuna eggs and clams and ravioli in squid ink. The look of the pillow shaped pasta covered with the very dark black sauce put us off at first, but it tasted good and not too fishy. Some beers and a couple litres of the local wine later and Dan showed up having left the dingy in Fred’s capable hands to ferry the others back to the boat.
Fred caught up with us as we were having a few rounds of beer in the piazza and then we stopped at a supermarket for a few staples and also got a couple bottles of the local wine. We weren’t sure what to expect since it was sold in 2 litre plastic water type bottles and only cost 3,25 Euros. Fred and I tried some on the step outside the grocery store, much to Dan’s amusement as we were passing the bottle back and forth.



Team Skyelark enjoying our dinner

Dinner on board that night were tuna steaks Dan had picked up at the market; they were so large they could only be cooked one at a time since they took up the whole frying pan, the same one I fried the pork chops in four at a time the other day. Served with rice, salad, and pita bread slices with an assortment of dips it was a job to finish it all; but we managed to clear the plates.
Maybe due to the wine or walking all day I called it an early night; I had volunteered to assist in our early morning (first light) departure to our next destination Taormina further up the Sicilian coast.