Bungalow Camping Baciccia, Ceriale/Savona (ACSI2009-1469) N44.08164 E8.21777
After scanning the ASCI book, we decide to head to Ceriale, we stayed in this area last year with Joan and Bryan, on our way home from Croatia via Venice.
The route is simple, mostly motorway, and there is little cause for argument with the satnav, but on leaving the motorway, we find the toll booth is unmanned (fairly common in Italy). Since we are driving a Van with the steering wheel on the “wrong” side, handling the tolls is the passenger’s task. Problem one is I fail to get near enough to the machine so that the boss can reach the buttons for the machine from her seat. So she has to scramble out of the cab to get near enough to the machine, minus her glasses of course. The machines are quite neat, and “speak” the instructions as to which buttons to press and how much you need to pay. The instructions or course are in Italian, and on this particular machine the button to switch to English instructions clearly did not work, and it just kept on issuing instructions in Italian. This led to an argument between the Boss and the toll machine, picture if you will an irate Kathleen shouting at a toll machine which of course continued to repeat the same Italian phrase over and over.
Last year when we were in this area, we stayed at a site called Bella Vista, so we decided to try the other site in the area. In our view it is better than Bella Vista, one advantage is that it is not as far up the hill, so cycling back from the supermarket with a full pack is much less hard work!
Today we set off to cycle to Allasio, which according to our map reading is about 7 miles north of here along the coast. Enroute we had to pass through Albenga (about 4 miles away). This was a pleasantly surprising place. It is a “working” town, rather than a tourist destination, but is has an a very old section, with a labyrinth of narrow streets. It looks Arabic, but according to the information in the museum it is Byzantine (what ever that is). There is also a 4th century church dedicated to John the Baptist, with murals and a full immersion font all amazingly well preserved considering their age.
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Wednesday May 20th 2009 - Sunday May 24th 2009
Molino a Fuoco, Vada/Livorno (ACSI2009-1593) N43.33206 E10.46021
Well, we must move on if we are going to have enough time on our way home to linger in France. So we continue north and arrive at Vada.
The site is good, although a bit on the large side for our taste.
Vada is a very pleasant town, and is only a short cycle ride away, mostly on a cycle track. One of our first tasks (as usual) is to cycle into town, locate the church, and determine mass times for Sunday. So mission accomplished, we find a suitable café and have a couple of beers as the world passes by.
As we drive in, we encounter another English couple (Jeremy and Hillary), relaxing in the sun. We spend a pleasant evening with them sampling their 1.5l bottle of red wine.
The coast here is an almost continuous beach of white sand stretching for several kilometres, back from the beach are cool pine woods, with numerous paths and cycle tracks. So we spend our days cycling, mostly along the coast as far south as Marina Bibona, but also inland to Ceccina.
We have Jeremy and Hillary round to our pitch for return match of red wine drinking and discover that Jeremy is a folk music fan. Out comes the guitar and an impromptu concert begins, Kathleen works through her repertoire of Peter, Paul and Mary, Everley Brothers etc and with Jeremy giving a very good rendition of “Wild Rover”. Our next door neighbours (a Dutch foursome, who spend most evenings playing cards) are the audience, and join in the fun with a few verses of “Tulips from Amsterdam”.
Well, we must move on if we are going to have enough time on our way home to linger in France. So we continue north and arrive at Vada.
The site is good, although a bit on the large side for our taste.
Vada is a very pleasant town, and is only a short cycle ride away, mostly on a cycle track. One of our first tasks (as usual) is to cycle into town, locate the church, and determine mass times for Sunday. So mission accomplished, we find a suitable café and have a couple of beers as the world passes by.
As we drive in, we encounter another English couple (Jeremy and Hillary), relaxing in the sun. We spend a pleasant evening with them sampling their 1.5l bottle of red wine.
The coast here is an almost continuous beach of white sand stretching for several kilometres, back from the beach are cool pine woods, with numerous paths and cycle tracks. So we spend our days cycling, mostly along the coast as far south as Marina Bibona, but also inland to Ceccina.
We have Jeremy and Hillary round to our pitch for return match of red wine drinking and discover that Jeremy is a folk music fan. Out comes the guitar and an impromptu concert begins, Kathleen works through her repertoire of Peter, Paul and Mary, Everley Brothers etc and with Jeremy giving a very good rendition of “Wild Rover”. Our next door neighbours (a Dutch foursome, who spend most evenings playing cards) are the audience, and join in the fun with a few verses of “Tulips from Amsterdam”.
Friday May 15th 2009 - Tuesday May 19th 2009
La Spaggia, Passignano sul Trasimeno (ACSI2009-1532) N43.18397 E12.15089
So while we have enjoyed our visit to Pompei, it is incredibly hot there, and being a city centre location it is not exactly ideal for lying about. So off we go again, still heading north, this time for Lake Tresimeno which we have visited in the past in our MX5 days, during our holiday near Firenze (Florence to us English speakers).
The site here is excellent, right on the lake shore, and with a pleasant quiet ambiance.
The town (Passignano) is a short (flat) cycle ride away and it has the obligatory church. It is also has numerous cafes and bars, and is a pleasant place to wander and have the obligatory drink or icecream. In addition, there is a very old section, built high on the hill with beautiful medieval buildings.
We hope to cycle around the lake, but on talking to the site owner he advises us this is not a good idea as the road along the southern edge is very busy. However he gave us a map, showing a cycle track which allows us to cycle 25km in one direction and 15km in the other, which is about 2/3 of the way round.
So one day we cycle the 15km to San Feliciano, it is a beautiful ride through olive groves and vineyards. We stop off along the way, for a drink and icecreams of course. Another day we cycle in the opposite direction mostly through a nature reserve, with fields of wild poppies in full bloom, just like a Monet painting, to Castiglione del Lago. This is an ancient hill town, with a more or less intact castle. While we sit in a pavement café watching the world go by, an English foursome arrive at the table next to us, and Kathleen obliges by taking their photograph (using their camera), for them.
So while we have enjoyed our visit to Pompei, it is incredibly hot there, and being a city centre location it is not exactly ideal for lying about. So off we go again, still heading north, this time for Lake Tresimeno which we have visited in the past in our MX5 days, during our holiday near Firenze (Florence to us English speakers).
The site here is excellent, right on the lake shore, and with a pleasant quiet ambiance.
The town (Passignano) is a short (flat) cycle ride away and it has the obligatory church. It is also has numerous cafes and bars, and is a pleasant place to wander and have the obligatory drink or icecream. In addition, there is a very old section, built high on the hill with beautiful medieval buildings.
We hope to cycle around the lake, but on talking to the site owner he advises us this is not a good idea as the road along the southern edge is very busy. However he gave us a map, showing a cycle track which allows us to cycle 25km in one direction and 15km in the other, which is about 2/3 of the way round.
So one day we cycle the 15km to San Feliciano, it is a beautiful ride through olive groves and vineyards. We stop off along the way, for a drink and icecreams of course. Another day we cycle in the opposite direction mostly through a nature reserve, with fields of wild poppies in full bloom, just like a Monet painting, to Castiglione del Lago. This is an ancient hill town, with a more or less intact castle. While we sit in a pavement café watching the world go by, an English foursome arrive at the table next to us, and Kathleen obliges by taking their photograph (using their camera), for them.
Monday May 11th 2009
Costa Verde, San Nicolo di Ricardi (ACSI2009-1564) N38.63856 E15.83406
We decide to head up the East Coast to stay near Mt Etna the still active volcano North of Catania. We find the site we have been recommended to go to, it is disappointingly scrappy after Scarabeo. But, we find the area with the best view of Etna and begin to select our spot. We are still manoeuvring when a German chap, comes along and complains that we are too close to him (even although other vans are closer). OK so we move a bit (well quite a bit) further away. But the seeds have been sown, the boss is incensed, and works herself into a fury. So we take the photographs of Etna (which was the only reason we came here), pack up and leave.
We now decide we will just go to Messina and get the ferry, we have had enough of Sicily. We arrive at Messina at around lunch time, and get caught up in a big traffic jam. As we edge along, with the inevitable scooters buzzing around and overtaking on all sides, we notice a sort of medallion man character who is riding a quad bike as if it is a motor bike (ie he is attempting to weave in and out of the almost stationary traffic). A few hundred yards further and we encounter the inevitable car “parked” and blocking the traffic. We signal and edge out to pass the parked car, this appears to incense medallion man, and for some reason the female driver of a small and battered Opel Corsa on my left. We clear the obstruction. Next thing is Medallion man has pulled along side us, and is shouting and gesturing for us to pull over. We ignore him and continue on. Then come some traffic lights which are on stop for us, medallion man, seizes his chance and pulls in front of us, preventing us from moving forward when the lights change. He shouts, we shout back, stalemate, the irate female arrives on the scene and also drives her car across in front of us. I know we have done nothing wrong, and have certainly not made contact with her. Kathleen becomes increasingly convinced we are being set up. By now we are holding up all of the traffic, and there is a constant blasting of horns. Fortunately two Motor Cycle Police arrive on the scene. Medallion man vanishes. The irate female, gestures to her car, claiming to the one of the Policemen that we have added a new scrape to the existing collection already on her car. By now, Kathleen is out of the van and (forcefully) explaining to the Policeman (in English of course) that we had definitely not made contact with her car. The police had no hesitation in just sending us on our way, so I assume they has seen it all before.
So we make our way to the ferry and on a calm and sunny afternoon, we return to main land Italy.
We leave the motorway (or should I say contraflow), when directed by our satnav, and wind our way along the coast towards our next site. As we approach, there is a warning sign advising no vans over 7m allowed, then we see why. The approach road is a 1 in 3 descent, built into the cliff face, with numerous hair pin bends. As we descend, Kathleen asks “what if we meet something coming the other way”, good question, because there is no way I can reverse up here!
We are offered a pitch right on the sea, but the approach too tight for our van, so we have to take another pitch with not such a good view.
The site is good, but we decide not to linger more than one night, since you are effectively cut off here, you can walk along the beach, but to do anything else you have to trek up the scary approach road.
We decide to head up the East Coast to stay near Mt Etna the still active volcano North of Catania. We find the site we have been recommended to go to, it is disappointingly scrappy after Scarabeo. But, we find the area with the best view of Etna and begin to select our spot. We are still manoeuvring when a German chap, comes along and complains that we are too close to him (even although other vans are closer). OK so we move a bit (well quite a bit) further away. But the seeds have been sown, the boss is incensed, and works herself into a fury. So we take the photographs of Etna (which was the only reason we came here), pack up and leave.
We now decide we will just go to Messina and get the ferry, we have had enough of Sicily. We arrive at Messina at around lunch time, and get caught up in a big traffic jam. As we edge along, with the inevitable scooters buzzing around and overtaking on all sides, we notice a sort of medallion man character who is riding a quad bike as if it is a motor bike (ie he is attempting to weave in and out of the almost stationary traffic). A few hundred yards further and we encounter the inevitable car “parked” and blocking the traffic. We signal and edge out to pass the parked car, this appears to incense medallion man, and for some reason the female driver of a small and battered Opel Corsa on my left. We clear the obstruction. Next thing is Medallion man has pulled along side us, and is shouting and gesturing for us to pull over. We ignore him and continue on. Then come some traffic lights which are on stop for us, medallion man, seizes his chance and pulls in front of us, preventing us from moving forward when the lights change. He shouts, we shout back, stalemate, the irate female arrives on the scene and also drives her car across in front of us. I know we have done nothing wrong, and have certainly not made contact with her. Kathleen becomes increasingly convinced we are being set up. By now we are holding up all of the traffic, and there is a constant blasting of horns. Fortunately two Motor Cycle Police arrive on the scene. Medallion man vanishes. The irate female, gestures to her car, claiming to the one of the Policemen that we have added a new scrape to the existing collection already on her car. By now, Kathleen is out of the van and (forcefully) explaining to the Policeman (in English of course) that we had definitely not made contact with her car. The police had no hesitation in just sending us on our way, so I assume they has seen it all before.
So we make our way to the ferry and on a calm and sunny afternoon, we return to main land Italy.
We leave the motorway (or should I say contraflow), when directed by our satnav, and wind our way along the coast towards our next site. As we approach, there is a warning sign advising no vans over 7m allowed, then we see why. The approach road is a 1 in 3 descent, built into the cliff face, with numerous hair pin bends. As we descend, Kathleen asks “what if we meet something coming the other way”, good question, because there is no way I can reverse up here!
We are offered a pitch right on the sea, but the approach too tight for our van, so we have to take another pitch with not such a good view.
The site is good, but we decide not to linger more than one night, since you are effectively cut off here, you can walk along the beach, but to do anything else you have to trek up the scary approach road.
Saturday May 2nd 2009 - Sunday May 10th
Scarabeo Camping, Punta Braccetto (ACSI2009-1552) N36.81709 E14.46729
Sunday approaches, so decision time, do we stay and “do” Mass here, or do we move on. We elect to move on. Now we are heading more or less East along the South coast. We arrive at Scarabeo Camping, initially it all appears pretty much what we have come to expect, a bit scrappy. Reception is closed. I wander across to where a couple of guys are cleaning squid they have caught, and ask (using my very few words of Italian) what time Reception opens. He tells me we are at the wrong place, we need to be a few hundred metres down the road, where a refurbished Scarabeo Camping is open for business.
Amazing, this site is clean and orderly. The pathways are weed free, and there is a clean sandy beach adjoining the site. Facilities are excellent, there is event hot water in the washing up sinks. Fresh Bread is delivered to the site every morning, and some days an Ice Cream man calls, plus there is an excellent pizza shop just outside the site. But hold on, I am getting over excited.
The young lady in Reception gives us a conducted tour, ensuring we know where everything is and pointing out our choice of pitches as we go. Can this be Sicily?
There is a mix of nationalities, Swiss, Austrian, German, Dutch, and once we settle in we find a couple of fellow GB’s. As often happens, the small world syndrome kicks in and we find that our fellow GB’s even originate from the North East. There is Vera and Pete originally from Barnard Castle and Darlington respectively, but now living in Crete, and Colin and Kath originally from Newcastle but now living in Leicester.
Colin by the way does excellent “puddings” of doughnuts, strawberries and cream.
Kathleen is soon sitting in the sun, playing her guitar, soon joined by Colin and a German chap who can play some good Simon and Garfunckle stuff, but whose singing leaves a bit to be desired.
We settle in to stay here a while. We cycle the 4miles to San Croce (the nearest town of any size), and find the essentials (ie church, supermarket and cash machine). Apart from playing boules on the beach, and abortively trying to fly a kite, we explore the coast on our bikes and cycle along the coast to Marina di Ragusa, which is taking shape as what promises to be a smart resort, stopping off for beers or coffee’s as the mood takes us.
Sunday approaches, so decision time, do we stay and “do” Mass here, or do we move on. We elect to move on. Now we are heading more or less East along the South coast. We arrive at Scarabeo Camping, initially it all appears pretty much what we have come to expect, a bit scrappy. Reception is closed. I wander across to where a couple of guys are cleaning squid they have caught, and ask (using my very few words of Italian) what time Reception opens. He tells me we are at the wrong place, we need to be a few hundred metres down the road, where a refurbished Scarabeo Camping is open for business.
Amazing, this site is clean and orderly. The pathways are weed free, and there is a clean sandy beach adjoining the site. Facilities are excellent, there is event hot water in the washing up sinks. Fresh Bread is delivered to the site every morning, and some days an Ice Cream man calls, plus there is an excellent pizza shop just outside the site. But hold on, I am getting over excited.
The young lady in Reception gives us a conducted tour, ensuring we know where everything is and pointing out our choice of pitches as we go. Can this be Sicily?
There is a mix of nationalities, Swiss, Austrian, German, Dutch, and once we settle in we find a couple of fellow GB’s. As often happens, the small world syndrome kicks in and we find that our fellow GB’s even originate from the North East. There is Vera and Pete originally from Barnard Castle and Darlington respectively, but now living in Crete, and Colin and Kath originally from Newcastle but now living in Leicester.
Colin by the way does excellent “puddings” of doughnuts, strawberries and cream.
Kathleen is soon sitting in the sun, playing her guitar, soon joined by Colin and a German chap who can play some good Simon and Garfunckle stuff, but whose singing leaves a bit to be desired.
We settle in to stay here a while. We cycle the 4miles to San Croce (the nearest town of any size), and find the essentials (ie church, supermarket and cash machine). Apart from playing boules on the beach, and abortively trying to fly a kite, we explore the coast on our bikes and cycle along the coast to Marina di Ragusa, which is taking shape as what promises to be a smart resort, stopping off for beers or coffee’s as the mood takes us.
Wednesday April 29th 2009 - Friday May 1st 2009
Sporting Village and Camping, Mazara del Vallo (ACSI2009-1517) N37.63638 E12.61724
Mazara del Vallo is (according to the book), the first area the Arabs settled and conquered, and the last town they lost to the invading Normans. Sicily does have an amazing history of invasion and occupation, with Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and surprisingly Normans all taking their turn to capture and occupy it.
The site here is reasonably good, it has a nice clean swimming pool, which is open. There is free and plentiful hot water (but not in the washing up sinks), and washing machines that work. There are no fellow GB’s here, but mainly Germans, a few Dutch and a few Italians.
There is one novel feature however. The showers are joint use (ie men and women), they have no locks on the doors, and they a only as big as a “standard” shower cubicle, so consequently once you are in the shower, there is no where to hang your clothes where they will not get wet. The convention seems to be, strip off outside the shower, nip in the shower and hang your towel over the door so that it is obvious it is occupied. As I say, interesting trying to time your shower to coincide with a fit young woman, as opposed to a wrinkly one.
Enough of that, Mazara is home to Europe’s biggest Tuna fishing fleet, and there is a pleasant cycle ride along the sea front to the fishing port. The town generally however is in a deplorable state of disrepair.
Mazara del Vallo is (according to the book), the first area the Arabs settled and conquered, and the last town they lost to the invading Normans. Sicily does have an amazing history of invasion and occupation, with Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and surprisingly Normans all taking their turn to capture and occupy it.
The site here is reasonably good, it has a nice clean swimming pool, which is open. There is free and plentiful hot water (but not in the washing up sinks), and washing machines that work. There are no fellow GB’s here, but mainly Germans, a few Dutch and a few Italians.
There is one novel feature however. The showers are joint use (ie men and women), they have no locks on the doors, and they a only as big as a “standard” shower cubicle, so consequently once you are in the shower, there is no where to hang your clothes where they will not get wet. The convention seems to be, strip off outside the shower, nip in the shower and hang your towel over the door so that it is obvious it is occupied. As I say, interesting trying to time your shower to coincide with a fit young woman, as opposed to a wrinkly one.
Enough of that, Mazara is home to Europe’s biggest Tuna fishing fleet, and there is a pleasant cycle ride along the sea front to the fishing port. The town generally however is in a deplorable state of disrepair.
Tuesday April 28th 2009
La Pineta, San Vito Lo Capo (ACSI2009-1566) N38.17392 E12.74808
We wake to find the storm has passed, the sun is shining. So we decide to continue westwards along the north coast to San Vito Lo Capo. The ride passes uneventfully (it needs to after yesterday!), and we arrive at San Vito Lo Capo. It is a very pleasant place, with a wide, clean sandy beach and the usual collection of bars, cafes etc etc. There is even an ancient church, dedicated of course to San Vito. It has clearly been a mosque at some point in the past, since it not shaped like a church. But when we arrive at the campsite, it is a construction site, they are still building the swimming pool!. We initially assume the site is closed, since the Reception is all shut up, but one of the workmen hurries over and assures us it is open, and tells us we need to go to the bar, where someone will be available to check us in.
We are the only people there, so we have a wide choice of pitches!. In fairness, the facilities are good and clean. There is even hot water via a token (supplied free for ACSI clients). Now we do like quiet sites, but being the only guest is just a bit too quiet!
I have to say, that so far, I am not impressed with Sicily. The built up area we have seen are shabby, and the coast and countryside is litter strewn, we will have to hope that it improves. Driving is a case of just ignoring all of the “normal” rules. The classic is the Europe wide “No overtaking” sign of two cars side by side, one red and one black. Here it appears to mean form two lanes in the space of the single lane marking on the road. The roads are strewn with bits of bumper and trim which have been broken in some minor bump. A car without bodywork damage is a rarity indeed.
We wake to find the storm has passed, the sun is shining. So we decide to continue westwards along the north coast to San Vito Lo Capo. The ride passes uneventfully (it needs to after yesterday!), and we arrive at San Vito Lo Capo. It is a very pleasant place, with a wide, clean sandy beach and the usual collection of bars, cafes etc etc. There is even an ancient church, dedicated of course to San Vito. It has clearly been a mosque at some point in the past, since it not shaped like a church. But when we arrive at the campsite, it is a construction site, they are still building the swimming pool!. We initially assume the site is closed, since the Reception is all shut up, but one of the workmen hurries over and assures us it is open, and tells us we need to go to the bar, where someone will be available to check us in.
We are the only people there, so we have a wide choice of pitches!. In fairness, the facilities are good and clean. There is even hot water via a token (supplied free for ACSI clients). Now we do like quiet sites, but being the only guest is just a bit too quiet!
I have to say, that so far, I am not impressed with Sicily. The built up area we have seen are shabby, and the coast and countryside is litter strewn, we will have to hope that it improves. Driving is a case of just ignoring all of the “normal” rules. The classic is the Europe wide “No overtaking” sign of two cars side by side, one red and one black. Here it appears to mean form two lanes in the space of the single lane marking on the road. The roads are strewn with bits of bumper and trim which have been broken in some minor bump. A car without bodywork damage is a rarity indeed.
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