We drove on the Syracuse to Catania road for the fourth time a few days ago. I wasn’t driving – we were on a tour to Mt Etna and Taorima. I’ve driven it three times. Only one more time when we head to Palermo. And we went through toll gates legally this time. I covered my face.
Mount Etna is about as Mars-like as I would imagine Mars to be. The only environment i have seen similar to this was in the backblocks of Namibia – rough, twisted, razor sharp volcanic rocks and black sand. If you fell over in this place you’d be picked up in strips. Strangely, very strangely in fact, lady bugs are everywhere on Mount Etna because they can float up and away from predators on the thermals and hide in the many cracks and crevices. I’m surprised every other low on the food chain insect didn’t think of this. Who knew?
We were up pretty high after taking the cable car at Mt Etna. Not as high as we were when we went to the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal, but high enough to get the wobbly boots after sudden movements. After walking up a moderately steep slope for about 30 metres and having to stop halfway for a breather, I concluded that if I am ever dumb enough to attempt to climb Mt Everest, it would take me about a year.
On Sunday we did another museum. When you consider that it doesn’t matter where you are in this country (I imagine Greece is the same), there will be a few thousand years of history right under your feet so there’s a lot of stuff to put in museums. So while sculptures and pottery and tools and weapons and jewellery and frescos abound, there are very few taxis on Sunday afternoon. We eventually found one driven by a bloke who had spent a career travelling the world in the hotel industry and had come back to his home town of Syracuse during covid. He told us you’d have to be mad to drive in Italy. Thanks pal. Pity you weren’t looking over my shoulder when I booked the car. Day 1 and I’m wondering why the speed limits don’t seem to demand much attention. Day 6 and I’m ignoring speed limits with the best of them. And lane indicators are as optional as clothes at an orgy.
We’re in Palermo now, staying at a very nice resort hotel which so far seems like a home away from home for Germans….and mosquitoes. Pity really because everything else is fine. We last encountered mosquitoes in the rooftop bar in Syracuse which was a bit of a surprise. Them flying that high in cool weather would be the equivalent of me walking up Mt Etna. And besides, why hasn’t the Mafia had them all shot.
Speaking of the Mafia, we had dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant last night. There are a few here and we’re told that the boys with the black shirts and white ties like to hang out in them. Not for the food, obviously. I’ve never been particularly impressed with these ultra-fine dining places. It’s more about presentation than a good satisfying feed and the presentation didn’t disappoint but the food did. Just as expected. The price didn’t disappoint either. Again, just as expected. The mark-up on a lamb chop was about 1000%. But the chef did remove the bone.