Stage 1 (sort of): Palermo- Monreale, Sun, very warm, 26

From the Underbelly To The Crown Jewel

Before I begin into today's adventures I want to take a brief moment to post some photos from a beautiful chapel we visited at the palace yesterday. This is a shot from the backside of the palace which makes me think of a quick reno/addition made after the king and Queen had each successive child.

Inside the 11th C chapel was stunning and a gift to the eyes! A Unesco WHS. 

We returned to the restaurant from the previous night and received an enthusiastic welcome from our host. It was a little like coming home to a familiar place and she helped us with our Italian pronunciations which led to endless laughter. I know, I'm so good at picking up languages! However, I'm beginning to see similarities with Spanish, so perhaps my ear is aging well with the rest of me;)

Today the hosts of pension also welcomed us up from our slumbers with great warmth and provided a very good breakfast and good conversation. The breakfast cake was made by "my Mother" and it was indeed wonderful. We had completed all our required errands yesterday and decided that we had one thing left to accomplish today for our friends Neil and Sarah, and kind of perversely for my buddy Rob. Yup, we went in search of a bridge...sorry Rob. Not just any bridge, but the finest example of a world heritage medieval Norman bridge left on our planet! Hey Rob, at least it wasn't Roman! Built in the 11th C, it was pretty cool...for a bridge...without water under it? The trick was that we had to walk through the underbelly of Palermo to reach it. It was a bit of a dicey walk which is something for us to admit to given some of the places we've historically ventured into. I left my camera tucked away until we reached this...

Hey, good news was that there were no tour groups or buses present. After a good look we worked our way back into a more comfortable part of the city and once through the tunnel ahead...

...we found a delightful  and colourful market. 

Then after a refreshment we walked back to our place and picked up our packs, poles and boots and headed off to begin our Cammino! I must admit that it felt nice to gear up again and start walking, even if it was only to the Cathedral. 

And then out the old city gate, Porto Nuevo. Still not a route marker in sight?!? We tried to ignore the tourist choo train to the left, but I'll admit that about 7 years ago  it was the only way we could see Toledo, Spain. Are you taking note Neil? It was pretty funny, but it suited a need.

On the other side of this gate we found the main bus pickup point and we waited with most of Palermo's population to catch the 389 to Monreale. Our bus finally pulled up and we basically ran for the back entry door to try to get aboard. We've seen this sort of free for all before, and given the bus was already close to full, standing room was at a premium. We made it, but many others were left behind. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be the "sorry" Canadians. The bus held more people than it was ever designed to hold and Annemarie thinks it was fuller than anything we experienced in Vietnam. I'm not so sure. We've stood on some pretty full buses over the years. At each stop more people tried to force themselves on board and at one point an older gent managed to force his way on and proceeded to berate anyone who would listen to him. Poor guy. It was pretty overwhelming. We arrived at Monreale and not being sure this was our stop, we eventually had to force our way off the bus against traffic and I think that with my pack on I took out one or two unlucky folks on the way off! Sorry. 

We were greeted by our hostess who took us to our nice apartment and then it was time to go see what we'd come here for, aside from the fun bus ride.

Clearly very simple on the outside, this proved to be the exact opposite on the inside. 

In two days, when we are in Corleone on Independence Day, they will celebrate the 750th year of this spectacular Cathedral. Again another World Heritage Designated sight and reputed to be the jewel in Sicilia's crown. Hence the numbers of people who find there way here each year. Oddly, I've read that this little hill top town has the highest population density of any place on Sicily. Hard to believe with such poor bus service! 

A late lunch and a different quest began. Kathy, a lunch photo for you love. Something a little Greek about this I think, except you're missing at our table.  Our walk in France isn't too far away. There will be lunches there:)

So, a funny thing so far that will be appreciated by our fellow walkers. We have yet to see a single route marker. Not a one. Nothing outside the churches or cathedrals or in the towns. Nothing. We walked all over Monreale late this afternoon and couldn't find it. No one seems to have an idea that there is even a Cammino through their town. Amazing! When I asked the operators of the bar where we enjoyed lunch today if they could direct us to the route out of town all I received were blank looks. We showed them a small map on the back of our credentials and they asked where we were walking to. When we explained they were shocked that we would even consider walking across these mountains. We've had that response ever since we arrived on Sicily. Eventually we were able to get some directions where we received our stamp at the cathedral, but even those I had to confirm by asking a shop keeper on the way out of town she confirmed that yes, this was the way out. So with some relief we have our exit strategy for the morning. We have purchased breakfast supplies. Our hostess left us juice and cookies as the provided breakfast. Won't get too far on thise zero calories! 

Now we have our clothes washed and dried, it's warm outside. The blog is written and we are at almost 8 pm and it's time to wander down to town and find dinner...and maybe a nice glass of vino tinto. This is the view back to Palermo. Sadly we descend into the valley tomorrow before beginning a full stage climb. I think we are looking forward to that. For sure the ritual cold beer at the end of our walk!

Buon Cammino!

Palermo, Sicilia, Sunny and WARM! 25

Sicily, So Sicilian! 

After a long day of travel that included a delay in Calgary, forcing us to cancel our day room at the Gatwick Hilton, we finally arrived in Palermo prepared to treat ourselves. This is Paris from 37,000'

and this is the Alps with the large peak Mount Blanc at the top of the photo.
I thought to myself that those folks walking south on the Via Francigena are going to have a tough time crossing from Switzerland into Italy via the St. Bernard Pass this year which is usually not open until mid June for walkers. 

Anyway, we arrived in Palermo in the dark and we decided to skip the 45 minute airport bus ride and to instead splurge €1 more to take a shared taxi into the city which would drop us off at a set destination, but within walking distance of our quaint lodgings. A good thing because it was dark, a Saturday night and we were a wee bit tired. Loaded aboard, we were off to the races, literally! Our young driver figured that he was out to break all land speed records. As we flew down the autostrada and took an exit we started to lurch and suddenly there was silence. We were lead to believe that he had experienced car trouble as he backed down the exit ramp and back into the side of the autostrada with lights blinking. I'd seen from the back seat that his petrol light was on, which suggested that he was driving on his reserve tank, but I figured he knew what he was doing. In the ensuing silence, broken only by the wild honking of horns from the many who passed by, followed immediately by the cryptic comments of our young driver, the 6 of us in the taxi began to get to know each other. The two guys beside me were busily pounding away on their cell phones when a woman in front with a small child on her lap (neither wearing a seat belt) suddenly asked in good English, "whose been to Sicily before?". Well, clearly none of us had been there so that sort of loosen a little chit chat as she explained that this was normal for Sicilia and best to get use to this as soon as possible. This didn't sound good. Then same said woman made a phone call to someone who was waiting for her and explained that the car had died. However, the message clearly didn't get through because then we heard her exclaim, "no, the driver didn't die!". This caused hilarious laughter in the taxi, and I might add that the driver looked a bit relieved at the news. So by now we were all a bit more acquainted when finally another taxi arrived with a small container full of petrol. "Ah ha" said I to myself. Then we were off again a break neck speed and eventually in town where the driver asked if we would like to be dropped closer to our hotel. Several in the cab including ourselves answered that this would be very nice, all thinking that due to our delay he was going to make it a bit easy for us. Nope. Not happening. When we got out he charged each of us the additional fare. Yes, we are in Sicilia. Home of the mafia and the shake down! 

We arrived at our wayward, but well located accommodation and decided that it being 10 pm that we'd best find some dinner and then head for bed. It turned out to be a good decision as we found a great meal just down the way and we're entertained by a lovely lady who's parents were Japanese and Korean. Raised in Japan and Italy she had just finished her music studies in Berlin (violin) and she and her husband had come south to work, but she hadn't yet told her mother that she was waiting tables these past two weeks. The food was excellent and we enjoyed our first wine and then headed back to our place for some much needed sleep. This being Saturday night there was a constant hum and stream of folks past our window as evident in this photo shot just before midnight.

This morning after a decent sleep, legs feeling a bit heavy we set off to find the Italian route guide, obtain our first stamp and along the way do a little sight seeing in this most interesting city. We wandered deeper into the old city and took a few photos along the way, this being the four corner Piazza Vigtiena, Quattro Canti.

 
This a very cool fountain,

We were fortunate to slip into our first church just before it closed, and they didn't charge us the entry fee. The 12thC San Cataldo with the three domes on the right was enticing, but I'd read that the real gem was the unassuming 12th C La Martorana was the real gem.
It was pretty special!

Note: So I wrote a nice post saving it as I went, but somehow only a portion published. Ah the life of a blogger, the ups and downs! Almost like the experiences of a long distance walker. I've learned to let these set backs go. So, will tell you that we have decided to take the bus to Monreale tomorrow rather than walk in the afternoon heat the 7 kms and get all sweaty before visiting one of the highlights of Sicily. Perhaps tomorrow I'll feel motivated to write again what I wrote today. Will see, but know that we eventually found an Italian guide book and we have our first stamp in our credentials from the Cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is more interesting than the inside, but that's just my opinion having seen probably more than my share of churches big and small. We did meet the senior priest who gave us our stamp and wished us a good journey. Sunday being Sunday in the church world, he was a busy guy! 

Buon Cammino!

And Off We Go!

In a couple of days we will fly off on what my father calls a vacation. A vacation from retirement? Hmmm. I prefer to think of vacations as something we did, and needed, during our working years. Now I think of them as travels fueling a lifestyle, but given our plans I guess one could correctly make the arguement that there will be a vacation like component to this travel. Call it what you will, we will shortly be taking off to Sicily to begin a month long wander.

I will begin posting our walk on the Magna Via Francigena from Palermo to Agrigento beginning this Sunday. We will take a day in Palermo to let our wobbly, jet lag laden legs and heads adjust a little to the local time. On Monday we will take a short stroll out of Palermo and begin the fun in earnest on Tuesday. Whether you've been confined to our frozen prairies, the very snowy mountains or our own wet grey west coast, it's been a long winter in Canada and it's time for these walkers to find a bit warmer environment to continue our practice.

We enjoyed a lovely chat last night with our mate Neil in Canberra who is just finishing off his PhD and is himself getting ready to set off on his own Camino May 1st as he walks from Valencia, Spain across the lonely Tres Amigo Camino, aka in some circles as the Camino Levante. Ken and I will watch and read with envy as one third of the Tres Amigos walks 'our' route! Buen Camino Neil! At some point it's hoped that Sarah will join him for a week following her upcoming conference presentations in the U.K. Best wishes with your efforts Sarah. We also know that Ken would like to be walking this season, but someone has to keep the lights on at home in Canada and with a new PhD program underway, Ken's attention will be kept closer to home...but he assures me that he will walk! At least we can look forward to his virtual company as we all walk along, always appreciated.

As usual, I will be posting our walks on Sicily, Malta and Ireland here. Other non-walking days may be posted here, https://highendeavors.blogspot.ca/

So until we reach Sicilia, I'll leave you with my slowly developing Italian...

Buon Cammino!

Another Walking Year Ahead!

Winter is still underway here and in fact it's snowing heavily on our Island today. A late winter 'surprise' snow in these parts given our crocuses and daffodils are already flowering and the grass already needs cutting. That said, it's been a mild winter and full on Spring really isn't very far away in these parts. Though we know our pal Ken on the Canadian prairies is privately having a good chuckle at our expense! He walks in ridiculously cold winter temperatures in southern Saskatchewan!

We've had loads of time to recover from our walks in 2017 and are already well along with our Camino plans for this year. First up on April 23rd there will be a walk on the network of Sicilian Caminos called Cammini Francigeni di Sicilia, specifically the Magna Via Francigenia. This has apparently been approved as part of the Camino route to Rome and eventually onwards to Santiago, Spain.

The Magma begins in Palermo (the red route) and crosses the north and central mountains of Sicily ending some 160 kms later on the south coast at Agrigento where there is a spectacular array of Greek temples and theatres overlooking the Mediterranean.

While the modern day Camino route was only inaugurated on March 7, 2017, it has long been a route used for hundreds of years during Greek, Byzantine, Arab and Frankish times.

After another week, this time driving Sicily to sample its pleasures and sights, we will fly south to Malta for a week of wanderings. We have discovered that there is an excellent walking network on the Maltese Islands and we have identified a series of day walks which look like excellent fun. From there we will fly up to Ireland for a brief visit with Paul's parents in Connemara where we are hopeful for a little walking there. For walkers, Ireland is a current hot spot! Heck, in 1975 I walked about 38 kms along the southeast coast road with my heavy travel pack to meet a lovely girl from New Zealand who I'd met months earlier in Greece, but that's another story:)  As usual, I will be blogging our walking experiences.

We will return home in late May to enjoy the summer with plenty of wanderings in BC, the Yukon and hopefully Alberta before again returning to Europe for a Camino experience that is fast becoming very near and dear to our hearts. Beginning on September 21st, World Alzheimer's Day we will begin our Camino For Alzheimer's Awareness - A Journey.  For the past three months we have been researching this project and working in conjunction with the Alzheimers Society of British Columbia in an effort to help improve awareness and to raise money for this progressive and incurable disease. We have built a new blog for this Camino journey with links to our fund raising pages on the Alzheimer Society's website. We will be posting regular updates as we progress through the lead-up to this very important purposeful Camino. The blog for our Camino For Alzheimer's Awareness - A Journey can be accessed at;

https://caminoforalzheimers.blogspot.ca/ 

We hope to see you there! 

PS. A snowfall warning has now been issued for up to 10 cm of snow tonight! It's beginning to accumulate...