Mazara del Vallo to Sciacca

May 21, 2018

Salvatore, or captian cappuccino as we called him, was a super host. He fed us well and although he didn’t speak english, we managed to understand each other. He also made great coffee.

Capitain Cappucchino at the B&B...Salvatore. What a sweet host.

We rode to the seaside, where all the hubbub was going on last night. David got down on his knees to get a better look at the tiles on the steps.

This octopus adorns the steps in Mazara del Vallo.

The sea is the livelihood of this island.

More of the gorgeous tiles adorning the steps in Mazara del Vallo.

Cycling through countryside like this is why we love to travel on our bicycles. The gentle tailwind nudged us along again today. Every so often we would get big wafts of beautiful scents. Sometimes we could see that it came from honeysuckle or jasmine, but other times it was from behind a wall or a hedge so I couldn’t say what it was.

Scenery today...lots of vineyards and olive groves.

We saw acres and acres of productive olive groves today, as well as a large olive oil production facility.

Sicily’s infrastructure is in bad shape. I have never seen signs in such decrepit shape. These are are an example of the road signs. Good thing we aren’t relying on them.

Signage is just not their fortė in Sicily. Luckily we have maps and gps tracks.

There are huge agaves here and at this time of year, the flower stalks are shooting skyward. They really do look like a giant asparagus. Too bad you can’t eat them...thay would feed an army.

Here is another example of the broken infrastructure. They just don’t have what it takes to fix their roads. It’s probably a deep subject but it makes for quiet roads and that's what we are always looking for. You just have to remain vigilant and nimble on the pedals.

When the roads fall apart, there they lay and the route is cut off to cars.

No problem getting through on two wheels.

The oleander grows in great profusion along the roads, in pink, white and red. No scent from them, though.

Sciacca ia famous for its ceramics. We saw many small studios, each artisan with their own signature style. This is another ancient art form of the region.

Like many cities here, Sciacca has an ancient arabic centre. The streets are tiny alleys, many of them include sets of stairs. We noticed motos parked in the most unusual spots and we wondered how the heck they managed to get to and from their homes. Then we saw that someone had built little ramps on the steps.

Ramps help smooth out the bumps for those on motos.

It’s not unusual for the locals to go up and down these very long stairs many times a day.

We have been enjoying our lemon granitas after a day’s ride. So lemony and refreshing when you are hot and sweaty and somewhat dehydrated.

Kapok trees are very stange beasts. You won’t want to try climbing one of these. The leaves were just opening up, so I can’t say what sort of canopy they have or what they look like.

Mario, the host at our gorgeous modern B&B, was also a cyclist and understood how important food was to us after a long day on the road. He made a suggestion for dinner so we went there. Oh my word! Sergio, our server and restaurant owner, is a passionate Sicilian who has travelled the world and has come home to open a restaurant. We are so glad he did.

Sergio proudly presented this tray of fresh seafood as he expained the menu to us.

Appetizer..shrimp on a bed of pistachio cream.

Fresh fish from the platter and roasted vegetables.

We made our way back up the 150 or so steps to the B&B after dinner. It felt rediculously easy, a sign of our fitness after navigating Sicily’s backroads for just five days.

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Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 249 km (155 miles)

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