I woke up early this morning with aching neck and shoulders. It’s not the first time that’s happened on this trip; previously, I thought it might be due to tension or riding position. But now I’m wondering if it’s related to all the pushing I did yesterday and am trying to remember if it happened after the other big push days, like on the way to Palazzolo Acreide or up to Noto Antica, though that didn’t involve pushing a loaded bike.
But let’s backtrack to before I woke up, before even going to bed. I’d booked our accommodation as half-board, thinking it might be a meal with the host and his family or in his family’s restaurant. In my experience, these are opportunities not to be missed. But no, it seems he has an arrangement with the one and only restaurant up here in the old town. However, if we want to pay for our accommodation by card (and we do, because the exchange rate is better than if we get cash through an ATM), he can only do the room. We need to pay the restaurant separately. And since we weren’t sure what the deal there would be thanks to no common language, this is what we chose to do. Not a big deal: the room (including breakfast) was 50€ and dinner ended up being 54€, compared to the half-board price of 100€. Unfortunately, the breakfast was pretty sad—but we can’t expect a lot when there isn’t a café or pasticceria nearby.
Dinner, however, was better than okay. It was our first pub meal in Italy. When we entered, only the servers were there, eating their own meal. Soon, though, others followed and claimed tables. Everyone else was planning to watch the big game on the screens, AC Milan vs Napoli in the Champions League quarter-final (I had to look all that up as I don’t follow soccer/football). We didn’t have pizza or burgers or even beer, but one of our usual meals, a pasta dish each and a shared second course, with sparkling water and a half-litre of house wine.
On our walk yesterday afternoon, we had scouted our route out of town. There was a steep section of (not basalt!) stone pavers which we decided to take this morning since the surface was dry. Had it been wet, we probably would have taken the signed “tutti direzioni” route but this was nice, no cars—because that steep section was also too narrow for cars, except maybe something like a vintage Fiat 500.
We stopped in the lower town for cappuccinos and brioches and then carried on through Cerami to Nicosia, where we stopped for a light lunch in the main piazza. The fellow who served us asked where we would be staying tonight, and when I told him Sperlinga, he warned us that there was no place to eat there. I’d been wondering about that since making the booking last fall, because Google Maps didn’t show anything (not that GM has everything or is always correct) and contacted our host. We have an apartment booked, and he said that there was a grocery store in the village. Nevertheless, we decided to get groceries for a simple dinner before we left Nicosia, where there are several large supermarkets to choose from (as long as you do your shopping before 13:30h when they all close).
There’s not much to Sperlinga, but there is a castle to visit, so that’s what we did. I didn’t know this when I made the booking; Sperlinga and Troina were just at the right places to break up the ride to Petralia Soprana. Photos from the village and the castle.
The lower ones are storage rooms now but probably were homes not that long ago. I don’t know about the higher one.
There’s a display about famous visitors to Sperlinga, including Robert Capa s asncc DC others through the past couple of centuries. These fellows didn’t rate their own display board but were included in a collage. Cycle tourists!
The castle visit includes a tiny museum about peasant like in Sperlinga. The exhibits aren’t yet complete but are very interesting. Afterward, we looked for and found the tiny grocery store. It was a good decision to get our groceries in Nicosia because the offerings here were pretty limited. We bought a box of white wine and big bottle of sparkling water to accompany our simple dinner from the friendly proprietress, plus a small loaf of bread from a paneteria somewhere in Sperlinga. Back at our apartment, it was a good thing we only had to boil water because the kitchen wasn’t well equipped. Ah well, it’s not like there were any fine-dining options. We ended the day with full tummies.
Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonWe are enjoying it. We’ve also noticed the lack of garbage dumped on the roadside; just the usual highway litter. Because it’s not as big a problem here? Because we aren’t riding the little roads here? Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetI think it’s because it’s so remote and untraveled, with no major urban area nearby. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
