Cap’n Buck and Pippy: Winter in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily

Richard is delighted to be able to join in some racing against the local boats on 6 January. All of the live aboard cruisers’ yachts are wintered with impellers out and fresh water through the engines, so a local boat is chartered and the owner Claudio invites Richard to helm. He leads the fleet away from the start line... the starting buoy can be seen in the foreground. Good on you Capn Buck!

The normally cruisy cruising yacht gets up some good speed out there.

They do very well once the language difficulties are sorted out and they win a trophy for second overall in the best of two windward leewards. This was a fun series, not only because it brought together eight liveaboard cruisers from many nationalities to race together, but also due to the camaraderie enjoyed with the local sailors especially at the prize giving in the marina cafe the same afternoon.

The cruisers team celebrate their win with their Italian owner centre shot.

There is some talk of us all joining in a rally later in April, perhaps to Malta for a few days, so we look forward to hearing more of that as the weather improves.

Scicilia's beginnings date back to the 9th-8th millennium BC when cave dwellers left behind their drawings as evidence of their existence. During very ancient times there were Sikels, Sicans and Elymins inhabiting the island.

By the 10th century BC the Phoenicians had colonised Sicily, then by early 700 BC the Greeks began a major and prolonged migration, which led to the building of many towns and major cities including important monuments which still exist today. Then came the Romans, the Barbarians (Vandals and Ostragoths) and the Byzantines around 500 AD. By 827 AD the Arabs had arrived and held the island until the Normans' and Suavians' later dominance. The Arabs brought with them advanced agricultural, technical and scientific knowledge and today their influence is still very apparent in the people, architecture, culture and food. So many rulers, so many cultures, all melded into the genealogical memory of the people here, living with constant insecurity over the eons, subject to both the rigours of regular invasions and cataclysmic natural events. It is no wonder these people know very well how to live for the day, how to celebrate, how to eat well and to love. We have been made very welcome here and at times overwhelmed by the kindness of the people. Always on passing anyone in the street we exchange a smile and a Buon Giorno or Buona Serra!

By now we are well aware of the gigantic earthquake which destroyed most of the buildings in Sicily in 1693, and the massive building program, social, economic and religious development which followed on from this cataclysmic event. Terrified eye witnesses from that time say that the mountains danced.

Our mission during this winter is to see as much as we can of our surroundings and to make the most of the opportunity we have to do so. During January and part of February we purchase the shared use of a rental car. We take along our Adelaide friends Peter and Catherine from SY Southern Cross on excursions to the Greek Temples at Agrigento and to the Roman Villa of Casale at Piazza Amerina. We did not reckon on the weather being quite so stormy at times, or on Richard being away for part of January, but on reflection, we have done okay.

Wherever we go there is evidence of ruins from the earthquake, and ornate, grand baroque architecture dating from the massive rebuild after this event. In fact this south eastern corner of Sicily is famous for its baroque architecture and our nearest town of Ragusa is one of a number of UNESCO World Heritage towns in the region.

In the background is Noto Antica - the ruins of the old city which thrived before the earthquake. The 'modern' Noto was rebuilt 15 km away from here.

Noto

So here is the duomo in the beautiful town of Noto which we visit on our first day out in the car. And further on... a typical Palazzo and just a glance around us as we walk.

Not many people about, but we are thrilled to be here...

Pippy rests on the front steps of an ancient Palace...The rich were very very rich in those days and the poor lived in abject poverty.

Caltagirone

Now we are in the town of Caltagirone, high up in the hills behind Ragusa - Famous for its ceramics and pottery....made from the local clay.

Wonderful colours and just how do you choose a memoir with so many shops and styles to choose from?...

Who is the Italian babe?...

Gotta get a good shot of those amazing ceramic tiles on the stairs Pete.....

Richard's Italian dolly! This old car was a bright spot on a cold grey day.

This building is tall and thin...but very very baroque...

Frequently we find ourselves walking through deserted ghost towns except for the sounds we hear from behind closed doors, the shuffles and voices like mice in behind a wall, of people going about their daily lives. We are not sure if this is because it is winter, or just the time of day because every day in Sicily, everything closes at around 12.30 - 1.30 pm and does not open again until 4.00 pm. It takes determination to get up and away from the marina at 7.00 am so that we can be 'somewhere' before it closes, but it is important to do so if we want to see a town with people in it!

It is very difficult for us to comprehend the depth and breadth of the history here. Coming from a country with such a recent past, we look on in wonder at the Sicilian people going about their everyday lives in the ancient towns with narrow winding streets dwarfed by a ‘Duomo’ (Cathedral) and many other ancient churches which are a part of their heritage and their perception of normal. Every small town has at least one cathedral that dwarfs anything we have in New Zealand, and usually is accompanied by several other ancient and lovely churches.

Agrigento

We take a day trip to Agrigento some distance up the coast to the west.

Unfortunately the rain is persistent and we cannot do the walk through the temples, but just view them from the car.

We are determined to see something so walk through the empty streets to find the duomo... but unfortunately it is closed.

Piazza Amerina

Thank goodness we just have time to squeeze in a visit to this amazing site before the rental car runs out. By now we are expert at getting away early. It is a two hour drive and we have stopped at Caltagirone on the way, so arrive around 11 am at the Roman Villa of Casale. The site is under restoration, so a large part of it is closed to us.

There are several buses already lined up so we dodge in around the tour groups. The mozaics are all under cover of clear glass and or plastic roofing which we can see is being slowly replaced with much more appropriate and tasteful structures. We cannot imagine how ghastly this would be in the heat of summer and for once are grateful we are visiting during the winter.

We walk around scaffolding and look down at the mosaics below.

The villa was buried under a landslide in the 1693 earthquake and is still being excavated. It dates back to the third century BC and was a sumptuous residence of its day. The floors are massively buckled with the rolling profile presumably left by the earthquake but miraculously the mosaics have survived.

We move on to the town looking for something to eat. It is a bit of a mission as usual as by now everything has closed. We find a 'Salumeria' where we purchase filled rolls and pizzas.

We often feel quite frustrated at the way everything closes at midday or soon after. Given the current financial problems Italy has, and the fact that it is lack of productivity which is pushing Italy to the brink by not providing enough income from taxation for the government to pay interest on their debt. But who are we to say these people should do things differently? Their philosophy on life has evolved from hardship. Maybe they have it right and we have it wrong? Food for thought.

We just manage to get inside the duomo before it closes for the day. It is very beautiful in a Wedgwood way. Probably this was here long before the Wedgwood blue and white was thought of though.

Pippy's adventures while Richard is away...

While Richard is away in New Zealand Pippy goes for regular walks along the beach with Lola the Labradoodle and Sam the mixture...and some of the cruising ladies.

Hot Ricotta

Richard probably would not have enjoyed this anyway, but we find out how Ricotta is made and eat it hot, straight from the pot. Slices of dried bread are layered on the top and pushed down with the back of the spoon. This soaks up the liquid which is discarded and another round of bread is used, until the ricotta is reduced to a tasty lump in the bottom of the bowl! Yummm!!!

The food of Sicily and the diet we enjoy seems on the face of it to be not dissimilar to what we eat in New Zealand. However there are some fundamental differences in the depth and layers of culture which have contributed to a way of cooking which is not from a recipe but from the heart. We go shopping, find what looks wonderful that day, and create a dish around it. A flourishing dairy industry means we can find a huge variety of local cheese, ie Ricotta, Buffalo Mozzarella, Gorganzola, Reggiano (parmesan style), which we regularly consume, incorporated into recipes or eaten as is. Ricotta can be eaten hot (interesting!) but is more often incorporated into delicious sweet pastries, ‘canoli’ (crisp rolls) with la crema ricotta oozing out of each end. It is also delicious on pizza or pasta as are the local plump round balls of buffalo mozzarella which cling to the plate with long delicious strings as though they are trying not to be eaten with such gusto.

Pippy has recently done her rites of passage in cleaning and butterflying fresh sardines which will be a regular dish on our table from now on. We have been watching the wonderful BBC doco series called Sicily Unpacked and our first taste of this local delicacy was in a pasta dish cooked with wild fennel on this programme. Mmmmnmn!

Gelati ice cream is a journey on its own into the different flavours and ways of eating this delicious Sicilian delicacy. Quite often we just get the urge and have to indulge ourselves at our local Gelataria in the town square of Marina di Ragusa.

...But Richard's Rum Baba with Gelato in Syracusa still tops the decadence list.

It is not surprising to find ourselves lining up with other cruisers equally indulging their addiction to whatever flavour appeals on the day. It is in fact so good that locals line up for their share even in the middle of winter!

Our loan bicycles are invaluable. We can get down to the shops in 5 minutes and now know the quickest way around the town and what supermarkets have the best deals on the items we need to buy.

On Tuesday mornings there is an open market where we stock up on fruit and vegetables, pulses, meat, fish and other small items. You can buy almost anything here! On this day the purple tipped cauliflowers are huge!

Pippy is accosted on the way home one day by a cheeky cruiser who claims she has picked up a branch from a bush she has ridden under. Not so, it is just the celery protruding from her backpack. There is something very familiar about the various bicycles often seen parked outside Demeglio’s supermarket, or ARD, or MD, our choice of three in the local town. No self-respecting Sicilian would be seen dead or alive on a bicycle so if there is a bicycle, we know there is a cruiser nearby. There is always time to stop for a chat in the aisles so no different from home in that respect.

We are fortunate to be right in the heart of the garden of Italy, which is obvious by the polythene covers (a not altogether pretty part of the landscape everywhere we go) protecting the crops of tomatoes, capsicum, strawberries, melanzana (egg plant) and other vegetables. Our favourite of the local seafood is the swordfish, which we buy in huge steaks and bake in fresh fennel root, capers and lemon juice. (Actually Pippy ate that while Richard was away, so Richard still has this treat in store.) Oranges and lemons are used a lot and our diet has become more and more vegetarian, with small servings of meat included once or twice a week - sometimes. A delicious salad is made from sweet oranges and sliced tender fennel root dressed with olive oil, sea salt and chilli flakes.

A green vegetable known as Senape (Mustard Leaves) is a regular on our table, sliced and steamed then dressed with lemon juice, fresh ginger, garlic and olive oil, then there are massive heads of broccoli (sometimes purple), cauliflower, courgettes, artichokes (thousands!) and just lately, bunches of long thin asparagus.

But what about the wine! Sicilian wine is a way of life and there is plenty of locally produced wine available to purchase. Our favourites are both the Nero d’Avola costing around E1.50 a litre and Prosecco (mainland Italy) at around E2.99 a bottle, delicious served on its own but can be made into a cocktail with one third each of Prosecco, Aperol and soda water served with a slice of fresh orange and plenty of ice.