San Leone Mosè

Well, what a fantastic week! We invited Sam's dad Steve to come back with us as an early 70th birthday present so all three of us flew back to Sicily. Despite a rather late-night return to Licata, due to another delayed flight (this time due to the staff struggling to get the door of the plane to close, good old Ryanair!) we decided not to waste any time and headed out on our first day to explore further west to a port called San Leone. Sam and I made the most of the luxury of an extra member of crew and thoroughly enjoyed Steve's chauffeuring skills while we put our feet up!

After a rather cautious entrance to the harbour at San Leone, which has silted up to the point where we only had 2 feet of clearance beneath the keel, we discovered a bar just off the marina. This had the most glorious sunset views, so good in fact that not one but two wedding parties came there for reception photos, I have never felt so underdressed! The following day despite a complete lack of wind we decided to motor further up the coast to a well-known beauty spot with white cliffs known as the "Stair of the Turks" for a 'relaxing' lunch at anchor. We hadn't however factored in some rather sizable swell rolling in from the south and having dropped anchor I promptly brought up my breakfast and we swiftly lifted it again, admired the cliffs from a distance and turned back to San Leone!

This was a bit of blessing in disguise as it meant we were back in time to get a taxi inland to enjoy the other main attraction in the area, the "Valley of the Temples", a set of six temples built during the Greek occupation of Sicily. It was a brilliant place and even Sam (who usually sets me a temple limit on holidays) enjoyed it. However, it soon become clear where he'd inherited this normal reluctance for too many monuments on one day from. As the photos show you can lead a Wyllie man to culture, but he will still find an ant colony infinitely more interesting!

The next day we were heading back to Licata and thankfully the swell had dropped right down and the winds picked up, so we were able to sail the entire way at a very pleasant 5 knots! We learnt that Licata had a hidden culinary gem in the form of a very unassuming and reasonably priced 2-Michelin star restaurant called La Madia so we decided to treat Steve for his birthday. Without Google Maps I doubt we'd have spotted the entrance (a simple grey doorway at the bottom of a residential apartment block) but the food was brilliant and the chef was fantastic and really friendly.

Steve's penultimate day started well as we came across a Chow Chow in a purple coat taking a swim in the marina. Watching what is essentially a giant teddy bear leisurely swimming lengths is quite possibly one of the most therapeutic things I've ever seen. From here we decided to explore the local beach, another hidden gem, possibly the nicest stretch of coastline we've explored in Sicily before heading up a very steep hill to visit the castle and enjoy the views of the town and marina.

On Steve's last day we set off for our final sail of the season to a bay just west of Licata. This time we were able to make the most of being at anchor and got both the drone and the stand-up paddleboard out to explore round the little island we had anchored up next to. It was a perfect last stop before we start the process of getting the boat ready for winter.Read more