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  • Uncle Woully
  • Uncle Woully

Italy

A 4-week bicycling trip in Southern Italy, especially hoping to focus on Sicily. En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    12 juin 2024
    Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    CB to FCO - Ostia

    13 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Flight started over Crested Butte and I caught a nice picture through the clouds of the old hometown. The flight from Frankfurt to Rome was right over the Alps where I recognized so many peaks and valleys.

    Arrival at Rome International, not very jet-lagged and straight to the Decathlon where they had a bike ready for me. Size XL with very big 29er tires. First impression; it rides like a motorcycle there is so much inertia.

    I sign in to the hostel in Ostia which is on the coast and I go for a cruiser along the boardwalk for sunset and catch a bite to eat on the pier watching an Emirates 380 coming in for landing.

    I can't believe I'm on a bike in Italy.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Ostia - Rio Claro

    14 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    I am telling myself that I'm going to have a nice easy start and not get caught up into my excitement to be on the bike again. It actually works for the first 25k and I'm feeling a bit tired at that point. But I work through it and by 80km I'm getting into the groove and I make 150k for the first day. Nice start, feels good.

    Met three Swiss guys credit card touring on road bikes. Beautiful beaches and I managed to get an hour and a half nap in on the sand.
    The heat feels wonderful, I'm on the Mediterranean!

    I plan to wild camp and managed to find an agricultural spot, but I didn't sleep well. Campgrounds might be better especially for shower facilities.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Rio Claro - Napoli

    15 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Up at 6:00 and rolling, it's not even cold. It feels like I didn't get a lick of sleep so I am thinking I will probably meet a nap midday. Sperlonga is a ancient hamlet on a rock overlooking two bays, discovered it has been cleaned up and is probably fairly touristy. It's well organized and clean.

    In Gaeta, the next town, I pass an Italian on his mountain bike, but he catches back up and we start a really nice conversation in broken English since I haven't learned Italian yet. He shows me around Gaeta's buildings on the rock. It's a fairly large city but it's nice.

    As I continue riding further south and start approaching Napoli things change. The landscape becomes flat, the buildings monotonous and then they become third world like bombed out structures. I'm astonished at how Italy, a major European country can let this much real estate go to waste.

    A great lunch on the beach makes up for my slightly depressed mood. As I get closer to Napoli I get into traffic and there are lots of Vespas passing cars, against the traffic, splitting the lanes. I know this trick from learning to ride my motorcycle in the south of France. It doesn't take me but a second to hop on the Vespas tail and cruise along with them. A 100km of mellow riding has my body ready for sprints. There is a concert at the football stadium and I imagine that most of these young kids are going there. The whole thing is exhilarating. On a short steep hill I have to pull off a quick shift while engaging my pedals and I hear a crunch by the derailleur. At first I had thought that I stretched the cable, but after adjusting it turned out that I might have bent the derailleur. I limp into town, The inner city is much nicer than the outlying areas.

    At the hostel there is no parking so actually have to park my bike into a car parking garage and pay 10 euros. That's a first!    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Napoli - Sorrento

    16 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Tough start for the day, my Japan shell broke, there was no hot shower, and I didn't get any sleep because the big Italian guy snored loudly all night.

    I walk over to the car parking garage in the city to get my bicycle where it had to be stored. I get everything set up and check my map and I find I have no internet. The shoes I brought were my old Camino shoes and I didn't realize that a piece of plastic is rubbing my achilles heel bloody, painful to walk on but it's okay as I'm biking. The problem with the gearing needs to be addressed at Decathlon and I'm going to get new shoes. I kind of figure out which direction to go by looking at the map without the internet. Old style. The first little incline is steep and short and I punch it. Snap! Broke the chain right off.

    Oops, I now have a trifecta on my hands, I can't walk, I have little idea which direction to go in and I can't bike, so how do I get to Decathlon on this fine Sunday morning when everything else is closed?

    There's a security guard for an office building talking to a drunk bum who got cleaned up by his brother yesterday so he looks okay but he is a total mess. The guard lets me use his mobile hotspot and I figure out it's a almost 3-hour uphill walk to Decathlon even though it's still in the city. I look around and see a taxi sign and the guard says yes you can call, and then he walks over to the sign because he realizes I can't call. How lucky can you get? There are two minivans at the taxi post and in less than a few minutes the bicycle and everything is inside and I'm on my way. The day is saved!

    It's a poor half ass repair because they can't do anything on Sunday supposedly. But it's good enough to ride so I cool my heels and stop punching this bike. I'm not Wout van Aert after all.

    The ride into Napoli was disappointing, however the ride out of Napoli was even worse. At least on the route that I took it felt like I wasn't in Italy, nothing is maintained, everything is poor, trash everywhere. I try not to let it affect my mood.

    As soon as I get on the way to Sorrento everything changes, it's a tourist town and there is money and everything is kept nice and beautiful. Such an opposite, so close. I'm happy in my tent.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur
    1

    Sorrento - Bella Baia

    17 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Last night I could hear music from a little ways away, the saxophone definitely sounded live and so did the woman's voice singing. But a lot of the music definitely sounded original. I just couldn't put my finger on whether this was a live band. Like a moth attracted to light I had to find out. I went and found it. I sat listening at a little pizzeria run by Pepe and his wife, who were running pizzas out of that little joint like mad, while on the other side of the street above a tall stone wall the villa was lit up pink, festive lights, the music loud and a drone overhead, it looked like a very ritzy wedding party. I deduced the music must have been a mix of live and recorded. It was extremely well done.

    In the morning I set off through Sorrento, one of the touristy but beautiful villages of the Amalfi Coast. At the top of the climb I see another cyclist and I pull over to talk to him. Fabian a young French cyclist had just come from Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and the western Italian coast. Great guy and had a lot of useful information for me.

    Fantastic coastline, it's a true joy to lean into the curvy turns with the blue sea and the sunny warm weather.

    Positano is a very happy tourist mess. Absolutely zero parking even for a bicycle and people walking everywhere. But restaurants line the road with tables on the edge of the cliff balcony. I sit down and splurge, luxuriating in the ecstatic tourist energy and the Italian restaurant hospitality. They know how to live!

    That spot was hard to leave, but I have no accommodations yet and the nearest campground is still another 15K of hilly riding and it's 5pm.

    I roll into the piazza in Amalfi as the bells of the Cathedral of Andrea sing their ethereal song to the heavens. I was here 28 years ago and I remember it well.

    The blue dot on the map says I arrived at Bella Baia camping, but I don't see a camp ground, just a cliff and steep terraces with lemon trees, a locked gate and a concrete shell of a former home that says Bella Baia. Is this place gone?

    The owner sees me through his video cam and the gate clicks open. Sesame! I'm in. Steep stairs, about 30 of them, lead down to his reception area. He explains camping is available on the cliff below some 280 steps further down. This is obviously not your average campground. This very enterprising man has created a hospitality setting in what was formerly a lemon grove with a variety of accommodations set in the shade of the lemon tree canopies with direct access via rocky steps to swimming in the rocky bay below. What a setting!    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Bella Baia - Paestrum

    18 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I get a nice swim in the bay as boats with families lay anchor. Time to pack up and climb the 280 plus stairs. I asked a curious question of the owner whose name is Buenaventura. In a 1-hour conversation I find out 300 years of family history, about the lemon tree plantation, how he environmentally deals with insects and all the other projects he has going on. It really connected me to his location.

    At the last little Amalfi town of Cetera I get curious and check it out. I connect with two cyclists from the Netherlands, Dik en Geesje, and we share coffee on a terrace, another great connection. I'm not making time but I'm having a great time. A great big dark plume of smoke rises over Salerno in the distance and in typical Dutch humor Dik says "there goes Decathlon!" Just as I'm thinking the same thing.

    Back to the business of cycling, at the Decathlon the bike is put back to 95% and it's good enough to go all the way. I lost my top gear but the motto now is 'chill out Wout'.

    The campground has a restaurant and I'm having a fantastic meal of roasted vegetables and aubergine pasta.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Paestum - Camarota

    19 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    The temple of Neptune at Paestum 600BC is incredibly intact, It's not hard to imagine the Greeks walking around there. Amazingly, the Romans and others coming after didn't destroy this place.

    After a quick supermarket lunch along the beach I start an insane climb it must have been up to 12% slope in places. When half the road crumbles away off the hillside the Italians simply make it a one-lane and put up signage.

    Over lunch a check Booking and find a 36 euro place, no camping tonight. The place is rated 9.6 and it might as well be rated 12. It's absolutely incredible. Breakfast included.

    For dinner I go get a pizza, I was thinking a regular round flat dish but look at this! A saxophone plays and a woman sings, it kind of sounds familiar, wait this must be the group that played the wedding a few days back! The husband on the saxophone the wife is singing and playing keyboards all mixed in with songs that we all know and love.

    I have been starting to think that the Mediterranean could be a new home for this next part of life. Instead of land-based maybe I should be boat-based. At dinner I am dreaming of sailing around the azure beaches of Sardinia and researching sailboats while sitting in a harbor listening to live music. What an ambiance. Camerota is talking to me, saying this could be it.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Camerota - Scalea

    20 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Just stats today.

    Temp 90s
    94.1km
    1442 meters of climbing

    Late start, late finish. Easy tempo.

    Actually one mention, this one Italian camp ground figured out how to imitate the Japanese Toto toilets with all their water gizmos and heated seats. A bib and a hose will do! No paper, no choice, use it.En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    To Bratico

    21 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    One of those rides that you start and let the day determine how far you get. I took a few stops and kept riding all the way to Bratico.

    178km 1094.meters climbed

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    To Scogliero camping

    22 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The plan is for hanging at the campground for most of the day, where around the corner there are some phenomenal small beaches amongst the rocks.

    On the way I do a quick stop in Tropea, which is a very nice ancient city on a large flat rock high above the water. It's well frequented by tourists.

    Some 30km and 400m vert still.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    To Foceta Sicula

    23 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The jaw dropper was seeing the Stromboli volcano through the haze come into to focus suddenly and my jaw dropped again at the first sight of the straight of Messina. I am just amazed I am living this.

    Today's target was Scilla, but it was more touristy than I expected and no camp ground, and I actually got there to early. Instead of staying I caught the ferry to Sicily together with a mob of BMW motorcyclists, and being a BMW owner myself I felt right at home with all those 1200s.

    I was warned multiple times that Sicily is a bit of a mess but the people are super nice. But the first impression of Messina is of a well-maintained city with nice architectural buildings including one from the Byzantine time.
    I've been listening to a book on tape about Sicilian history.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Taormina

    24 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The name of the town makes me think of the song Toarmina by Mark Knopfler.

    I choose to hang out there for most of the day and leave late to get to the campground at the base of the Etna volcano.

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Alto Montana Etna

    25 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Yesterday I positioned myself below Mt Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe at 3300m. Today I rode my bike up with very tired legs to the base station at Sapienza. Fab lunch in the warm sun on a touristy terrace. A bit late but then I set off to the Alto Montana trail. On the way I was looking for refugios to stay at tonight. Santa Barbara was closed, but at Carpinteria the side shed was open, I swept up, left my reduced gear and left for the trail that runs though the lava flows. This volcano is so active, that on maps you will see flows dating to 2016, 2015, 2003, 2002 the 90s and many prior.

    It is closely monitored by volcanologists but it would always be possible that the thing could just go at any moment.

    The view over the Sicilian hills and back country below from 2000 m up is amazing through the haze, when you have just been listening to the history of the last few millennia.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Mt Etna climb & eruptions

    26 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Climbed up Mt Etna with a group and a guide. I was expecting hundreds of people on top but everybody spread out and I was able to have some space to get the feeling of really being there.

    Just as we got to the top one of the craters erupted to everybody's surprise. The Etna sits on the European tectonic plate just in the area where the African plate slides underneath, this is responsible for the continuous volcanic activity. The section we were walking on had erupted in December of 2023. It was a fairly cool flow and was accessible not too long afterwards. Currently the risk for a large explosion is smaller than usual as the dome is shrinking. In 2002 and 2003 was the last larger eruption.En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Downhill to the coast

    27 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Yesterday I ran down the hill under the cable car and got down there almost as fast as the group I was with. Of course, today I am paying the price for that folly.

    All I did was glide down the hill from 750 meters to zero elevation, where I pitched my tent under a shady tree canopy, did my laundry, and now I need rest, so I take a nap and I get in the water to swim.

    My neighbors in camp yesterday are Dutch and French, and I had a great time talking with them this morning again delaying my departure by a good hour and a half, but it was fun and I got a good idea. Marcel has been doing the vendange at a French chateau called Cheval Blanc. It is apparently quite a great time at one of the upper chateaus like that.

    I buy dinner at the supermarket because the pizzeria at the campground has no pizza, I get a great healthy salad nuts and cheese, that I devour sitting on the volcanic coastline where the waves are lapping against the shore as the sun is setting behind me.

    A helicopter comes by and keeps flying around, at first I thought they were just scanning for basic safety but it turns out something happened out there because an hour later he still hovering and there is a coast guard boat nearby.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Triple swim to Siracusa

    28 juin–4 juil. 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Even though I rested yesterday my legs are still fried so I am hoping that the 74 km are reachable, they are flat mostly so I should be able to start early and roll slowly. First stop is Catania for a roll through the sights to see snd photograph.

    I take some breaks and the legs actually wake up a bit and I'm able to go along the shoreline which adds 30km. It sets me up to get three good swims in crystal clear waters.

    In Siracuse I get out of the shower just in time to walk swiftly to the port where the sunset is about to happen. I finally get a pizza again.

    On the way back I come by a Cafe where locals are singing 80s and 90s rock songs, they all get into it and it is a joy to watch them on a warm Friday night. I've been at it since 5 am and it's going on midnight, I ought to turn in.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Archeology in Siracusa

    29 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I'm trying to be a good tourist today. It was easier forty years ago. Now we are being channeled and herded so much that the element of discovery is no longer easy to attain.

    The open air archaeological site in Siracusa presents a Greek amphitheater and a huge quarry as well as a Roman amphitheater. In one place you can try to imagine being a Greek at a theater performance by Euripide or Plauto or attending a Roman gladiator event and wild animal battles in this oval arena. Just those two civilizations cover a thousand years. Before there were Elleni, Phoenicians and Etruscans, after were many, but notably Byzantines and Normans in the middle ages and a strong Baroque period as witnessed on Ortigia island.

    Almost every town in Sicily was destroyed at least three times and entire populations were displaced and replaced. Quite incomprehensible by today's standards. Sicily might be the most historically diverse location on earth, over millennia so many different occupiers have ruled this island.

    After a delicious lunch I visit the archeology museum, it's medium sized but holds an enormous collection of ancient coins going back to when coins came into existence some 2500 years ago. You can see them under armored glass in a bank like vault. No photos allowed. The museum is impressive as much as the heat outside is oppressive.

    In the evening, after a restorative nap, I watch a Eurocup match outside on one of the many piazza on Ortigia. There is a lot of nightlife there.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Ortigia exploration

    30 juin 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    The temperature is forecast in the high 90s today. I got out early enough and walk around the ramparts and have a cornetto and cappuccino on a terrace overlooking the water.

    The papyrus museum is interesting as it creates yet another geographic connection, this time between Egypt and Sicily. Papyrus was imported and grown on Sicily. Some original papyrus texts with Greek writing are displayed.

    On the Piazza del Duomo stands the most varied church in existence I believe. Originally a Greek temple, then Roman, Arab, Byzantine, Norman, and the more recent Europeans from France, Schwaben, Bourbon and Spain. The church is an incredible mix of architectural and religious elements.

    It's hot and two museums are closed time to go lay on the rock that Ortigia calls their beach. A good nap and a swim later I clean up at the hostel and go out on the town and watch two European cup matches.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    To Noto, UNESCO heritage

    1 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    To get to Noto, which is a city that was highly recommended to visit for its Baroque rebuild after the 1693 earthquake that leveled most of southeastern Sicily, it was only a 2 and 1/2 hour bike ride. This leaves lots of time on this hot day to visit the beach.

    I had a list of 10 recommended beaches that were labeled the most beautiful but as I was riding I saw this platform that was a public beach but felt more like that private high-end setup on this beautiful rocky cove. I stayed there for hours napping on a canapé. On to Spiaggia Fontana Bianche, a fine white sand beach where I swam and napped some more. What a feeling to just relax in the warmth.

    Of course I got lost again riding up into the hills and that's how you find the unexpected. A way to build a flat roof with tile and an implementation of an infinity pool in a manner that really stood out. I had to climb some very steep dirt roads to find this area though. I saw a classic Citroen Mehari, just like the one we owned and drove in the late 70s. Then set up camp near Noto and went into town for dinner out.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Noto day

    2 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Woke up to lightning and thunder at 4:00 a.m. The tent is shaking in the wind, l stake it down further and lay back down.

    The camping is 25 for the night and I find a place in town, very nice I might add, for just 33. I roll down the hill to cafe Sicilia on Marcel's recommendation. Great for sitting and people watching and an amazing assortment of confiseries.

    The Chiesa di San Domenico is my first visit. The Cattedrale de San Nicolò was damaged in the 1990 earthquake, but in 1996 the roof finally caved in. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2007, it's fascinating to see the damaged archival photo and the re-construction. It looks a bit too new for me. A quick stop to check in and do laundry and back to town, only to find teatro Tina di Lorenzo and Palazzo Ducezio closed.

    Chiesa di Montevergine is the last church, and I find it the most authentic, alike with the first two. This one had the bell tower to climb for an excellent view over Noto.

    The ambiance of being in Italy is not lost on me, it's wonderfully warm, not overly touristy. I'm looking for a dinner, sicilian orange salad, caneloni and ricotta mousse to polish it all off.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur
    1

    Southern tip of Sicilia

    3–4 juil. 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Casual ride down to the beach. Highly rated, but it came as a surprise that there was a fence around it and an entry fee. No services and crowded, I don't know why we're all here at this beach but it was a great day too hang out by the water. I follow the advice of an Italian camper I met last week to check out Camp Captain at the southern tip of Sicily. It's wild and windy with a great sunset and a small restaurant and shop. Excellent, my kind of place.

    I scored a ticket to the Freddy Mercury tribute show in Noto, so I'll be back there on the 6th. Three more beach days and some biking.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Day trip Ragusa & Modica

    4 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    My legs are feeling great again after a few days rest, and since today is windy, cooler and slightly cloudy I figure a bike ride is in order. Up early I'm planning to ride to Ragusa and Modica. It's going to be a fairly long day and I start before 8:00.

    The church in Modica and the whole town really catch me off guard. I hadn't really contemplated this as a special village, more like just another hilltop town. But the church is more beautiful than any in Noto. And actually the entire city is in a consistent style that matches its age, there are not too many recent eyesores. It's not very touristy.

    Ragusa is similar but spread over two hill tops and it's quite amazing in it's old style but it also has a new section which is obviously less interesting. The church there also is amazing, but more tourists.

    Overall a 12-hour day with 142 km and 1682 vertical meters, I'm happy my legs are feeling all good again.

    Just now I see that Mt Etna erupted. I was just up there a few days ago watching the lava erupt when it was still a small amount. Right now according to the accounts I read there is ash falling in Catania. Flights are canceled until Tuesday morning that includes mine. So now I need to figure out a change of plan.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Kane beach

    5 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Last night the Italians next to my campsite we're staying up late. I joined them since we were talking about the Mt Etna eruptions. They are from Catania so they had inside news about ashes and small rocks falling on the roads so that the Vespas weren't allowed to ride. But the Italians wouldn't comply with that anyway, now would they?

    It turns out that they speak some broken French so we were able to communicate between a little bit of Italian and a little bit of French. Francesco started telling a joke about a guy who went to heaven and made a bet with St Peter.

    Today I'm treating myself to a mattress and an umbrella on a fancy beach. Had a super nice lunch and it was a joy to sit here in the warmth, realizing that next week I will be back in Crested Butte.

    A great song comes on and I'm thinking it's something new and modern, it turns out to be from 1980 from the Italian disco era. Ma Quala Idea by Pino D'Angio, turns out he 'sampled' a bass line from another disco song. Mmmmm. Great tune though, I check out the Italian lyrics, it just sounds so exotic in that language.

    Dinner tonight with the Italians from the next door camp, they laugh a lot it should be a good time.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Changing direction

    6 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    From the southernmost tip there is only one way to go and that is north. It also happens to be that I'll be on the way back. My preparations for starting today are very slow, I finally catch on that I'm dragging my feet because I actually really don't want to leave. The warm weather is so fantastic, I haven't been cold in 30 days and it hasn't rained one drop. You couldn't ask for better. To think I was headed for Ireland which had very rainy weather even for the season. But here they have volcanos, the Stromboli also erupted today.

    I manage one more day on the beach and then ride up to Noto for the Freddie Mercury tribute show. They did a very elaborate job in paying tribute, with parts of his real work on screen, parts performed live, and extra dancers. A David Bowie appearance singing Coming Home - major Tom was excellent.

    One more of the delicious ricotta desert made with cinnamon and pistachios and the streets are full of people on this Saturday night. That's what the siesta is for and I got that in too.    En savoir plus

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  • Uncle WoullyItalyVoyageur

    Retreat to Catania

    7 juillet 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    I'm leaving Noto very early so I have lots of time to get to Catania which is 6 and 1/2 hour ride. I managed to ride into Brucoli again and enjoy the marina for a little bit. This town has a close knit social life the locals are really tight. This Little Town is about 40 km from The Etna volcano but the wind must have caught it just right and blew ash all the way to here and today they have been cleaning boats.

    It's my last day on this bike as I am returning it to Decathlon tonight. I'm thinking that I'm going to miss my steed, as I am unscrewing all the items I had attached to it. The return was a little tricky, they offered just 185 euros. This was a great way to have a bike and not need to ship, but I am running out of things to buy at Decathlon for the store credit, might be the last time to do it this way, very handy though.

    The bike math still works out okay. Cost 569 minus 185 buy back comes out to just under 15 euros per day and 21 cents per kilometer of riding. For not having to deal with storing a bike bag at an airport, being able to do point to point and not having to deal with sourcing a cardboard box to return and taking apart the bike so it fits in the box, this is a very acceptable cost. My overall cost of this trip was $2,650 of which a substantial portion is food which I would have had to eat anyway. My average overnight cost is under 30 euros. My airfare was on miles.

    I used no trains and only a taxi during the mishap in Napoli and taxis in Catania wants to bike was gone. Another thing about traveling by bike is that never have a parking problem everything is just so freeing and simple.

    I did include a few parting shots of what Sicily presents to the traveler when they get outside of the touristy areas. If you thought Mexico had a trash problem you haven't seen Sicily yet.    En savoir plus

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