Home from Western Sicily

For the past week Les & I have been exploring western Sicily.  We had made the trip once before but only stayed one night (more about my last visit here).  It was much too short so we had to go back. I'd been wanting to make another trip for quite some time and I'm glad the opportunity finally presented itself.  We are nearing the end of our time in Sicily and I want to make sure I see as much as I can before we move back to the States.

This time we started in the southwest and worked our way to the northwest side of Sicily.  We spent our first two nights in Marinella di Selinunte.  On our way there we stopped briefly to check out the Scale dei Turchi, the Turkish Steps, a naturally occurring, step-like rock formation along Sicily's southern coast.

Scale dei Turchi from a distance

(The white step-like rock formation)

Where we parked we had to walk a ways to see the renowned rocks, but the tide kept us from walking all the way.  I guess that means we'll have to go back another time.  On the beach we found several weather worn boats and beautiful shells and rocks.

Perhaps it was just the way the light was filtering through the clouds that day, but those stones really did look that blue!

Around mid-afternoon we reached Marinella di Selinunte, a charming little beach town right next to the Greek ruins of Selinunte.  We stayed at the Hotel Garzia, which was simple but charming and directly across the street from the crashing waves of the sea. Our room was spacious by Italian standards and we even had a tiny balcony that if we leaned over the edge we could see the sea.  The staff was also very kind.  The receptionist had even looked at my blog before we'd arrived! (she got the link from my email signature)  I thought that was pretty cool! :)

Once we were settled in we set off to explore the little town.  It was remarkably quiet except for the occasional sounds of construction readying the town for summer tourists. Our stroll took us along the waterfront down to the beach and small port.

An awesome paint job on a Fiat 500

Another boat that has seen better days

We found a bar to relax at and grabbed a table where we could watch both the sea and the people.  We sat there for quite awhile, just enjoying being on vacation.

As the sun fell lower in the sky we headed back to the hotel. Dinner and bed soon followed so we could be well rested for our adventures the following day.