geeteetravels

We had a relaxing morning on the beach today, quite a change from our usual get up and go routine. We tried out our new very portable beach mat, a gift from our tandem buddies, and even had an umbrella supplied by our host. It was a beautiful day and a Saturday so there were many people doing the same as us. 

After lunch and a short rest we hopped on the local bus into Agrigento and did some exploring. Agrigento is placed on the slope of a hill so were climbing again but only on foot. We looked at two cathedrals and climbed a tower. We saw three different wedding parties in a small area, a common thing to see on a Saturday here. 

We’re roughly following the SIBIT route on the south coast.

One of the churches we visited in Agrigento.

Interesting facade on this building.

It was very satisfying to ride downhill from Caltabellotta today but it always seems amazing that these hilltop towns disappear so quickly when it took so long to climb up. Throughout the day we kept getting glimpses of the peak again and wondering how we ever managed it.

Today’s ride was definitely easier but not easy. We still had a bunch of shortish but steep climbs and we rode over 80 kms. We went through Ribera and then to the coast to Eraclea Minoa to see the Capo Bianco, literally a white cliff above the ocean. There’s also some ruins there but we chose not to see them as the day was already long. 

Closer to Agrigento we rode past the more famous and larger white cliff the Scala dei Turchi, or Turkish stairs which are literally giant stairs going down to the sea. It’s a very interesting thing to see but unfortunately also very busy with tourists. The rest of the ride was uneventful. We are staying on the coast in San Leone just south of Agrigento and the Valley of Temples. It’s a nice beachy town where we’ll relax for a few days.  The hosts seem wonderful and very helpful. She even gave me some laundry soap to do my washing. 

Looking back to Caltabellotta on the way down.

Capo Bianco near Eraclea Minoa.

Tara and Scala dei Turchi.

Ancient Caltabellotta stuck up against the mountains and a big solar array below.

This was an epic climbing day, more than the one to Erice which was just a warm up.  Today we rode from almost sea level to the town of Caltabellotta which is about 800m but the total elevation gain was about 1140m, with all our luggage! We had no bags climbing to Erice.  But as George always says, there’s no view without the climb. And a great view it is. 

The town is on the side of a mountain. It’s streets are impossibly narrow and steep. I can’t quite see how it all works for driving. There is barely enough room for one car and yet the streets are not all one-ways. Well, actually they are all one ways but the direction changes with each car! There are only a few sidewalks also and people have to squeeze against the wall to let the cars pass and for cars to go around most corners takes a few adjustments. And of course no one drives an automatic. It makes driving at home seem very boring. 

The B&B is very nice, the host Giuseppe was quite impressed that we rode up here and with the bike. His family also runs the restaurant “MATES”  that is close by.  It stands for Museo Antiche Tradizionale Enogastronomica Sicilia. It is one of those restaurants where there is no menu; they just bring you food until you can eat no more. Fantastico!

Oh yeah, we’re tired.

We climb for the view from our B&B.

I agree the view would be better from there but no…

Another view of the view.

The selfie view.

Hard to describe or capture the driving in this tipped over town.

After the primi but before secondi in MATES