sole, mare, vento...

not enough time to ride all the way here, so a train from Peruggia brings me across. Across some more hills, a few mountains, one or two lakes, all the way to finish along the seashore: Salento. Glorious sights of different shades of blue covering the horizon. Salento. Well, almost. Bari is the first stop. A fortified city with small streets and clean beaches makes for a nice welcome :) but what was to come, we couldn´t be prepared for: Salento. Bluer than blue itself and more marvelous than i couldve ever imagined...

I couchsurfed here and the host: words are not enough. By that same evening, the small flat had become a small hostel of 6. Funny to see a Piamontese, a Sicilian, a Russian, an American, a Peruvian plus the Salentino fighting for the toilet :D
First night: Grillada. just to get ready for the taranta to come...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7A
all jokes, food, and the first steps to what was to be some nonstop dancing the following day...

next day: taranta...
following: trying to recuperate energies to follow...

day after: early morning breakfast and the goodbyes start. Hope to see you around's, etc etc... but heartfelt goodbyes are hard and not everyone is willing to do them. So the Sicilian comes with us for a bit: we head south, for Otranto. More white beaches and one of the best pasta al nero di seppia que he comido alguna vez .. we share lunch together, then a granita, one last walk, another granita, one quick run to Brindisi, and then trying to catch the ferry:
2110 Brindisi
2155 the port
2200 Ciao Italia
0500 Iacu Greece....

nà nà nà beddha l'amore

verano

the idea is as follows, head south, take a left, a few rights and go around the lake...

Gatona

http://www.bikely.com/

not a plan but a general direction...
once in Greece Ill decide what to do in Turkey, a couple thousand kms to get there seem but a few but another two weeks to start the journey, an eternity....

Italia

Italia, tu nombre claman mis entranas, Italia...
Hemos pasado deliciosas semanas juntos,
por cada metro recorrido dejé suenhos, calor, energia
y con cada paso, sentí amor, recibí cobija, ternura y más
me abriste tus lagos, tus montanhas, tus ciudades
yo te di a cambio todo mi ser
Anhoro el dia en q volvamos a ser uno,
Déjame una vez más ser amante furtivo y hurtar de tu regazo tres recuerdos:
el perfume de aquella mujer, aquella noche veneziana,
el calor de un abrazo de un ninho ganador de un torneo Friulano,
la dulce sonrisa de una amistad q se forma sobre colinas toscanas...
Carinho, te amo, por lo q me diste y por lo q eres,
por tu gente y por lo q representa,
detras de mi espalda?
tres fotos:
la luna llena sobre Lecco a las 3 am,
el sol q nace y despierta Pitigliano,
el insomnio q duerme en cada esquina de Venezia,
Ciao bella,
tuyo
Luis

Chau Sicilia

And I say farewell with a hurting heart. I have never felt so at home being so far away. And is of the Carrello Siciliano, the Cassatas, the pesci, the mare, the Puppi, the Cannoli, ahhh the cannoli, the mountains, the tango, the tarantellas and this wonderful people that I peel away.
Rafaela Carrá said it best: “para hacer bien el amor hay q venir al Sur…

Aghh, chucks! I'll stay one more day ;)
.....

Forza Palermo

Palermo may be the capital and biggest city of Sicilia but it still holds the small town flavor. Some people say you can taste it in the air (but in reality is all the fish they bring into town)
MARKETS!! Just like the one back home, eating “polpo bolito” reminded me of ceviche and the fried pork paninni was just like chicharrón, I will give my leg for some yuca frita or some camote right now uhmmmm.
And the churches are really exquisite in flavour, finesse and finish. wow, the Duomo is a mixture of all the cultures that took turns governing Sicilia, and a bus ride away: Monreale, a church that was dressed entirely in Mosaics. From all parts of every wall and even from the ceiling, the church tells you, much to its own flavour, stories of the old testament, a sight to that needs to be seen…

Cefalù

Cefalu is now a beautiful resort town. A beautiful resort town with a castle right on top of it, to fence it from any foreign army locals say. They do not mention however the enemy within. I looked and looked around, asked many many questions, but there is no trace of it now. I even tried to stay overnight at the fort but a guard caught me, I played a good foreigner but he definitely knew I It seems the Aleph flees away from my fingertips again. But do not despair, I got the next clue to the puzzle :)

Perlas del Barroco

Perls is what they truly are. Barroque pearls. All of them UNESCO’s Humanity Patrimony. With their beautiful palazzos, their Chiesas and Duomos, each one of them more beautiful than the prior one, and still all different:

Noto, small cozy, takes you back in time. Totally reconstructed in baroque style after the 1690 earthquake is an example of what a city was on those days. The many look-out points from any of the many churches give you an impressive view of the city, rising big to celebrate their gods. And if that isn’t good enough, a great beach is just 10 min out in the local bus. Beat that!!

Modica, capricious geography make this a spectacular town. Built on 4 hills and around two rivers that are not there any more, Modica was the old capital of Ragusa and still carries in its blood the stance of high princess.

One can just imagine the two rivers running along the city (compared in its time to Venice´s beauty) and towering above them, two Cathedrals (yes, 2, one spitting distance from the other). Pride and dignity runs in the air and the best place to see this dignity is none other than its gastronomy. Delicious “modican” dishes and chocolate uhmmmmm....

Ragusa, capital of the region under the same name, is but more candy for my eyes. I haven’t seen a more beautiful city. Imperial, majestic, words neither pictures can describe it. 5 hills surround the city and in the middle, like an island in the middle of gigantic waves, IBLA Ragusa, the downton area. And just like in an island in the middle of the ocean, its clock stopped centuries ago. Narrow streets take you nowhere, miles of uneven steps, bridges, overpasses, arches, vaults, domes, a city full of wonders at every corner. Paradise for a photographer, wish I knew one, all I could do was stay up all night at a church and stare at IBLA from the viewpoint of a church from dusk till dawn…
Feat of beauty both, the sunrise and the sunset....

Noto, Modica and Ragusa. 3 cities that grab you and make you experience awe in their 3 united, different and unique ways....

Camino a Vendicari

This idea was born thanks to a couple of siblings from Slovakia (brother and sister that get along well enough to travel together, what an idea!!) They tell me about a rastafari camp on the way to Noto. The idea is consolidated when a Sicilian we met at the beach tells me about the wonderfull city of Noto and the Natural Park of Vendicari. I’m in.
The adventure starts, of course, by missing the bus, and having to take the one to the closest town and try to catch another one from there. No biggie, I take a look around, come back and wait for the bus. 15. 30. Nothing. Then an old man offers me a ride. Sweet. Im in the car now, shooting the shit, and I tell him about the reservation, he tells me he’ll take me all the way there. Ok, I thought I’ll pay (since I had no clue where we were), but the price was just a tad to high. I’m not one for handjobs. Now it’s me and my backpack in the middle of the highway. The only thing I knew: head west. After a 15 minute walk a van pulls over and flags me in, of course I try again, the greater surprise was what I found inside: rastas!!! Now I’m in the right car. It’s one Brazilian and one Italian. I wish I had a tape recorder and tape our conversation. Everyone stuck to their own language, pretty cool. Doesn’t take long to reach the camp, I ask the lady owner about the reservation, turns out it’s just across the highway, near the ocean. Awesome, a 30 min walk puts me into the waters on this refuge (stopping point for all birds and turtles emigrating to Africa, in case you were wondering).
Next day I try to catch a lift to Noto but I couldn’t get one at the camp. Italians are very helpful as long as they don’t have to put more than 5 people in their car, rookies. So, I’m sitting on the highway handrails when a dude picks me up, yes, I don’t learn. We got to talk and turns out his dream is to go to Nepal and … Perú. Small world, so we just chatted. He was on his way to Noto to pick up his son, but right before we get there, the son calls. He’s running late, so it’s me, the old man, a couple of cannolis and some coffee and now I have a private tour guide. Noto, what a city, beautiful, but I digress…. Now, to go head back to the campsite. Of course no urban bus goes that far, and the intercity ones don’t want to stop in the middle of the highway, so I take the urban bus that takes me to the furthest beach west and start walking. I had no clue how long it was as the touristy maps have no scale, but after asking around, I got a figure between 12 and 20 kms. Not too bad, I can walk it, and I’m glad I did. What a fantastic view!
The geography makes for isolated beaches one from the other and in between there is this little hill with a cliff at the waterside to jump in the water, incredible, I saw some good spots to take your girlfriend and enjoy a day alone at the beach maybe even have some apple pie. Deep blue is the color of the water and I’m almost in a trance when I hit this beach where something was just wrong, the ratio was out of control, 200.000 men to 1 woman! I’m sorry; it’s just hard to get an accurate count when they are all naked! Some of them were even wearing makeup. I noticed it on the ones that came over and try to make small talk with me. Got out of there as quick as I could. As Im tryng to put that thought behind, I saw the Sveva Tower, the signature landmark of the Vendicari Park and right in front of it, the campsite. Goodie, almost there. By now the sun is setting, red-orange skies on my left, deep blue ocean on my right.
Im hungry and I have no food packed with me. I pick up some tunas and I get stubbed. I pick up some berries and they are sour. Hungry still but nothing can stop me from enjoying another beautifull sunset in Sicily….

Corocoto Chachas

And I must peel away from here. The word, peel away, has been carefully chosen here as I dont really want to leave this marvelous town but I must as I run the risk of staying here ... for how long nobody knows.
and so I write, maybe just  a short farewell but a needed one, this town truly deserves be said good bye to. Nice people, foreigners and locals i´ve met throught out, hoping to keep some of the friendships for a while and longer, excellent nightlife, and two tango shows to die for. Hearing Gotan Project in Catania was certainly a high point, but dancing a whole show to Juan "Tango Negro" Cáceres was an experience on its own: I owe it to my partner for making me look good, we even got a "complimenti" at the end of the show....


I forgot it was Sunday and Im making time now for the bus (its a good trip when you dont know what day it is) but I shouldnt just  ramble
Siracusa is next

Minchia, fui a Taormina

I cannot even begin to describe the beauty of this place!!! Not even the thousand of millions of tourist that come every second can destroy (or at least not yet, HURRY UP!) the beauty and peace this place has: do believe me, every sight is breathtaking. At a point on my trip, I just sat at a rock at the beach and watched the sun and the moon switch positions around the island, and island of beauty, really, island of beauty. Before I knew it it was 10 at night! Of course I couldnt have left without doing the same in the morning, sooo never hit the sack, went straight from the plaza to the viewpoint and waited there for the sun to rise, incredible views, well worth not sleeping.
Makes me think of the people that live here, how dont they all get up at 0400 and head for the viewpoint. One local came around in the morning, but again, sometimes it takes a foreign eye to really appreciatte the beauty lying next to you. Taormina is carved out of a cliff, literally. The houses are dangling into an abyss, somehow they have managed to make some roads, and people keep on heading for the hills and making yet another feat against physics to keep that house up. The green is still green, as if the woods were in a constant fight with the houses and it is in that battle, in that struggle, that beauty lies. Or is it in the referee, us, the beholder?


And a third contender, the ocean (a she) watches them argue for something she knows its nobody else´s but hers.
Couldnt sincerely describe its beauty, so I put a buttload of pics on flickr....

Beauty even on Death

Mount Etna, what a sight! Had the luck to join a future volcanologist on this trip, not so much for the knowledge, which there was, but for the emotion. From here I got the title, everyother step was astonishing and beautiful... with pictures to be taken here and also over there, eternal. It was nice to share into that emotion, also nice to help out to reach places I know he wouldnt have gone without me...
Etna is incredible. It overlooks most of Sicily and we can just picture the awesome power of mother earth when she gets her period and things can go bersek. The walk up wasnt bad, took us around 2-3 hours but mainly because we stopped a few times and made some big loops to see most of the volcano and the newly formed craters. Hard to explain the feeling of littleness one gets in front of a crater the size of a building, or the wind blowing at 100 mph making you feel it WILL pick you up and dump you into the hole. A little tuna for lunch and ready to keep on exploring.

Next victim: Taormina, the pearl of Sicily

Tren a SiraXXX Catania

Being in Europe I tend to forget Italians are latin, very latin. I took the train Milano-Siracusa and it brought back home to me: the train was late, it broke down on the way, there were too many people, there was flirting, scandal, arguments, too much luggage, cats and dogs (no chickens though), one asshole, and everybody was speaking way too loudly and at the same time: it was great!. I did the first part of the trip with a girl from Tuscany, very beautifull girl, very fragile, almost not fitting in this whole context.Poor thing. She must have thought I was hitting on her at the beginning but when she realized I just wanted to talk everything went well... except my Italian which is still atrocious.
Then the 2nd part of the trip I did it with an older lady from Catania, sweet lady actually. She convinced me to stay in Catania instead of going all the way to Siracusa, so I did and Im glad. Its been day and night from Milano. From the train to the beach to the people, everything is that much more "Italian" from my point of view ;)
Tomorrow Etna….
Oh! and it happens to be the Summer Tango Festival in Sicily at the moment. And guess who’s playing Friday? Gotan Project, cannot wait….

Milano

I was just about to tell you it was not the best choice of a city to start with in Italy, then, on my last day, after getting lost, (is it considered getting lost if its done on purpose?) I found some markets, real markets not supermarkets, children kicking the ball around in the park, a huge difference from what I had seen days before. People just going about their business, mind as well be NYC! Very nice change of pace to see this other face to the city...

But amongst the sights: the Duomo, puff, certainly makes a difference. I don’t know if it has made it, but it certainly should be one of the wonders of the world: the intricacy, the detail, the painstaking goddamn detail. Bamn! About 300, 000 statues and 800,000 million square miles (rough numbers here) of carved stone, it is just breathtaking. I spent a whole day here. Pity is still being restored, I didn’t get to see the doors. And I didn’t get to see the Last Supper either, there is a 2-3 week waiting list, I guess sometimes it pays to read guidebooks. No biggie, I’ll see it on my way out of Sicily.
Tomorrow Siracusa and the Reign of the Two Sicilies ;)