Castellamare and Segesta

Mor Toad / Moy Toad
David and Jocelyn Fawcett
Tue 13 Jun 2017 08:28
Having arrived in Castellamare late morning on Sunday once we were sorted we walked into the town along a very dusty hot road- none of the marinas seem to be anywhere near the centre - good exercise I suppose.

It was a lovely old town to wander through and we found a nice spot for some lunch tucked away overlooking a bay and with a breeze. That is getting very necessary now as very noticeably it is hotting up, we have lost the cold winds or even wind and any shade and any whisps of a breeze are very welcome. Sunday lunchtime so quite a few Sicilian families out and about and dining in large groups everywhere. The town was full of restaurants all touting for business . Having had a wander around after lunch we came back to the boat had a snooze and caught up with a few jobs before heading back into town firstly to try and organise how we could get to the Greek temple and theatre at Segesta and to a restaurant ( Cumba) close by which we had spotted earlier. The latter was a good find - some of the best food we've had in Sicily with a slightly different menu so much so we returned there yesterday lunchtime after our mornings excursion to Segesta.

We had managed to organise a taxi to take us from the marina at 9.30am and hoped we'd arranged for them to pick us up after a couple of hours. So yes he was there and half an hours drive out of the town through very pretty countryside - rolling hills covered in vineyards and fields surrounded by mountains and the motorway running through the valley on a viaduct quite spectacular in its own right. We were dropped at the gates to the archaeological site and bought our tickets and had a coffee and some Sicilian pastry before walking up to the Doric temple - 5th century BC. Stunning location and remarkably preserved. Apparently not finished as no roof and the columns are not fluted but impressive. Having walked around it taking pictures and taking in the general ambience we then had the challenge of walking up to the theatre set high on top of a hill in the opposite direction. There was a shuttle bus but we walked fortunately although the road zig zagged up the hill the path did cut across these so a bit shorter. Again a stunning view of the mountains, vineyards , autostrada and a 3rd century BC theatre which was impressive.

PHOTOS WILL FOLLOW AT SOME STAGE but struggling with getting wi fi!

Like many sites in many countries the next generations have come along plundered and used many of the stones for their buildings. This was no exception so seeing two fairly intact structures was a bonus ( there are many more to see in Sicily but this will now have to wait till the autumn) and in the Middle Ages their village had been built over the top and there is still much excavation to be done.

The cab driver had agreed to return after 2 hours so we waited at the appointed place but no one came ( but we hadn't paid him so surely we weren't abandoned? ) eventually a lady arrived In a different car and we must have been looking lost because she said Mr David so yes we had a lift back thankfully. Apparently the other guy had got stuck in traffic and she'd been sent out to find us. So relieved and she even took us to the office to collect Davids drink bottle that he'd left in the first taxi by mistake and then dropped us in the centre of town near a lovely delicatessen where we needed to buy a few things to keep us going. She spoke English and was telling us we'd come at the right time as in July and August manic and the population in the town increases from 14000 to 75000! So after a lovely lunch - mussels and pasta we walked back to the boat paid our fees for a nights stay we had said we'd stay two but hot and we are not fans of marinas and so casting off we returned to the anchorage at Scapello for the night - still slightly rolly but that did settle and this time three yachts at anchor overnight - German and French . This morning no wind beautiful clear glassy seas and several swims before breakfast - and the water is warming up. I might not find The Percuil quite so appealing but we are looking forward to getting home.

We are setting off back north shortly before the tripper boats and little speed boats arrive and hope to anchor back in the bay at Levanzo tonight before we head back to the boatyard at Trapani first thing in the morning to sort ourselves and the boat out before flying out on Thursday .

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