Bella Sicilia

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A main square in Catania, Sicily.

On Mt. Etna, you can almost see towns and the sea in the background.

On top of Mt. Etna. I'm not sure we were supposed to get so close to the crater.

A view of Etna from the terrace at the farm in Sicily.

Digging a hole is Sicily. This hole was the source of much anxiety.

Ah, Sicily. It's beautiful here. Of course the rest of Italy is beautiful as well, but there's something about the shape of the land here that's a little bit more rugged, less refined. The cities are a little bit dirtier, the people a little bit friendlier, everything is quite a bit cheaper and the food quite a bit fresher. I'm staying with a friend I met WWOOFing in Calabria, Andrea, which is great. It's really nice to have a home base again, a few days to catch my breath and do a load of laundry (it's been 5 weeks now?). I hiked Mt. Etna a couple days ago, which was also quite refreshing. It's a beautiful mountain, though like the rest of Italy, very settled and ready to accommidate any traveler. There is a gondola part way up, then some bus/jeep things a bit farther (if you're willing to spend 50 euro. It seems silly to spend so much to miss the whole experience of getting up a mountain). Only the very top (officially 'forbidden') feels like actual hiking, and it is definitely the most beautiful part. There are sulfur vents all over the place, and you have to be careful not to breath in the fumes. The ground is yellowish white all over, and the wind is spectacular. The summit is about 10,900 ft, making it the tallest mountain I've climbed yet. I went with a guy I met at the hostel who had climbed 11 of the 52 14,000+ ft peaks in Colorado, which was a bit humbling. I guess if I live in Colorado I'll have to get more serious about climbing mountains. I'm in good enough shape from biking and farming that this one wasn't a problem, but the air does get pretty thin up there! I'm staying with Andrea for a couple more days (so far we've made homemade pesto with basil from his garden, lasagne with besciamella (no idea how to spell it in English, beshmell?) sauce, and crepes), then I'm going to a farm near Catania which advertises meditation as one of the common activities. I'm excited to give that a try for a bit, I hope I have the will power to do a bit every day while I'm there.

Under the Calabrian Sun

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The Amalfi Coast. Biking on these cliffs was incredible. The road was winding but not too steep.

The town of Amalfi. We went on a hike up the cliff between these two towns.

This is Atrani, our little town on the Amalfi Coast.

Maybe my tractor driving was part of the problem?

I am in a tree watching the sunset on my Calabrian farm.

Well, a lot has happened since my last update! I spent a week in Atrani with friends from Spannocchia, which was great. The Amalfi coast is gorgeous, filled with enormous cliffs. We took lots of walks to Ravello, a little town where Virgina Woolf and some other famous artists worked. I can see why. Also did a lot of sitting on the beach and cooking. All in all, a great week. Next I took a train down to Catanzaro in Calabria to work on another farm. I was pretty much on my own the whole time, which was a cool experience. I don't think I've ever had so much unfocused time to myself (i.e., not biking all day). I started writing some songs, drawing some, doing yoga and meditating a bit. Another WWOOFer came for a few days, and that was also fun, and a nice change of pace. He's from Catania in Sicily, and I'm actually on my way down there now to meet up with him and hike Etna (if all goes as planned, he hasn't gotten back to me yet and email in Sicily is apparently really spotty). Any way, after several days of not showing up to the farm, the boss-man, Antonio, finally had some free time on the weekend and wanted me to basically work the entire time, 8-10 hours a day. I was not into this idea. I was already upset with him for leaving me hanging at the farm, always having to be ready for him to arrive, and him never coming. I was perfectly happy with the work (I still had things to do while he was gone), and I learned a lot about gardening, olives, vinyards, and handyman type stuff. So yesterday after working 8:30 to 1, I told him I was ready to be done working for the morning and he started telling me about how I wasn't happy there, and told me to go eat if I really wanted to. So I decided to leave that evening, half kicked out, half leaving on my own. A surprisingly bitter end to a pleasant time in the countryside. So I took a train back to the west coast and slept on the beach, which was quite pleasant aside from some mild showers. Now I'm back on the road with my bike, heading south. I'm in Tropea, a cute little tourist town with tons of Germans, English, and Italians. I'm going to keep heading south and plan to arrive in Catania around Wednesday evening. Then about a week of visiting the area, two more weeks of farming, then off to Greece!

Biking the coast

New pictures! Reverse chronological order.

On the northern side of the Sorrento peninsula. The Amalfi Coast is on the other side.

Most of the coast looked like this.

This was one of my favorite places on the coast. Very tranquil, little castle, beautiful sea.

Blue Crush on the shore near Civitavecchia.

The road flattens out after the hills of Tuscany.

I arrived in Atrani, a small town on the Amalfi coast a couple days ago at exactly noon. Five minutes later some more interns from Spannocchia showed up on their way from Napoli. Pretty remarkable timing considering that we had decided to meet in a town none of us had been to at an arbitrary time a week earlier, and hadn't talked at all since. The bike ride ended up being about 300 miles, and totally fantastic. I left Spannocchia last Monday in the afternoon after the heat cooled down and rode about 50 km through the hills of Tuscany. It was the hardest days, partially because of the hills and partially because I was sad to be leaving the farm. The ride started to level out towards evening and I got very excited about biking. I ended up sleeping next to a nice basil field outside of Grosseto. Tuesday I rode another 15 km into Grosseto, then 10 km out looking for the route south, but ended up having to turn around when all the coastal roads dead ended. Rather than take the superstrade (fast road), I hopped on a train and went to Civitavecchia, about 100km south on the coast. I grabbed a bite to eat and left south. The riding for the next few days was unbelievable, spectacular views of the Mediterranean and surrounding cliffs. I stayed in campsites along the way and went about 100km a day. I woke up early each morning (pre-7) and started riding quickly to avoid the heat, then took a 4 hour siesta from 11 to 3 to eat, nap and stay cool. The afternoon rides tended to be a bit better and more energized, and at times I really got rolling. Friday I rode along the coast near Napoli, which was the most stressful part of the trip, especially because of the cobblestone roads. It was still gorgeous, though. I slept on the tip of the Amalfi peninsula that night, then rode the last 40km into Atrani that morning. This ride was definitely one of the top two or three adventures I've ever had. I can't post pictures now, but will when I have a better internet spot. Now I'm relaxing with friends near Amalfi, making delicious meals and enjoying the beach. Next week, I'm off to Calabria. Ciao!