Sicily dispatch part due

Home again safely last night after a journey that involved five different modes of transport: pick-up truck, hydrofoil, mini-bus, jet plane and Audi A3.


We have been on the Aeolian island of Salina, a green oasis in a sparkling sea,  which remained almost millpond calm throughout our stay. On Friday night we watched the moonrise over the adjacent island of Lipari in a state of wonder. According to our sources, this was the "Honey Moon" of legend, occurring at the time of its perigee (the Moon's closest approach to Earth); this coming close to the summer solstice apparently gives it an unusually orange-yellow hue, a sign the ancients used as the optimal time to harvest their fruit, and offering bees their best opportunity to create honey, hence its name. It was certainly an amazing sight. Close to the horizon it appeared as red as a setting sun, a phenomenon I have never seen before. I tired to capture the image with my camera, but the Moon is very hard to photograph without expensive equipment. However, I was able to record some sort of impression of its extraordinary colour.


As planned long ago, we climbed to its highest point, 963 metres above sea level, an epic scramble on badly neglected paths (to be fair workmen were labouring to repair it that very day) in temperatures around 32 degrees Celsius. We got our water supply right and I made it without mishap other than a few scrapes and bruises from my numerous slips and slides, especially on the downward part of the trek, always the most hazardous phase, as any walker will tell you. On returning to the hotel after nearly six hours in the sun (we both plastered ourselves with factor 50 sun cream) we slept for three hours straight.


Sicily is a beautiful place: a blend of rugged and gentle scenery, arid and lush conditions, all of which are gradually coming under threat as development and the rush for profit consumes the island. Please God they can hold on to some of its native beauty before it is all gone, concreted over by theme parks and apartment complexes. We are planning on one more visit there: to Palermo and Agrigento which lie 300 kilometres westwards from Syracuse, and one more Aeolian island: the still volcanically active island of Vulcano (Salina hasn't shown any activity these past ten thousand years, hence its lush, green aspect). Let's hope it's all still there in all its unique glory. We love you Sicily- don't change too much!