Balestrate - 1 October 2021

The routine was different this morning, as Tom and Teresa had to head home. We had chosen to be in Balestrate to be near Palermo airport, in fact we are closer than Palermo is to its airport. The helpful folks at the marina had booked a taxi for them, and as we set off from the boat to walk to the marina office, they came across in a rib to tell us that the taxi was there already. We said our goodbyes, reflecting just what a great time we had all had, and what great sailing there had been. They were heading back to stormy Britain, where the race they were due to be in this weekend, has already been postponed.

Tricia and I settled down to a day of chores, with various forms of cleaning high on the agenda. The town here sits on the cliff top, and there is a steep set of stairs to climb up from sea level. We carted the laundry up these and found an excellent laundrette. Sicily seems to be much better served with these than some of the other places we have been in the past.


While Tricia sat with the laundry, I set off to find bread and a bank for more cash. The bread bit was easy, but the cash was harder. Trusty Google Maps gave me the location of one, but I could not see a cash machine so I headed off to the next one, which was at a bank. There was a crowd standing outside, with some people peering through the windows to see why it was not open. I knew that there should be an ATM, but it appeared to be inside, and no one was getting in. Eventually I gave up and headed back towards the first place. Approaching from a different direction I could now see the ATM. There was a queue here as well, with one lady seeming to be taking a very long time. Eventually she finished and the next person tried to draw cash, but the machine would not allow the card to be inserted. There was some debate, and someone went inside the bank. I guess that they rebooted the ATM from inside, because all the lights went off for a while and then came back on. The woman trying to use it looked at it very suspiciously, and then invited me to try. Presumably it did not matter if I, as an outsider, lost my card. It worked for me, and I was able to return to Tricia, with my missions accomplished.




I really like it here. The town is a tangle of tiny streets, most of which are thankfully one way, and the people are friendly and cheerful. Later in the day we headed off to buy pizza, but found that the pizzaria we had selected was not open. Some women sitting in the square outside, told us that it was closed and then directed us to the next best one. This turned out to be the best pizza I have ever tasted. We must have been doing something right, because we had been seeing distant lightning while we waited for the pizza and just after we got back to the boat, the rain started to fall.

Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today               0 miles

Total distance 2021:   367 miles

Comments

  1. T2 October 2021 at 01:11

    Sad to say goodbye to Equinox this morning after another fabulous trip onboard. Filled with varied sailing, anchoring, mooring, berthing, sightseeing, gelato and lots of laughs. All thanks to the wonderful hospitality of our hosts Steve and Tricia and their beautiful boat. Worth every nose swab and form filled. Enjoy the rest of 2021 season. Tx

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