Palermo - 9 October 2021

Exercise has been in relatively short supply recently, so we decided that we needed a good long walk. We wanted to revisit Mondello, the last bay we had moored in to see what it was like on the land. We talked to the marina folk about the ways to get there, which seemed to be either bus, which they did not recommend or taxi, which might be expensive. In the end we resorted to walking. The route took us around the large rock that has appeared in our photos from both locations.

The walk was a varied experience. The first part was along main roads leading away from Palermo city centre, but gradually the levels of traffic thinned as we got further away. The country road initially had both a cycle land and a footpath, but as time went on the footpath disappeared. We saw a path running parallel to the road, and gratefully took this as it was a bit further away from the traffic. There were various twists and turns, plus junctions, so it took a bit of guesswork to determine the best route. We did at least have the road to keep us orientated, although this went out of view in the dense undergrowth. Eventually we  ran out of path, in what seemed like a forest of cacti, so we had to retrace our steps to find a different path. This then led back to the road, which had gained a proper footpath again by now. 

We trekked on and eventually started to see the signs of a town appearing. Mondello is a seaside resort, close enough to Palermo to be a well to do commuter town. We were ready for lunch now, after walking about 11 kms so far, and chose a cafe which seemed to be popular with the locals. We struggled to find a table and enquired if we could use space at the end of an occupied one. The answer was clearly "no", but we didn't understand the explanation of why. Once we had found a seat, the guy who had said no came over with his google translate to explain that more of his family embers were joining him.  He was obviously concerned enough to ensure that we did not think he was just saying no for the sake of it.


We walked on along the sea front and came to a kind of pier that we had seen from the sea. This was clearly old and seemed to have changing rooms a bit like a beach hut would provide, so presumably in the summer people go there to sunbathe and swim. There is also a posh looking restaurant.

You can just make out a boat anchored in "our" spot

The weather started to close in, and rain was falling, so we braved the bus back to Palermo for the massive cost of €1.40 each. Transport is obviously heavily subsidised. The bus was crowded by the time we arrived in Palermo, but we were glad not to have done the 10km back on foot as well.

Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today               0 miles

Total distance 2021:   414 miles


        



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