We left Ragusa heading for Siracusa. We drove through beautiful green fields filled with lemon trees and olive trees. We reached the parking lot on the edge of town. Archimedes lived in Siracusa. His statue greeted us as we entered town. We met our local guide who explained that Siracusa was a major point of the Allied invasion in WW II. Much of the town was destroyed but certain important areas were left untouched. We walked to the temple of Apollo, the oldest Greek temple built in the 6th century BC. Ortiga, part of Siracusa, is a small island reached by a few bridges. There is a blend of Greek and Roman ruins visible in many areas. The island has a blend of many religions visible in designs on houses. We visited a baroque church in the center of town. Then we took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and sat at a restaurant in the main square.
We rejoined our group to take a boat ride along the shoreline. We visited several caves along the way. There aren’t markers indicating shallows but the water is very clear and the rocks are visible above the water.
Our boat captain passed out chocolate cookies and shots of lemoncello as we returned to the wharf. We walked back to the bus for the ride to Catania. We have been catching glimpses of Mt Aetna much of the day. It is a beautiful snow covered peak. We will have a talk from a volcanologist tomorrow and then visit on Wednesday. It should be really exciting.
When we reached Catania, we were unloaded from the bus a few blocks from our hotel. We have nice big rooms and a big bathtub.
We walked a few blocks into town to get an orientation and to have dinner. We had a delicious gazpacho followed by a grilled fish. It began to drizzle as we finished dinner but we got home easily. Time to plan for tomorrow.
The Adventures of Anne 