Heyyo folks it’s me Jabio!!!
(Hair by Kate Tattoo by Zack)
So I’m here doing my blog and I’ve decided to tell and show you good people out there in internet land about my long long walk. I guess you could call it my Odyssey. It didn’t last 10 years only about a few hours. But I did see some cool things.
Let’s start at the bottom in Isola Bella.
I walked down to the shores of the Ionian sea and sat for a few minutes, feeling the nice sea air. After the heat wave was over this day was perfect for a walk. Nice cool, and sunny. So I decided it was my mission to walk from the beach to the mountains I had often seen and back again. And so I began my journey up the first of many sets of stairs.
I decided that instead of taking the stairs to Taormina I’d take the street. In doing so I found the scenery to be almost as nice. But more importantly I got a taste of how old and eclectic this town, much like this island truly is. Take for instance this hotel not that far up the road.
You can see the Arab style windows and Norman style architecture.
Continuing on my journey I reached the stairs to the church and fort that over look Taormina. Most complain about the steps coming from the beach but these stairs were at least triple. The stairs were old and well traveled. And at evenly placed intervals along the path there were stations of the cross.
While half way up I stopped to look at the view. You could see the whole town.
I finally made it to the top, but to my chagrin everything was locked up. The view and the architecture was nice but the one thing that stood out most to me was the final station of the cross. It just looked creepy, Jesus with vines or something entangling him.
My next stop would be the old Arab fort. But again to my chagrin everything was locked. The main iron door bound and chained. L So I contemplated, scanning spots where I could hop over the wall and I found one. But I could not see a way to get back over, So I thought this a problem. Against my character I decided not to try. After all had I got stuck there I’m sure Dr. Hayes would be upset. So I rested on a ledge and took some pics.
Spotting a town up on another peek I decided to continue my trek. I was heading to a town called Castlemola. This was actually quite significant because I was leaving what many locals called Fantasy Sicily (Taormina) and going toward real Sicily, heading into the less tourist area.
More steps lead me to Castlemola and although it was still touristy the local population had a less of a grasp on English. From the older generation and some of the younger locals I got strange stares. It must have been a strange sight for them to see a 6ft 1 American in shorts and a muscle-shirt walking through there town covered in sweat. But I ignored it and walked up to the castle. The view was amazing. You could see many of the surrounding towns and the coast.
I walked to the top and was treated to a birds of prey show. With 2 owls, 2 falcons, a hawk, and a turkey vulture.
When it was over I decided to head a little father into the mountains. I would wind up in a town called Monte Venere. This was a true
Sicilian town. No tourist and nothing to attract them. The walk was not an easy one. Steep roads that were hardly paved and sharp turns and corners that were at the edge of a very long fall. Walking these roads I understood how well Italian drivers must be as a few cars and mopeds whisked by me going about 30. Turning sharp corners as they look curiously at me wondering why this stranger was in their town. One of the first things I noticed was every one had dogs, one very pretty signora had 4. But one family had a horse. It wasn’t till I turned back and looked, that I realized how far I had come.
(Castlemola from Monte Venere)
It was here in this town that I heard the Sicilian dialect for the first time. The first thing I noticed was that they replaced O with a U in some words. I heard a family arguing, I think about a moped couldn’t make it out. Another family was dinning outside.
I then came to a strange park. It was called the park of remembrance. There was a stone figure of an old monk holding a rosary. In the back up a short flight of stairs was a obelisk.
Walking up the road more I came to a small church, behind it was a cemetery. The first thing you notice when looking at the graves is they are above ground. The second is the person’s picture is engraved on the headstone and solar powered fake candles. This will come as very strange to some as this is very rarely done in the states. There are the usual mausoleums. Also new graves are near very very old ones, much older then any I had seen. And what I term the wall of the dead. A large wall where people are placed like in one of the old card catalogues you used to find at the library. I left the cemetery and continued on.
I didn’t continue on much father as the road came to a fork which lead to two houses. As I approached up the road a girl saw me and ran in the house to tell her parents. I decided that having no where to go and a less then warming welcome waiting for me I decided to turn back to fantasy Sicily.
The walk back was much easier, it took about an hour and a half to get back down to the beach.
As I walked down the stairs to the beach I heard singing and mandolin. Something I had been waiting for since arriving here. I sat on the steps and listened as the sang some Italian songs, and some Italian American songs. It was interesting to here that’s amore in half English and Italian.
When they were done I followed the coast in the darkness until I hit the highway and there was no where for pedestrians to walk. Then I turned around and ran into the group again singing the same songs but I listened again anyway. Once they were done I walked back up to my room took a well deserved shower and went to bed!!!
Heyyo folks it’s me Jabio!!!
(Hair by Kate Tattoo by Zack)
So I’m here doing my blog and I’ve decided to tell and show you good people out there in internet land about my long long walk. I guess you could call it my Odyssey. It didn’t last 10 years only about a few hours. But I did see some cool things.
Let’s start at the bottom in Isola Bella.
I walked down to the shores of the Ionian sea and sat for a few minutes, feeling the nice sea air. After the heat wave was over this day was perfect for a walk. Nice cool, and sunny. So I decided it was my mission to walk from the beach to the mountains I had often seen and back again. And so I began my journey up the first of many sets of stairs.
I decided that instead of taking the stairs to Taormina I’d take the street. In doing so I found the scenery to be almost as nice. But more importantly I got a taste of how old and eclectic this town, much like this island truly is. Take for instance this hotel not that far up the road.
You can see the Arab style windows and Norman style architecture.
Continuing on my journey I reached the stairs to the church and fort that over look Taormina. Most complain about the steps coming from the beach but these stairs were at least triple. The stairs were old and well traveled. And at evenly placed intervals along the path there were stations of the cross.
While half way up I stopped to look at the view. You could see the whole town.
I finally made it to the top, but to my chagrin everything was locked up. The view and the architecture was nice but the one thing that stood out most to me was the final station of the cross. It just looked creepy, Jesus with vines or something entangling him.
My next stop would be the old Arab fort. But again to my chagrin everything was locked. The main iron door bound and chained. L So I contemplated, scanning spots where I could hop over the wall and I found one. But I could not see a way to get back over, So I thought this a problem. Against my character I decided not to try. After all had I got stuck there I’m sure Dr. Hayes would be upset. So I rested on a ledge and took some pics.
Spotting a town up on another peek I decided to continue my trek. I was heading to a town called Castlemola. This was actually quite significant because I was leaving what many locals called Fantasy Sicily (Taormina) and going toward real Sicily, heading into the less tourist area.
More steps lead me to Castlemola and although it was still touristy the local population had a less of a grasp on English. From the older generation and some of the younger locals I got strange stares. It must have been a strange sight for them to see a 6ft 1 American in shorts and a muscle-shirt walking through there town covered in sweat. But I ignored it and walked up to the castle. The view was amazing. You could see many of the surrounding towns and the coast.
I walked to the top and was treated to a birds of prey show. With 2 owls, 2 falcons, a hawk, and a turkey vulture.
When it was over I decided to head a little father into the mountains. I would wind up in a town called Monte Venere. This was a true
Sicilian town. No tourist and nothing to attract them. The walk was not an easy one. Steep roads that were hardly paved and sharp turns and corners that were at the edge of a very long fall. Walking these roads I understood how well Italian drivers must be as a few cars and mopeds whisked by me going about 30. Turning sharp corners as they look curiously at me wondering why this stranger was in their town. One of the first things I noticed was every one had dogs, one very pretty signora had 4. But one family had a horse. It wasn’t till I turned back and looked, that I realized how far I had come.
(Castlemola from Monte Venere)
It was here in this town that I heard the Sicilian dialect for the first time. The first thing I noticed was that they replaced O with a U in some words. I heard a family arguing, I think about a moped couldn’t make it out. Another family was dinning outside.
I then came to a strange park. It was called the park of remembrance. There was a stone figure of an old monk holding a rosary. In the back up a short flight of stairs was a obelisk.
Walking up the road more I came to a small church, behind it was a cemetery. The first thing you notice when looking at the graves is they are above ground. The second is the person’s picture is engraved on the headstone and solar powered fake candles. This will come as very strange to some as this is very rarely done in the states. There are the usual mausoleums. Also new graves are near very very old ones, much older then any I had seen. And what I term the wall of the dead. A large wall where people are placed like in one of the old card catalogues you used to find at the library. I left the cemetery and continued on.
I didn’t continue on much father as the road came to a fork which lead to two houses. As I approached up the road a girl saw me and ran in the house to tell her parents. I decided that having no where to go and a less then warming welcome waiting for me I decided to turn back to fantasy Sicily.
The walk back was much easier, it took about an hour and a half to get back down to the beach.
As I walked down the stairs to the beach I heard singing and mandolin. Something I had been waiting for since arriving here. I sat on the steps and listened as the sang some Italian songs, and some Italian American songs. It was interesting to here that’s amore in half English and Italian.
When they were done I followed the coast in the darkness until I hit the highway and there was no where for pedestrians to walk. Then I turned around and ran into the group again singing the same songs but I listened again anyway. Once they were done I walked back up to my room took a well deserved shower and went to bed!!!
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