Sicily & Kefalonia
Messina wasn't meant to be on our schedule originally, but there wasn't a berth available in Catania so our destination in Sicily was swapped. We decided to forego the planned excursion to Mount Etna, as it would be a very long bus trip to get there for minimal time at the volcano, and instead decided to do our own thing and wander into Messina itself.
Mum ticked off one of her bucket list items from the trip - eat Italian gelato in Italy. It was a Sunday and several businesses were closed, but around the main cathedral square most of the cafes were open, including one that served coffee and gelato.
The cafe had an external stall with hot roasted nuts being turned into brittle in a hot mixer full of molten sugar as people watched. It smelled amazing, and not just to us humans. At one point the guy manning the stand went into the cafe to discuss something and two alert pigeons took the opportunity to land on the nuts and start wolfing them down. The fellow returned and gave them a half hearted shoo away with his nut scoop which implied this was not an unusual event, and then carried on selling the nuts and making brittle.
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| The secret ingredient is pigeon feet |
We were offered some samples of the nuts shortly afterwards. We declined.
Next to Messina square is a tower with an animated astronomical clock. At noon the various animatronics put on quite a show. The cathedral rises from the waves, Jesus exits the tomb, various saints parade past the Virgin Mary and bow their heads in obeisance, a cockerel crows, a lion roars and Ave Maria gets played at very high volume. Quite a clockwork show.
With Mum safely parked on a bench, we three sibs climbed the tower. We got great views of the city rooftops and our cruise liner in port just beyond.
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| We could just about keep an eye on Mum from the tower! |
We also went into the Cathedral. I took a few photos, but then a mass was starting and it felt disrespectful to the worshippers to be taking photos during the service.
On the way back to the ship, we found a gelato shop that had confirmed gluten free options. As my sister Sarah is coeliac and needs to avoid gluten at all costs, we stopped so she could have an ice cream. I'd had an espresso and no ice cream at our previous stop, so I got one this time. It came with a cone hat.
Overnight the ship rounded Italy and sailed to Argostoli in Kefalonia. Here our party split ways. Dave and Sarah went on a boat trip to beaches only accessible by jumping off the boat. Mum and I went on the "Legends and Landscapes" tour that started with a visit to the Odysseus theme park.
This was probably the lowest tech theme park I have ever been to, but it was quirky and charming and a whole lot of fun. The set up was a number of different statues showing scenes from the Odyssey and then various animal pens related to the story. "This is Circe, the witch, who turned Odysseus's men into sheep... and here are some sheep." You could buy carrots to feed to the various animals.
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| Cyclops in his cave |
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| Various monsters |
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| I sat in Odysseus's vacant throne |
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| "Psst! Got any carrots??" |
After the theme park, our next stop was a small village called Efima. It was stunningly beautiful and much less touristy than the village we went to on Malta.
It also had a small supermarket and I bought some cookies and a chocolate bar to share with Mum.
The final stop on our tour was an overlook high above Myrtos Beach. The sea was turquoise. No filter required! It was an incredible view.
We were back on the ship in time to see Dave and Sarah's boat coming back.
Our first day in the Ionian islands had been wonderful. Next we were off to Corfu!
