May 4th – 8th: From Erice I headed further west, beyond Sicily itself, to Favignana, the largest of the three Egadi Islands. The volcanic Aeolian islands, off the northeast coast, are better known, but I was finishing up my trip in the west. Sunday is not a good day for public transport on Sicily, but my next hotel had assured me that the buses and ferries would be running. Well, there were plenty of ferries, but only three buses down from Erice. The Albergo Egadi on Favignana gave me a very nice room, with washed blue walls, and blue chiffon curtains framing a view out to sea, and a lovely bathroom with a tile floor and huge shower. The weekenders had just left, and I had the place almost to myself – my first night I ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant in lonely state. Before overfishing killed the industry, tuna fishing and canning dominated the islands’ economy, and tuna, in various guises, dominated my meal.
I had read that the islands had few tourists and good hiking. In early May there were certainly few tourists. Unfortunately, that seemed to mean little tourist infrastructure. I had envisioned coves with cafes and beach umbrellas: instead the ones I found were completely deserted. On Levanzo, a five minute ferry ride from Favignana, a couple of sleepy cafes did face the ferry dock, but on Favignana the cafes mostly clustered round the main square. No doubt the locals preferred shelter to sea views during the winter. The good hiking existed, but only if you were willing to hike in full sun – the islands were just as deforested as Sicily. I did find a few trees on Levanzo, along with more totally deserted coves, but not on Favignana. The views were good, the wildflowers were in full bloom, and I had my choice of coves – provided I brought my own beach umbrella and drinks! Looking at the two sail boats moored round the point from Levanzo’s ferry dock, I concluded that that was the best way to visit the islands.
In July and August I imagine the islands are quite different. I did chat with a young couple who had loved their time on Favignana so much they hadn’t even visited the other islands. If you want your own personal cove to go swimming this is definitely the place, but I wished I had spent more time in Erice and less on the islands, and was glad to return to the mainland.
My plan to spend two days in Marsala, hopefully tasting the eponymous wine, was derailed when I couldn’t scare up any reasonable accommodations in the town center. I stayed in Trapani instead, and located a B&B in the heart of the old town, just down the street from the cathedral, which also gave its guests a 15% discount at its associated Trattoria. Trattoria Ai Lumi occupied the front of a palazzo: I crossed a courtyard and climbed some stairs to reach my room in the B&B . Getting into the room presented a challenge, I had to position the old iron key exactly right to unlock the door, but the room behind the door, although perhaps overfull of bed, had windows opening to the courtyard and the usual amenities – after I turned another key on the wall to get the heat/AC unit to work.
I never did make it to Marsala. Partly because my research on the net didn’t turn up any particularly good transport options, and partly because I liked old town Trapani so much. Big surprise! I had thought of Trapani as just a big town useful as a transport hub, and arriving in town by bus I had certainly passed a lot of undistinguished, even deteriorating, apartment buildings. The old town, though, reminded me of Ortigia. Although not on an island, the old town occupies a peninsula, with a port on the south side. There was a stretch of sand on the north side, although I didn’t see anyone using it as a beach. In between were several streets lined with churches and palazzos in varying states of repair, most decorated with interesting carving. A great place to wander around with a camera.
I wandered a lot, winding up the first evening at a tree-filled park with a stage and a pond where I was surprised to see black swans. I also rode a bus further into the new town, to visit the Museo Nazionale Pepoli. This was, of course, undergoing restoration, with access through a neighboring suite of offices! While the coral artifacts were interesting, it wasn’t a must-see, and to me, neither was the Madonna di Trapani in the Santuario dell’Annunziata next door. The statue of the Madonna is important to the people of Trapani, however, as are the twenty life-size tableaux representing scenes from the Passion of Christ that are carried through the streets on Easter Friday. I visited the statues in the Chiesa del Purgatorio, where I learned that each is the responsibility of one of the town’s guilds, and that several required considerable repair after the town was bombed during WWII.
I lunched both days at one of the cafes on Via Turetta, just down from the twin clock towers enclosing the façade of the Palazzo Senatorio, on good tuna salad. I ate both nights at the Tavernetta Ai Lumi, and was a little surprised that almost all my fellow diners were tourists (maybe the Italians were in the smoking section), as I hadn’t realized Trapani would be so popular. I can recommend the seafood risotto, the mozzarella and tomato salad, and the excellent cheese plate. And the dessert wines!
My Time to Travel 