Giro di Sicilia

If you combine images of vivid turquoise and blue lagoons, stunning beaches, lungomare stretching as far as you see and steep mountains, with friendly people and delicious food, then you can understand why we were keen to make our third trip to Sicily. Throw in an active volcano and the thrill of driving in what we were warned was dangerous country, and you have an adventure story in the making.
On each visit to Italy we try to include at least one new destination and this time we planned to visit Agrigento and Trapani which we hadn’t been to on previous trips. Our friend Charlie from Perth would also be in his home town of Capo d’Orlando so we agreed to catch up with him while he was there.
Our apprehension about driving through pot-holed streets with only centimetres clearance each side and in traffic where drivers spontaneously invent road rules was intensified when we picked up the Fiat 500 (with only 110 kms on the clock). Francesco warned us about the high risk of the car being stolen as 500s are the model of choice for thieves at the moment. He pleaded with us not to park the car in the port of Palermo or anywhere near or in Catania. So we agreed to pay an extra 250 euro premium to cover all eventualities – all, that is, except parking anywhere in the street in the vicinity of Catania. Even with the extra premium, the car still wasn’t covered for theft in Catania which didn’t make sense, but who were we to argue. Francesco was adamant. This was unfortunate as we planned to stay with a friend on the outskirts of Catania.
We completed a 900 km circuit of Sicily in the following 6 days and returned the brand new Fiat in pristine condition. As we had agreed to pay the extra premium when we returned the car and never saw a receipt for the insurance, we did wonder if the money went to the insurance company or to the retirement fund of the charming Francesco.