We docked in the port of Messina, on the island of Sicily for our final stop of week one. We met our guide, Nunzia (Nancy in English), and took a short tour through Messina before going to the ancient city of Tindari. Messina has an astrological clock that sounds every hour.
The drive to Tindari took about an hour. Nunzia kept a running commentary the entire time. She apologized for her accent. At one point she was talking about honey. "Maybe you don't understand me... I'll spell it for you - honiy." Nice try!
It felt like driving from Bakersfield to Fresno to me. We saw oleander bushes in the highway dividers and citrus trees along the side. When we arrived in Tindari, Les was offended by this sign. Not that he had his trumpet with him... but still!
One of the funniest incidents of the entire cruise occurred on this bus trip. As usual, Les and I were seated together on the bus. A fellow sat behind me with a very large camera. He was determined to take LOTS of pictures on the drive. So determined, he got up frequently to snap shots out the window, leaning on my seat. At one point, he used my head to steady his camera! We later learned his name is Walter by overhearing this exchange:
Walter to his wife: "Cheryl, stand right there!"
Cheryl: "Oh, Walter..." (She had obviously "stood right there" many times)
After we arrived in Tindari, Walter was standing in the middle of the road trying to take another perfect picture and had a narrow escape...
Walter: "Cheryl, stand right there!"
Cheryl: "Walter, look out for that truck!"
(Click on this picture for a "Where's Walter?" moment... I think you'll be able to figure it out!)We met James and Elizabeth from Albuquerque, NM on this excursion. James saw what happened on the bus and thought using my head as a tripod was a hilarious idea. We saw them a few days later in Venice and he did it again!
The village of Tindari was founded by the Greeks in approximately 400 B.C. We first visited the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna. The original church, which had been built on top of the old city’s ruins, was destroyed by Algerian pirates in 1544, then reconstructed between 1552 and 1598; the sanctuary was expanded in 1979 when a new, larger church was built on the site.
We saw statues of Peter and Paul. These are replicas of the ones in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Peter has the keys and Paul has a sword.
Our excursion followed a group of school children. When it was time to move on, Nunzia would tell us, "Andiamo! Let's go! Follow Nancy."
After viewing the sanctuary, we walked to the ruins of Tindari. While it had suffered damage over the years, we were able to see more clearly what Pompeii would have been like. We saw Roman baths, a Greek amphitheater that was later converted to a Roman arena, as well as the remains of the village - homes, shops, and the forum.
We had some free time in Tindari and we found gelato!! Mmm... Les had pistachio and I had caramel.
When we arrived back in Messina we had about 3 hours before our ship would sail away. We decided to explore a little. Our first stop was to find some food. We entered a sandwich shop. The young lady behind the counter said, "Do you speak English?" And I replied, "No." Ha! I had been hearing Italian for so long I didn't even recognize that she spoke to me in English. We ordered rolls with cheese and tomato inside.
She then told us, "Take away only." Hmm.. okay... "We're closing." It was Siesta time in Sicily! And they took it seriously. They were closed from 1:00 to 4:00. We walked around for the next 30 minutes or so and EVERYTHING was closed! So we made our way back to the ship and I put my robe on and decided a siesta might not be a bad idea...
We sailed away and through the Strait of Messina. We could see both the "toe" of the Italian boot and the coast of Sicily. Tomorrow ~ our first Fun Day at Sea!
I uploaded four more picture galleries here!
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