ROADTRIP BY SICILY. STAGE 2: FROM RAGUSA TO TAORMINA

Is second stage of our roadtrip through Sicily He took us to explore the south and east coast of the island. We pass through large cities and charming villages, we visit a natural reserve of beaches (where there are even flamingos), we ascend to the craters of Etna, we saw impressive classical ruins, we entered into a legendary ear (yes, as is XD) and we met the Inspirational place of many artists in the past, the beautiful Taormina. As you can see, it was a very complete tour! We already told you our first stage from Palermo to Ragusa, here is the detail of the Second stage of roadtrip through Sicily.

At the moment these are the main data:

Day 5Ragusa - Marzamemi

Yesterday's truce seems to have been an unexpected gift. The rain continues and offers us quite chungos moments. The streets of the towns that we are crossing in a southeasterly direction along the SS115 road look like real torrents, but here they are not easily frightened and they continue moving forward with a continuous line, with a curve at 50 meters and with almost no visibility.

A few kilometers from Ragusa is the town of Modica, famous for its excellent chocolate, for being the hometown of Salvatore Quasimodo, Nobel Prize for Literature and for its strategic position on top of a ravine. It looks a lot like Ragusa, but this time we don't see any hopeful sunbeam and we continue the journey after stopping a few minutes in a viewpoint.

Today's route is short, we planned it so that we had time to rest after the previous days' visits and you see, the telephone step meter has not had much work. Again we arrive early at our destination, and it rains again. And again the sun rises, in the afternoon, to be honest just 15 minutes after we had stepped on the street and got lost, but look, we are not to complain. Ok, but what destination are we talking about?

From Marzamemi, a small fishing village, in the northeastern tip of Sicily, which has been transformed into one of the top destinations for instagramers on the route through Sicily (although we have not made a miserable selfie, it will be that we are very ugly). It does not have a monumental cathedral, nor a beautiful beach, nor does it have ruins or temples ... What is striking is the decoration of its bars, terraces, doors or the walls of the square. Everything seems an ideal scenario for the crazy people of detail photography.

A wet dog drying in the sun after showering in the rain, wooden tables and chairs of various colors, fishing nets around here, hand-painted jars there ... The truth is that it has a special charm. Oh, and also many expensive restaurants. In addition to instagramers, it must be a vacation spot for good people. But well, we will always have the arancini and the pizzas cut.

By the way, if you come in high season, the center of the town is ZTL and you will have to park outside, although it is still a town with four streets and everything is close.

Day 6Marzamemi - Syracuse

Marzamemi is a lovely square, a small port and little else. However in the surroundings you can find truly interesting places, which make it a good base for day trips.

Although as you know, we are immersed in a roadtrip through Sicily and here we only spend one night. yes, we take the route to Syracuse to pass through one of these sites. The first one was the Vendicari Nature Reserve,a protected wetland where up to 250 different species of birds live. Among all the highlights Flemish, which can easily be seen fluttering in the lagoon from the observation posts.

Get to theVendicari Nature Reserve it's simple. There is a well signposted detour on SP19 and you can park on the road that gives access to the park. Once on foot, there is a guard post in the driveway, the good thing is that just ask for your city of origin, entering is free. From there there is a walkway that goes first through two sighting houses on the lagoon and then continues for about 500 meters to the beach.

Once on the beach there are roads both north and south, parallel to the sea, which reach different points. Although if you do not have much time, it is best to make the path that surrounds the lagoon. We could not do it again because it was the time of laying turtle eggs, and it was closed, so we came back for it.

A few kilometers to the north is another essential and different stop: the town of I notice. It is a place with a long history, protagonist of epic episodes in classic legends and with great importance in the Middle Ages. But everything fell apart after the strong earthquake in 1693.

However, as on many occasions, it was an opportunity to be reborn and create a new city, a Sicilian Baroque jewel, which came to be called "The Stone Garden." Among its buildings and stone palaces, the Cathedral and its huge front staircase, the Palazzo Ducezio which is the seat of the City Hall, the Chiesa di San Carlo where you can climb to a panoramic terrace, the Palazzo Villadorata and its characteristic balconies, the Fontana d'Ercole wave Porta Reale.

From here to Syracuse it is only one hour of travel. We, although the day did not accompany at all, took the opportunity to tour part of the coast road, by Fontane Bianche. For those who have time (and sun), one option is to approach the Plemmirio Marine Park. If it's cool to put your snorkel goggles and swim between little fish, it's an ideal place. There are little crowded coves and the water is very clear, yes, there may be places that are inaccessible.

We arrived to Syracuse and we kicked it, we toured its historical center which is actually an island, Ortigia, connected by two bridges and we returned soaked in a tormentón that fell on us. Here we tell you the 20 things to see and do in Syracuse.

That night we rested like angels, hoping that the next day it would wake up with sunshine and allow us to make an indispensable visit on the trip ...

Day 7Syracuse - Catania

And so it was, the sun was radiant and we wasted no time in getting to know the Archaeological Park of the Neápolis de Siracusa. We were lucky with the weather and to coincide with the members of a choir who were also visiting and started with some songs inside the Ear of Dionysus. One last! Here we tell you how to visit the Neapolis of Syracuse.

On the way to Catania there wasn't much history, so we stopped at a little town called Brucoli to eat It's just two streets, murals of everyday and historical scenes of the town and a castle that dates back to the time of Aragonese domination.

In Catania we stayed only one night, although perhaps, and only perhaps, it will be worth it to be at least another. We, after kicking it all afternoon, were happy with what we saw and without the feeling of needing more. The truth is that of all the cities we saw, it may be the one that least excited us. And that the center is very pretty, huh. This is all to see and do in Catania.

Day 8Catania - Taormina

As you can see in the photos, the sky was covered within an hour, a while later there is a sun of justice ... The truth is that we are somewhat lost over time, the 25% chance of rain that Google tells us, is usually always a 100%! So we change informants and go to the most reliable meteoam, of the Ministry of Defense of Italy. And especially now that we need to know whether or not we can enjoy the visit to Etna.

The web tells us that between 8 and 14 we will have sun and little wind. Yeah !! Climb Etna And touring some of its craters was one of the must of this trip, and we were able to do it! The visit was made to the Rifugio Sapienza, 2,000 meters high. There are some beastly paths and landscapes, but it is true that you can continue climbing up to 3,000 meters, yes, paying good money. We give you all the information to prepare the visit Etna here.

He was coming down from Etna when Lety got a message asking if we had noticed ... Noticed what ?! Well yes, this is earthquake earth, and this morning there was a pretty strong one right in Catania, where we were. The grade was 4.9, and it happened around 2 am (then there were more than 50 minor replicas). It was cover in all Italian digital newspapers ... and we without knowing!

We follow the SS114 road in the north direction, passing through small towns (and villages), as Giarre or the pretty one Naxos, until you reach Taormina. This picturesque town is located on top of a mountain, and to access you have to take a road that first goes through the Isola Bella,and then ascends until almost crowning the top. It is quite narrow and you have to be careful, but be careful not to pass a small viewpoint halfway (it is in Via Guardiola Vecchia, we put it on the map).

Taormina It is a small medieval town, a place of inspiration for years for international artists and writers. It has its roll, but there are too many people (many know it eat the Saint Tropez of Italy, so imagine the posh roll :-p). Although there is no doubt that it should be a stop along the way. This is all to see and do in Taormina.

The road trip in Sicily is coming to an end, we have already traveled two of the three coasts of this triangle, although we still have baths and very interesting places ... but this is another story 😉

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