Favignana, one of the beautiful Egadi islands next to Sicily

 

The biggest island of the three Egadi islands in the west of Sicily is Favignana. The other two are called Levanzo and Maretimo. Some time ago Favignana was a fisherman island. Nowadays there are still some fisherman left (however the tuna factories are closed and working as a museum). The waters around Egadi island sare marine park. The most important industry for the island is now the tourism. There are ferries to Egadi both from Trapani and Marsala several times a day. .

We had a lovely sunny bike tour and discovered the hidden beaches, the colourful houses and at the end met Pietro. The ex-carabinieri , now a pensioneer still goes diving and brings back rests form sunken ships. This time he has gotten rest of vessels: one from the Middle Age and one (much older) from the Roman times!.

(some) impressions of delicious Sicilian food...

 

One reason to love Sicily (and Italy) is for sure its cuisine! Once in Sicily there is a complete new culinary world to be discovered...A mix of European, Arabic and other influences melted in the Sicilian cooking pot and will let/make you lick your fingers...Let start with a plate of freshly grilled veggies and a plate of home-made pasta with fresh seafood! Or what about the trattoria del Pino in Palermo where our Friend Augostino brought us to have lunch like locals: some pasta with meat+potatoes and I enoyed yummy grilled fish...

 

Dont forget to try the local refreshing delight, no  not an ice-cream, but a "granita di limone"...and on the day after get some more clams ("cozze e vongole") :-) on pasta or just cooked in a big pot:-))) There is so much more to discover: the "arancini" (rice balls filled with meat or mozarella or both), the "caponata" (fried eggplant and onion with tomatoes)...but hey, I wont tell you all the secrets, go and spoil your eyes+stomach!

Trapani: an impressive architecture and flair...

Trapani, the biggest city on the west coast of Sicily, is also called by the locals "city between two seas". Founded in the Bronze age, the city is still an important fishing port and a getaway to the nearby Egadi islands (Favignana, Levanzo and Maretimo). Next to the tuna-catching, also salt, marble and marsala-production as well as tourism support the local economy.

 

Plenty of buildings in the old town arefrom the later Medieval and early modern periods. The visitors stay stunned by its Baroque architecture. The nearby coast is lined up with salt ponds. On the way to them, just before the city a WWF-protected living area for birds is the home of lots of rosa flamingos...directly next to the busy street!

Fico d'India (the prickely pear) & pomegranate: common Sicilian fruits

 

One spot them all around: in the gardens, next to the road, in the wild. The big cactus bushes are very green and very prickly! Do not collect its fruits without gloves or without pincer...Thats why the fruit "ficho d'India" means in Italian "the fig of India" and has the English name "prickely pear" (while the German translate it as "Kaktusfeige"):-)

Of course if you want to taste them without the adventurious part of collecting them yourself there are plenty of locals selling them. In some fruit shops one may even find them already pilled off. In a Palermo trattoria, where locals have quick lunch I had a plate of three "fichi d india" lovely cleaned and ready to eat as a dessert! The one that look greener actually tasted even sweeter than the other two!

Another common for Sicilian and exotic for the rest of Europeans (at least for the colder countries) fruit is the pomegranate. These fruits were already open in the sun and some thursty birds had enjoyed almost all fruits of the tree below!

The salt road in Sicily: La via del sale

 

On the Sicilian "Via del Sale" (Salt Road) from Trapani down to Marsala one drives next to small and big shiny-white mountains of sea salt...On some sunny days in September one may even sight the workers on the top of the salt! Around 10.000 tons of salt are produced here every year...Salt, one of the Sicilian economy's historical resources that was already very precious in the days of the Phoenicians, who were the first to bring some form of technology to its production. The favourable climatic circumstances in Sicily, such as high temperatures and a wind that increases evaporation, plus the shallowness of the water, creates a chessboard that ranges in colour from off-green to pink.

 

A well refurbished Dutch-type windmill (over 500 years old) is located in the middle of the salt ponds and functions as a museum telling the story of this region. Inside the windmill, a complicated system of cogwheels and gears makes it possible to turn the cupola and the sails, exploiting the energy of the wind in order to grind the salt and channel the water. The scales can rotate at a speed of 20 km per hour and generate 120 horsepower; to drive the grindstone on the ground floor it is necessary to reach at least 30 to 40 horsepower...

Next to the museum and the salt pods, the curious visitors may take a boat tour in the lagune or go visit the island Motya, famous for its archeology treasures.