With all this Italian wining and dining we have to get out and burn some serious calories from time to time. Wednesday was forecast to be a sunny but not too hot day, so we decided to try another hike, this one recommended by our host (and most excellent long distance concierge) Jerry. The trailhead was located adjacent to a nearby church, Gibilmanna, which we had visited last week.  We found it easily and set off into the cool morning woods. Before long though, the trail began to descend, and seeing as this was supposed be a hike to the TOP of a mountain, we began to doubt that we were on Jerry’s trail. We went back to the trailhead and set out again, this time looking for a fork that would take us up, rather than down, but we couldn’t find one. There happened to be an elderly couple hunting for mushrooms nearby, and Laura used her limited Italian to say something that probably translated to “We like walk UP mountain. Is this way?” The gentleman provided lots and lots of instructions in Italian, clearly sending us back to the beginning of the path, and telling us, we think, to walk through the church, not around it. Huh? After a bit more wandering, and no doubt some trespassing, we found a paved path behind the church that led through the Stations of the Cross, and up to an outdoor chapel. From there we followed a woodland trail that led us to a road…by this point we had no idea where we were heading, but it was quiet and pretty, and at least it was going up. The road finally ended at a communication tower, and another man, some kind of worker, was parked there. Thank goodness, because he showed us another path and told us that it went all the way to the top, where we’d be able to see in all directions. A short distance later, we reached the summit where we were indeed rewarded with 360-degree views of Sicilian landscape.

We lingered on the summit for a time. The views were softened by morning mistiness, and we could hear the shouts and whistles of Sicilian “cowboys” moving cattle in the valley below. We also could see a dramatic example of one of the many wildfires that have burned in Sicily this fall: the better part of an entire valley to our east was scorched and blackened, burned literally to the rocky cliffs where we stood.

For our afternoon activity, we decided to drive out to an “amazing” restaurant that was off the beaten path but worth the effort, according to Jerry. We set off, directions in hand including an amusing instruction to pass through a “little arch thingy”, and all was well until we reached a critical turn and found the road completely closed off due to maintenance on the “thingy” (which by the way went under a railroad line).  Not to be discouraged we proceeded to the next little arch thingy and figured we could make our way back to where the restaurant was. Don’t know if the pictures really convey it, but we found ourselves bumping along on some very back roads, more like driveways, that were access roads for a string of small farm plots, maybe 2 acres each. We saw fennel, cabbage, squash, and even some scraggly grapevines. People clearly doing what they could to make a modest living.

Predictably the road we were on ended. Reversed course to the main road and forgot about the little arch thingies. We drove till the main road crossed over the tracks, and made our way back to La Campagnola. The reward was a beautiful patio, great food, and an adorable young dog that made himself comfortable near our table, but never begged.

There was a last chapter to this day. In the late afternoon, when we were back home, a storm blew in with thunder, lightening, wind, and hail. About 15 minutes into it we lost power at the house, but we were well stocked with candles and flashlights, so we managed just fine.  We texted Jerry to let him know and he assured us power would be restored soon, and also let us know that the candlelight “Romance Package” was all inclusive!

Not exactly a soft forest floor.

The Mediterranean is in the background and you can see the burned area across the central portion of the photo.

Looking over the burned landscape.

Another view of the burn.

This is a relatively large file showing an almost 360 degree view fro the top.  Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The back road to lunch.

Don’t tell the rental company we went down these roads.

We landed.

The mussels and clams were fantastic!!!

Looking good.

Our new best friend was so well behaved.

Action shot of the evening hail storm.

The hail knocked the brake dust off the wheels on the car.

Mid day walk along the water front in Cefalu`

Lover’s locks on a sign post.

Three wheelin’ produce truck.

Laura sealing the deal on some peaches.

We both thought this model was our niece Nora!!

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I had to wonder just how many nets this man had made in his lifetime.