Andiamo à Sicilia

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  Amantea, Italy
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Ciao once again,

Today we find ourselves in Amantea, a couple of hundred clicks north of Reggio di Calabria where we plan to ferry to Sicily. Our last entry was from thr ruins of Pompei. Since, we have stuck close to the coast, cycling along the rocky bluffs of the Amalfi coast, the sandy beaches of the Golfo di Salerno, through the quiet coastal townships in the Parco Nazionale del Cilento Vallo di Diana, and are currently bombing it along the coastal route to Sicily.

The famous Amalfi coast lived up to the hype. Breathtaking views from an impossibly built highway, clinging to the sides of shear limestone bluffs. Turqoise waters below heaved wave after wave of onto the rocky coastline. Small hamlets appeared out of nowhere, tucked into gorges eroded out of the rock mass

Amalfi Coast line 1

.

We've been stealth camping since Salerno (one day south of Napoli), although haven't had a hot shower since Pompei (6 days ago!) as the campground in Salerno had no hot water (not to mention no potable water, feral dogs, all toilets clogged with last season's feces). The place looked like it had been transplanted out of Bosnia in the mid 90's. We've been using the old tried and true method of heating hot water and having a good scrub down with it. Works great until you put your dirty, sweaty cycling shirt back on in the morning.

Our camping spots have been sweet. Our first stealth night out of Salerno we stayed on a terraced cliffside below the highway, right on the sea. We broke a little early that day to soak up some sunshine. The concrete retaining wall behind us gave us a nice lip to cook on and reflected some heat back onto our spot. For all the beauty of the Amalfi coast, I enjoyed this stretch of rocky coastline more. Our route took us through the rocky hills of Diana national park and out onto the coast. Small towns dotted the way, and steep, windy country roads branched off in all directions. It was here that I felt I had reached the 'real Italy'.

We truly lucked out on the next night

Amalfi Coast line 2

. As the sun was setting, on a whim we decided to check out an abandoned looking driveway just outsided the small town of Aquafredda. Turns out it was the water supply building for the town, and the gate was open! The town is situated on a debris fan between two steep rocky cliffs. Due to the drastic slope of the ground, we could walk around the side of the water house and right up onto the flat, gravel roof. We had a killer view of the town, flat dry ground and our own private patio deck. It was so nice we decided to take a rest day and spend a second night.

An 8 o'clock departure the following morning gave us the opportunity to cover some real ground. We clocked 103 km that day, despite a slow, hilly road until lunch. We camped in a field (again, sheltered by ruins, although not so old) with the blessing of the aging couple that we hoeing the crops. Didn't realize until morning that we were across the road from a federal penitentiary. Had a great stay though, and this morning I repaired my badly blown out tire sidewall. Ahh...duct tape. Where would the world be without you?

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Amalfi Coast line 3	Camping on top of a hydro electric building	Camping outside of Acciaroli	Cross Tree
Tight Road for Buses	Tunnel near Sapri

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