28. Sicily - Syracuse - Island of Ortigia

The new accommodation is good. Plenty of room and a view of the sea from the bedroom and lounge room windows.

Water pressure is generally low on the island and power consumption has to be kept to a minimum otherwise you find yourself resetting the overload switches. Apparently, each household here is limited to 3kw at any one time. So an oven, electric jug and heater are guaranteed to trip it every time!

The buildings are so old, you can see that they performed patch-ups on the cracks as they developed. Better this than demolishing and rebuilding. The character would have been lost if they'd gone down that path. 

Taken from one of the backstreets in Ortigia at about 8pm. It was like going back in time

There is very little garden space on the island. Gardens are mainly limited 

to growing succulents on balconies. 

(Max:  I'm sure there was a geranium or two.)

A local performer in one of the Piazzas. (Public Square)

Renault - The old and the new

 

This 2500-passenger cruise ship pulled into port today. 

It basically doubled the population of the island!

Looking across to the island of Ortigia

Must be good food or the workers have a good trade union!

The Sicilian pinecone is a symbol of fertility, wellness and good fortune. We saw many of them on balconies.

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There are several temple ruins around the island

The head refers to Greek mythology, it is said to be Medusa, a gorgon with a head of snakes, a beautiful woman seducing men who, upon looking at her, were turned to stone. In the past, it was customary to place a Trinacria (pictured below) behind the home’s door as a symbol of protection for the house - the Medusa would have turned to stone whomever wanted to hurt the family living inside.

The hair on the head of the gorgon is a snake intertwined with stalks of wheat, to which three legs bent at the knee are attached. The arrangement of the three legs refers to Eastern religious symbolism. The three legs represent the three capes of the island of Sicily.

Fish delivery to a cafe on Ortigia

Doors in churches and larger buildings are massive. Most had a smaller door cut in for easier access.

Looking ahead to the next leg of the adventure.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable time in Sicily. Ortigia is small enough to feel like an old-time Italian village. It only takes 40 minutes to walk around the island so it did not take long to be familiar with all the coastal features. The back streets are another thing. There were so many narrow streets which we hadn't time to explore. We still have Taormina on our list to visit. The fares are cheap so we will do that another time. 

We will now be heading back to London to see our lad. The weather in the UK will determine what we do next.

We are flying with Easyjet. They're a cheap,  quality airline that services the UK and Europe. These guys aren't the prettiest cabin crew I've seen, but were very friendly and sociable. Raj is the one on the right. We were told that this was his first day on the job. So when he finished his maiden safety routine, everybody clapped!

Sicilians also clap when the plane lands at its destination, like the Maltese.