Rome to Sicily RTS2402
The group had a few days to explore Roma, and today we all finally met in the start hotel for the welcome briefing and motorcycle handover! The weather is great and we are all eager to ride! Tomorrow morning we'll start our engines!
Leaving Roma on a busy morning day was not very easy, but the traffic was not so terrible over all. Our first stop was for a picture in Castel Gandolfo with its beautiful lake and the view over the Pope's summer residence. A good coffee break in Rocca Massima and then we started facing the most challenging part of today's ride, the hundred of curves to Carpineto Romano and Priverno, where the road became more straight. We reached the coast in Sperlonga and stopped in this enchanting town for lunch. The last kilometres before Popmei we had to use the highway to avoid the traffic of Naples, but before we had time to stop for a deliciuos cafè, an important tradition of the area!
Today we spent the whole day on the Amalfi Coast, coffee break in Sorrento, lunch in Positano and then another break in Ravello (and some photo stops inbetween)... sounds like relaxing... but of course with such a beautiful weather this lovely place attracts a lot of people! It was crowded and there was sometimes traffic, but it was simply gorgeous! And to end the day, a great pizza in Pompeii all together. I hope the pictures will do justice to the wonders we saw today!
Let's keep moving south! We made our first stop in Paestum, an ancient city of Greek origin where you can admire beautiful Doric style temples, among the best preserved! A little time to take some nice photos and have a coffee, and then Alberto was waiting for us for a delicious picnic near the sea. Thanks Alberto! After eating, we set off again and following the coast we arrived in Palinuro where we took another short break. Maratea is located about sixty kilometers from Palinuro... but counting the curves would be impossible! What a beautiful ride today!
Today we leave Maratea, from Basilicata we move to Calabria. we could not fail to visit the statue of "Cristo Redentore" and the tiny church of "San Biagio" at the top of Maratea, on a 600 mt. high cliff. The view from up here is fantastic, we set off again on a steep winding road and head back towards the coast. It is starting to get hot, we take relaxing breaks in the bars along the coast, and of course, once in Tropea, we deserve a refreshing dip in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Today it's the day of the boat transfer to Sicily, after the daily briefing we started the day with a photo stop in the beautiful Tropea beach, just under the cliff with the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Isola. Then we rode following the coast until Nicotera, a fortified mountaintop village with a spectacular view of the Tyrrhenian Sea, here a coffe break is a must. Keeping going south we followed the cost and we stopped for lunch in Scilla, the coastal town that takes the name from an ancient legend of a sea monster. In the afternoon we took the ferry to land in Sicily, where we will spend two nights the super glamourous village of Taormina.
One of the days we have been waiting for since the beginning of the tour has finally arrived, today we rode on Europe's biggest volcano, mount Etna! What a fantastic ride, through forests and lava fields, until we reached the basecamp at an altitude of 2000 metres. After a quick lunch, we rode back to Taormina for another evening in town!
Time to leave Taormina and explore the inland of Sicily, before reaching the Tyrrhenian coast again and the wonderful town of Cefalù! Our first stop was at the Acantara Gorges, a narrow canyon in the lava rocks and then we proceeded to Sperlinga, where we had a quick lunch and had to put our rain gear on. On the Madonie mountains the temperature dropped because we reached an altitude of around 1000 metres but, as we approached the coast again, we quickly had to remove all the extra layers!
From the northern Coast of Sicily to the southern one, we have reached the latitude of northern Africa and we can really feel it from the temperatures! As soon as we left the coast and rode towards the inland of the island, traffic disappeared and we could enjoy a fantastic ride. We stopped in the peaceful Ficuzza for lunch and rode through Corleone, internationally famous for the "Godfather" movie. Agrigento, with its incredible temples dating back to the greek times (around 2500 years ago), was our destination for today.
Another sunny and hot day! We left Agrigento and headed back towards the inland, where time almost stood still! Almost no traffic, and little sleepy towns, but very charming! After a coffee break in Sommatino, we headed to Piazza Armerina where we had lunch and could also admire the wonderful mosaics of the Roman Villa, the greatest collection of ancient mosaics. Time has come to go to Catania, final destination of this wonderful tour! Ciao Sicilia! Hasta pronto amigos!