SCICLI AND MODICA - DAY 5

This morning we woke up to a cold drizzling rain, and still dealing with a cough, and being saddle sore from yesterday's long uphill rides, I decided not to bike.

But a wonderful breakfast spread awaited us all in the dining room.

 The younger members of our group all decided to bike and went over the directions with the guides.
It is always a fun and informative time.

From the van I grabbed a few photos of the countryside as we traveled up the hill.  Some areas were
lush green with the new rain.

 Some of the hills were covered with rocks and stone walls.

 We slowed as the van caught up with the riders - the rain had diminished and I snapped this shot of Cindy on her bike.

 From the top of the hill we could see Scicli, one of the towns in the Val di Noto listed since 2002 as UNESCO Wold Heritage site for the extraordinary importance and beauty of their late-baroque architecture, developed after the 1693 earthquake which devastated Sicily.

 While waiting for the bikers to arrive we had a chance to briefly visit the mausoleum cemetery. .                                                                        

                                                                

      

As  Mauro, our guide prepared snacks on the back of the van for the bikers.

 

Our next stop was Modica, another World Heritage town and home of Antica Dalceria Juto, the oldest

chocolate maker in Modica and one of the most famous in Italy.  Its ancient traditions go back to 1880 when they started processing cocoa seeds according to the old Aztecan techniques imported by the Spanish more than 400 years ago.

        We dressed in "cover-ups and toured the    kitchen, and got to sample some of the sweets.                     
                                            

Arriving back at our hotel where the late afternoon view from our room is below -

We were given a tour of the grounds before dinner. The Kallikoros Spa & Camp Resort is a restored small village set in fertile land which includes large areas of orchards, vineyards, olive and carob.  Because of its cleanliness and brightness of the sky it has been chosen by the National Astrophysics Institute for Astronomical studies.  And the lemon blossoms smell wonderful!!

KALLIKOROS TO VENDICARI BAY - DAY 6

We awakened to beautiful weather, and after another great breakfast went out to see the view.

Looking out over the fields and orchards we could see clouds in the distance but the temperatures were mild and the day promised to be a good one.

We gathered on the patio for our daily briefing and entertainment because our guides Sandro, Marco and Mauro, besides being great bikers were comedians too. The morning ride was mostly downhill to a natural reserve by the sea where we to spent some time exploring.

Being the oldest and slowest of the group by far, we took off early so I could grab some shots of some flowers I had seen the day before.  This was the first opportunity I had to photograph poppies.

The country roads were lovely and free of traffic - my kind of biking.

We reached the Vendicari Park and Bay and Sandro, who was already there with the van gave us directions to this blind looking out over the marsh lakes, already alive with birds.

Walking along the boardwalk to the sea we saw many flowers and lizards.

At the upper edge of the beach were these curious brown balls which we thought were seed pods, but found out they came from the Mediterranean - a form of algae that washes up on the beach when dead.

From the beach we could see the ruins of an old tuna fishing and packing factory that closed after WWII.

We walked to it and spent some time exploring the ruins, and enjoying the flowers there.

                   Ruins of the Tonnara (fish factory)

We continued our walk along the beach enjoying the sea and the vegetation on land.

The ride back to our hotel in the afternoon was of course a lot of up-hill, and I was glad to reach it.


The two younger couples from Boston wanted a photo of themselves in their biking shirts from the Wilson Farm ( owned by Jim and Cindy on the left).  We hope  to visit them there this summer.

That evening at out hotel, the Kalliloros, a cooking demonstration was planned.  Aubergine       Parmesan  appetizers were compiled by Peggy under the watchful eye of the chef.

                          

Cindy shows off her successful creation, and Dave works on eggplant parmigiana rolls.

                                                 The results were beautiful and delicious.

After dinner we all enjoyed the "Cannolo Sicillanos" for dessert, which we stuffed earlier.

And I couldn't resist snapping a photo of our guides Mauro, Marco and Sandro who also had a good time.

KALLIKOROS TO BORGO PANTANO - DAY 7

Since the morning ride was to be a steep, long uphill and the afternoon downhill to our new hotel, we decided to skip the morning and take the van.

 

However this didn't bother most of the younger riders.

At the top of the hill we met the rest of the group to explore Noto Antica.

Noto Antica was an ancient city that was destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1693.  It is enclosed between two great ravines which made the city easy to defend.  Its streets were once crowded with people and are now surrounded by vegetation.

The Castello Reale was started in 1091 by Duke Giordano, boosted in 1430 by Duke Peter, modernized in 1545 under Charles V, and finally in 1675 provided with guns during the              France-Spanish War.

 

Doorways are all that remain of once sturdy homes.

            The new Hospital, along with the small church was built here in the mid 16th century.

Part of the old wall remained intact along the edge of a ravine, with the remains of a watch tower in the distance.

Peggy who rode up the hill with us got back on her bike for the trip to Agriturismo Agri Milo.

It is a teaching farm of 22 Hectares.

 At the farm we saw stone walls and flowers galore.  Owned by 3 brothers who also have a restaurant
 where they prepare local specialties from their home grown vegetables.



 When we were there several classes of school children were  taking turns riding in the donkey cart, while others were making kites (which probably wouldn't fly)!

This is only a part of the delicious lunch that we were served while we were there.  We were well fortified for our DOWNHILL ride to our next hotel.

Hotel Borgo Pantano was a very pleasant surprise when we arrived there.  The patio was filled with
                       interesting objects of various kinds and had comfortable places to sit.

But best of all it led to the pool, outside bar and a cabana!!