Visiting Palermo, the capital of Sicily, was unbelievable, defying all our expectations. No matter where you looked there were grand ruins and statues, breathtaking churches, beautiful boutiques, and gorgeous landscapes and flowers. The people were welcoming and very happy to share their culture as well as their delicious foods. Highlights of the city include: the 12th century Palermo Cathedral, the neoclassical Teatro Massimo famous for its opera performances, the Palazzo dei Normanni which is a royal palace started in the 9th century, and the Cappella Palatina, home of Byzantine mosiacs.

As in other Italian cities, fireworks are always happening, bands are roaming the thin, cobblestone streets, and motorcycles are driven by everyone, including youngsters. In fact, the traffic and the driving habits of the Italians are something to be reckoned with; cars, taxis, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles all share the same fast roadways with, of course, lots of blaring horns. We haven’t seen this much traffic since Florence!

(09/30) We have left Palermo behind, heading for an anchorage outside San Vito Lo Capo, a small beach side town hugged by aquamarine waters for the night. We had a beautiful sail through the Tyrrhenian Sea, admiring the changing landscapes and less humid temperatures.

Unfortunately, as we were anchoring, one of the engines turned off; there was a net of some sort wrapped around the starboard (right side of a boat) propeller. Rich was successful in solving the dilemma; I was successful in slicing two of my fingers while assisting him. Our reward for our troubles was a spectacular, harvest moon sunset!