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This morning I was awakened by a monster storm. There was pounding rain, lightning, howling winds, and waves of rolling thunder. It sounded as if someone was moving furniture above me and the rain sounded as if it was hitting a tin roof. I suddenly heard the sound of running water; so I got up and stepped into 25 cm of water. It was pouring in under the front door and into the bedroom that was 3 steps below the rest of the house. The power also went off. I immediately called the owner of the house who said that she could only come after lunch. So I made an expresso and left for town where I could dry off and warm up
When I opened the door all I could see was a 20 cm blanket of ice. It had hailed and blocked all the drainage pipes. The road was also in bad shape. I won't go up any mountain roads today because there is danger of mudslides. When the owner of the house came she was extreme surprised and claimed climate change. She called a worker who came with a gas driven sump pump (no electricity) who took 3 hours to pump out the water.
The owner’s husband kept on phoning, asking her when she would get home to feed him. He did not offer to come and help. She took pictures on her i-phone to show him; but, I did not think of taking any. I’m glad I didn’t have my laptop; since I usually put it on the floor by the bed. By the time the water was pumped out, the electricity was back on; but there was a short in the line to the pump delivering water from the well. The electrician is coming tomorrow; so I am going to the nearest bar. The roads are still in bad shape with patches of ice from the hail.
Wednesday, I woke up, cold (or rather damp). I did not sleep very well because I was so cold all night. The owner had told me that the house did not have a foundation, but rather sat right on the ground (i.e., sand). So even though the floors were all tiled up to about 15 cm, the humidity from the flood was very high. The wood bedroom and armoire doors were already warping. The owner had brought me a heater; but it did not seem to be very efficient.
Still no laptop. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I decided to explore some of the other small roads going up the ridges overlooking the sea. I took the road off a bike path that Menfi is constructing and found myself in a beautiful agricultural zone with many old farmhouses, “cheese factories”, and vineyards. There also were white sheepdogs on the dirt roads, very similar to the sheepdogs in the Eastern Townships. There were swanky cars parked by the road and their drivers examining the vines. Some were trimming them. I think most professional people also have a small family farm that grows olives and vines. They make olive oil and wine for their own consumption. So when they can they take a break from their day jobs and enjoy the sunshine. Many of the small farms have old “decrepit” stone warehouses. Excuse my cynicism, but I think they are also used for trysts since I also saw men with young ladies. The road was lined with many old trees and old massera’s
The road was lined with many old trees and old massera’s (cluster of farm buildings) from which I could hear the lowing of cattle and see the swirling of swallows among the trees. It felt like another time and place. I really like the agricultural landscape around Menfi; however, there is so much of it I cannot see it all. Also since many of the small roads are unmarked (my GPS says unknown road) I don’t know where I am. So, I decided to go see a real estate agent, stating I was looking for a small house (preferably old) on top of a hill, with a view of both the sea and of hillside fields. When I knocked on the door, a young man told me that he would love to show me some properties tomorrow. To just show up and he would drive me around. So I made the appointment for noon tomorrow
Still no laptop. I tried to call the Malta airport but today, San Giuseppi’s day, is a legal holiday and everything is closed. So I went into Menfi to get the special pastries they only make today; however, they were not as good as the ones you get in Montreal. There were “union” marches, because today is also considered a day dedicated to workers. These were very festive with families listening to speeches in front of their local churches. At noon, I went to the real estate office. He asked me my budget. I told him that I was not sure; it depended on the condition of the property. He suggested that I would be better off buying land and building a new house (he was also an architect) and that they had several projects going.
The first place he brought me was close to where I had been the day before. The land was very rocky with an old stone farmhouse that he said could be used for building supplies. There were several olive trees and a vineyard on the property which did have a view of the ocean.
The second property was higher up so it had a better sea view. There were several new villas in the distance (owned by Belgians) and it was also near the new bicycle path. I liked its location better but was not sure that I wanted to be in an area with “villas”. Both properties were about 10-15 minutes from Menfi and would cost me about 100,000 Euros in “turn-key” condition. But the real estate agent could see that I was not “sold”. So he brought me to an area, further away (about 30 minutes). It was adjacent to a forest reserve, so it had its own road to the property. There were wild asparagus both in the forest and on the 5 hectare of land that went with the house. There was no electricity, but it would cost about 1,000 Euro to bring in from the road. It was on a hill with a good view of the ocean. The house was in good structural condition, with the original fireplace that was used for heating and cooking. I did like it much better, especially the olive and citrus orchards and the sheep grazing land that was on the property (I don’t think the sheep were included). He said the price of the property was 60,000 Euros and that it would probably take another 25,000 Euros to renovate and landscape the property. When I asked Annamaria who has a farmhouse in the area, she said that 5 hectare was a lot of land and that it was a very good price. I still do not know whether it would be better to buy or rent for another year. There are a lot of properties available, so I can make up my mind later. Plus, there is still the area near Palermo and Cefalu to visit.
Friday, Annamaria phoned me at 8:30 to tell me that my laptop had arrived. So I rushed there to pick it up before leaving for Marsala and Mozia. I took SS115 that went all around the coast. It was extremely flat, with windmills and salt marshes. It is what I would expect Holland to look like. I drove through many small communities that were rows of modern villas along the sea - very uninteresting.
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It took forever to drive through Marsala and I saw nothing to tempt me to stop; so I continued to Trapani and to the ferry dock. It appears that what is attractive about the two cities is the North African sections; however, I much preferred Mazara del Valo. When I come back to Sicily I will take the time to explore these two cities. There was only a five minute wait for the ferry to the Island so I got right on. I was the only passenger although there were many people at the dock. Most seemed to be visiting the salt museum. The ferry ride was about 15 minutes, first through the channel and then through the lagoon to the island.
Mozia is an island of around 45 hectares, the biggest of a small archipelago in front of the Stagnone Natural Reserve in Trapani and Marsala. It was founded in the 8th Century BC by the Phoenicians, and conquered by the Carthaginians in the 6th century BC. It was conquered and destroyed by Dionysius II of Syracuse in 397 BC. The following year, it was conquered by the Carthaginians, but lost considerable importance and it was completely abandoned during the Roman dominion. At the beginning of the 20th Century the entire island was bought by Joseph Whitaker. He undertook and organised the digs, bringing to light the archaeological finds.
It was a sunny day so I wandered around the compound admiring the buildings before going into the museum. There were many artifacts, statues, jewelry, vases etc. My favourite were some of the faces which had a definite “Anatolean” look to them, rather than Greek. Although most appear to have the Greek archaic smile, whatever that is. John Fowles in The Magus describes it as “full of the purest metaphysical good humour…timelessly intelligent and timelessly amused.” The Mozia Charioteer (sculptured 2500 years ago), shown on the right is considered to be the finest surviving example of early Greek sculpture. It was on tour for 2 years but is now home.
The guard handed me a map and suggested I walk along the footpath around the island since it was such a beautiful day. He reminded me to get back before the last ferry left for Marsala. I took his advice; but, it was difficult not to linger. There was a fresh sea breeze, the wildflowers perfumed the air, and bees buzzed collecting nectar. It was difficult not to take off ones shoes and wade in the shallows (Did I say that I was the only person along the path).
The path brought me to all the archeological remains that were well indicated both on the map and on the path. Some of the sites were the South Gate, the “Kothon” Sacred Pool (similar to that in Carthage), the Cappiddazzu Sanctuary, and assorted houses and living quarters. They are still excavating the site.
But for me, the real significance was the site itself that inspired the Phoenicians/Carthaginians/Greeks to settle here - especially when I saw an eagle along the path. It was very difficult to leave.
I spent the last weekend in Menfi visiting my favourite places and trying to find the house and land that the real estate agent had shown me (I had the GPS coordinates). However, I could not get there because the roads went through the forest reserve and the gates were locked. I cleaned the house before packing and got ready to leave for the north coast of Sicily and Cefalu.
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