Sadly, today was our last full day of the trip so we wanted to make the most of the time we had left. The forecast was for an overcast morning followed by sunshine this afternoon so Sam, who’s been busting to go on a run, adventured upwards into the mountainous national park here in the beautiful Trapani region of Sicily for a short 13km run (just kidding, that’s not short). The vast national park is still accessible only by foot or by boat since protesters formed an unbudging human chain to prevent the construction of a road going through it. Power to the people.
Sam’s foray into the forest had him face-to-face with the local wildlife, including 6 grunting, hairy wild boars (that didn’t seem thrilled he was in their ‘hood), 2 snakes and ‘hundreds of colourful lizards’ (my nemeses). He also stopped off to cool his heels at a stunning beach.
While Sam was off exercising and exploring, Molly stayed home, enjoying some downtime while Ross, Toby & I walked down our driveway to the pebbly shore for a swim at our local. The water was outrageously clear as we swam out through the rocks. Speaking of those rocks, one with its triangular top poking up suspiciously, had us second-guessing if we were perhaps sharing the waves with a white-pointer. Aside from a young partially-clad mum (her white pointers unmistakable) and her toddlers, we had the whole, magical beach to ourselves. A cute little beachside cafe was serving fresh and deliciously sweet, squeezed-while-you-wait orange juice and frothy coffees in clear plastic cups.
Yesterday when we had visited the Torre della Tonnara, there was a set of strategically placed business cards offering boat tours. With no website and only a phone number, I dialled the number and immediately heard a warm: ‘Bonjourno!’ from someone named Giovanni.
I asked whether he spoke English and without missing a beat, he said: ‘Ah yes madama, I a do-a!’ I booked us all in for an afternoon boat trip around the coastline and as a group of 5, we qualified for a private boat and driver. How good.
We found the bubbly Giovanni in the busy mariner and he introduced us to his very laidback sidekick, Giancarlo, whose name Ross could not remember for the life of him, despite continual reminders from the rest of us (‘Carlo, Carlo, Carlo’). Luckily our friendly boat driver also answered to Jean Marco, John Marco and Juan Marco.
The kids grabbed us some takeaway lunch at the mariner and Ross enquired about the closest ATM, after Giovanni explained that we would need to pay in cash. ‘Donn wah-ree! You pay-a later! Is all good’.
So, at the instruction of our capable captain, we climbed aboard the speedboat and jetted off on our tour.
Giancarlo proudly showed us the soaring cliff he’d jumped off (only once and in his shoes) at the age of 14. Seeing the size of it, it’s an absolute miracle he lived to see another day. We puttered past the magnificent, cactus-covered limestone stacks we’d seen from the shore and a myriad of other glorious rock formations that protruded like towers and ancient gateways, up from the turquoise sea.
Giancarlo took us to a few of his favourite swim spots, including the ‘Lover’s Cave’ where swimming through a small opening will bring you into a spacious cave with its own sandy beach inside. Molly was tempted to stay dry but, in a YOLO moment, dived overboard to join Giancarlo and her brothers. We also got up-close-and-personal with some huge, echoing caves and sailed right in front of our house on the hill at Scopello.
The sun had snuck behind some clouds and sitting in the wind in wet cossies had our goosebumps on high alert. Our 4 hour tour still had an hour to go but we decided we’d like to finish up and get warm. Giancarlo, seeing us shivering, offered to take us to the natural springs, Terme Segestame. ‘Come with me to the hot springs, you will feel it right into your bones’, he told me, ‘You will feel another woman’. I knew what he meant.
Not funnelled into a concrete pool like some ‘natural springs’ we’ve been to in the past, these thermal pools promised a totally unspoilt natural experience. Sam and I wondered if the water would be lukewarm but no, Giancarlo assured us it would be between 40-50 degrees Celsius!
Before we could follow our captain, there was the small matter of payment for the boat trip that we had to attend to. Google maps sent Rossco on a wild goose chase to find an ATM but the first 3 he tried near the mariner were closed. When he seemed to be taking longer than expected, Giancarlo set off in his old, beaten-up car - a Panda, which is Molly’s absolute dream car - to see if he could find him. Sure enough, Giancarlo found Ross and offered to drive him in his Panda (Molly was jealous) to the closest bank.
Debts settled, we followed the Panda, who had picked up 2 friends by now, down a long, circuitous route to our destination. Ross parked our big van as best he could on the pot-hole-y, bumpy, narrow strip that led down to the natural baths and we made sure the mirrors were flipped in order for cars to pass.
Giancarlo had told us he was a musician and the friends he had collected along the way were fellow-musos. There was the excitable Ibra from Egypt and his girlfriend, and Thomas (we think that’s his name) from Belgium, who turned up in a red, terry towelling dressing gown for the experience. They were all lovely. The way to the springs was a trek through mud in jungle-like conditions that had us channeling the soldiers back in ‘Nam. Parts of the track were steep and slippery and had us ankle-deep in babbling, warm water over smooth river stones. So thankful we had a local leading the way, we’d have been hard-pressed to find this place otherwise.
Suddenly we stumbled upon it, tucked away there in the Sicilian countryside, surrounded by towering reeds, tangled greenery and beneath rugged rocky cliffs, we had found God’s very own, à la naturel, day spa - admittedly a little short on fluffy white towels, scented candles and complimentary herbal tea. It was incredible!
The setting was gloriously rustic, a warm, mineral-rich waterhole with a few strategically placed rocks around the outside; a collection of people happily wallowing like contented hippos. Not even the slight waft of rotten eggs could dampen our excitement. Giancarlo suggested we push through to the next section of the track where we were delighted to find a natural sauna inside a cosy cave. The water was SO warm - like a hot bath - and we had fun enthusiastically slathering ourselves with thick, sludgy mud, smearing it over our arms, legs, faces and any other accessible body parts we could find. Molly really went to town, plastering herself with so much mud she almost disappeared into the dark recesses of the cave. There was an invigorating waterfall just outside the ‘sauna’ as well.
As daylight started to fade, we moved back to the original pool, which looked almost mystical with its cloudy blue water. It was divided into 2 sections, one warmer than the other and as we had our relaxing float around, we were amazed at how hot the water actually was.
Shattering the peaceful ambience, someone broke through the reeds, enquiring, in Italian, who owned the oversized van that was blocking the road. Giancarlo translated and told Ross the bad news that he’d need to hot-foot his hot feet back up to the carpark to move the car. Darkness was closing in and knowing how tricky the slippery walk had been in daylight, Sam and I were a little concerned about negotiating the muddy track in the dark. The guy who is most probably named Thomas, donned his red dressing gown and generously led our little party back safely, with the aid of his iPhone torch. It was quite possibly one of the most memorable bathing experiences any of us had ever had.
There had been chat amongst the musicians in the group about the possibility of getting together for a jam later that night and Toby had been invited along. Initially we were all going to go but mindful of the fact our alarms were set for 4:30am tomorrow morning, only Molly and Tobes were keen to burn the midnight oil. It was about 8 o’clock by the time we left the springs and we were yet to have dinner. While we waited to hear from Giancarlo, we had a delicious Sicilian last dinner in Scopello village. The trees were full of twinkling fairy lights and as we ate, an entire wedding party and all their guests conga-lined right past us, their loud singing filling the little square. Molly completed her daily Italian trifecta -pasta, pizza and gelato - with a post-dinner trip to the gelateria.
Toby was in touch with Giancarlo and kindly offered to make the jam just a couple of minutes away from where we were staying. Sam dropped Toby off and he got a ride home in the legendary Panda. He said it was so much fun! I guess he can sleep on the plane!!
Thanks to everyone who has read along with us! We have had such a fantastic trip and have popped some pretty awesome memories in the bank.
Arrivederci com the Jones crew! xx
