Our train journey to Siracusa continued with our sleeper train eventually being loaded onto a ferry for the 20 minute crossing over the Straits of Messina, an odd and time consuming experience but very interesting to watch. From the ferry Sandwich Terns were seen diving for fish while Black-headed Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls loafed about and a Little Egret flew overhead. Best of all though were 2 Blue Rock Thrush flying around the roofs of the quayside buildings as we left the harbour.
Our train was eventually unloaded off the ferry in Messina and we continued on our journey to Siracusa, arriving there some 26 hours after leaving Zurich in Switzerland. From the train as we journeyed towards Siracusa we enjoyed views of a cloud covered Mount Etna along with Buzzard, Magpie, Grey Heron, Coot, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Cattle Egret, Yellow-legged Gull, Mallard, Cormorant, Marsh Harrier, Jay, Raven and Crested Lark.
Siracusa was very picturesque and interesting although a bit touristy but our hotel for the first night, The Grand Albergo Alfeo, was very nice and very close to the sights and delights of the Isle of Ortigia. We only stayed there for 1 night before moving on to the Grand Hotel Villa Politi for 5 nights which was further out from the centre but with a lovely swimming pool which we made good use of.
The rain that had followed us ever since we left Plymouth continued to dog us in Sicily and our arrival at the Grand Hotel Villa Politi was in the pouring rain but from our hotel room I saw Jay, Swallow, Swift, Blackbird and Jackdaw as it thundered away and lightning flashed overhead.
The hotel was next to a large area of wasteland that used to be an ancient quarry and so I had a wander about the next morning on what was finally a hot and sunny day. There were butterflies and dragonflies and grasshoppers and Sicilian Wall Lizards flitting about in what was a very arid landscape despite the previous days heavy rain and I had some nice views of Cleopatras, Clouded Yellows, Bath Whites and Langs Short-tailed Blues along with Red-veined Darters and a massive Locust.
Birdwise I had good views of Sardinian Warblers, Starlings, Jays, Magpies, Woodpigeons and Collared Doves along with a Willow Warbler and a pair of Linnets.
It was hot and sunny when we visited the nearby Neapolis Archeological Park on Monday 29th September and it was just a 15 minute walk away from our hotel. The ruins were very interesting although the site was very busy with tour groups but we had a very enjoyable time looking around.
I saw some wildlife here too with good views had of Cleopatras including one that settled long enough for a photo. There were variously sized and coloured Sicilian Wall Lizards scuttling about too, a Red-veined Darter also posed for the camera and a single Goldfinch was seen flying overhead.
The afternoon was spent around the hotel pool where a Swallowtail suddenly appeared and spent some time sucking up the salts from a Scandanavian mans foot - I only wished it had landed on my foot instead!
We visited the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi the next day which was also very interesting, bizarrely the highlight of the museum was the ancient coin collection with some absolutely stunning silver and gold coins on display in a specially constructed vault in the basement but sadly no photos were allowed. Coin collections in museums can be dusty affairs but these silver and gold coins were exquisitely marked and in perfect condition with many having animal or plant designs on them.
It was back to rain again the next day (Wednesday 1st October) as we visited the nearby Catacombs of San Giovani where 10,000 Christians were previously interred and we had a guided tour around the eerie passageways as a thunderstorm raged overhead. By the afternoon the rain had cleared through and on a walk along the coast path near the hotel I saw a Crested Lark on the cliff top and a Common Sandpiper down on the rocky shore.
It was back on the train on Thursday 2nd October as we headed to Catania for a nights stay before flying back to the UK the next day. On the journey I managed to add Sparrowhawk, a probable Osprey and Greater Flamingo to my bird list - the Osprey was unfortunately a distant view but the 2 Sparrowhawks showed well as they soared overhead. The 4 Greater Flamingos fooled me initially as they were standing in deep water with their legs obscured and they were very pale looking so at first I thought they were 4 Mute Swans until we got closer to them.
It was only short visit to Catania but we got to see both the Roman and Greek theatre ruins and some of the very lovely buildings. Our hotel was very nice too despite being in a run down part of town near the train station and we continued to dodge yet more heavy showers on our sight seeing afternoon. The only wildlife sightings of note here were a few Yellow-legged Gulls flying overhead along with 2 Swifts and we could also see Mount Etna in the distance although the summit was still shrouded in cloud.
Friday 3rd October saw us heading to Catania airport for our flight back to Gatwick, it was only a 25 minute, €4 bus ride away and we left the hotel earlier than planned as we figured we would enjoy a last Messina beer in the departures lounge before boarding our plane. We waited at the bus stop and watched as the traffic gradually built up before almost grinding to a standstill with no sign of any airport bus appearing on the horizon and after 45 minutes of waiting we went in search of a taxi as time very quickly ticked away. Very luckily we found a taxi quite quickly and we embarked on an expensive (€40) and long magical mystery tour of Catania as we drove all around the outskirts of the city to the airport to avoid whatever was blocking the roads, our driver did an excellent job and we eventually arrived at departures although we were a little bit fraught to say the least.
Queues for check in, security and passport control saw us arrive at our boarding gate with just enough time for a quick pee before boarding the plane so no relaxed pre-flight beer for us but at least we had made it on time. It turned out that there was a Pro-Palestine protest/General Strike thing going on in Catania which had gridlocked the city so we were very lucky to escape the chaos and catch our plane home.
It was raining as we touched down at Gatwick, the trains back to Plymouth were delayed and we eventually arrived back home at around 11pm feeling exhausted but having had an interesting and enjoyable time away.
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