Hello Pinmapplers!
There are trips that remain in our memory, trips that take us further, to unknown places, to wonderful places that we want to reach. And we want to see and visit more, to go forward to new territories and places, sometimes crossing paths, cities, countries or borders, even straits. From the land to the sea, to step on land again but a different one.
We traveled to Sicily, the great island of Italy but in a different way, not by plane, but we arrived directly from Italy, by train. Yes, we arrive by train on an island, but because the train is divided and the wagons travel in the hold of a ship, it becomes a kind of train-ferry that leaves us in a fantastic place in the Mediterranean.
We cross by train and by boat from southern Italy, from Calabria, the famous Strait of Messina. And there is a monument in the middle of that narrow sea channel that lets us know with a message, although in Latin. It says something about city and we bless..., but my few lessons in high school didn't get any further. Well, I looked it up in Google Translator:
Vos et Ipsam Civitatem Benedicimus
And this means: “We bless you and the city itself”. What a beautiful welcome.
We cross a typical area of a port, although with some signs or signs that remind us that we are in Italy (Campari the drink brand) all this under a magical light that makes that single step more special than anything. It seems that we are going to leave far away although it is only a few minutes, the other travelers are already waiting to be able to continue their journey now through another place. In a brief moment we set foot in Sicily, we have arrived.
We continue our trip now in a wheeled vehicle seeing the first landscapes, the first panoramic views and the first mountains. Also the first houses, that original traffic and that chaotic air and authentic environment.
A natural environment, in which we see lifelong orchards, with a lot of life and a lot of green that is increasingly intense, which contrasts with the blue of the sea, perfect, pure, calm.
The palm trees announce our arrival at our destination, to the beach, to a resort in Capaci (a seaside town sadly known due to a horrible event some decades ago... sure Italian hivers know about this) it is close to Palermo, the capital of Sicily. All that around makes us feel that we are almost much further away in those tropical places, but it is still Italy, it is still the Mediterranean Sea that we have in front of us.
We enjoy that vision, looking at the horizon, all the blue now framed by more green and colorful flowers, under an intense sun that is very familiar to me.
All that remains is to relax, look more at the sea with half-closed eyes under the sun, listen to the waves, breathe deeply, feel the warmth on the skin, and we let ourselves go. A beach full of people, life, sound, but in harmony, and fresh and warm water at the same time, clean and calm.
We can ask for little more on days of rest, discovery and vacation, right? We stop thinking, we stare at the islet… can we swim there? Those are just the thoughts at the time.
Much remains to be seen, although some things we have already seen but others not yet. But now time stands still, because the day is ending, we have traveled far, and we have seen much. It has all been interesting and intense.
Now the only thing we have to do is just contemplate the sunset, serene there, without thinking, relaxed, looking at the sea that we have crossed before, from the coast of the spectacular and magical island of Sicily. From a continent to an island... now yes, we have arrived.
Messina & Capaci, Sicily, Italy ❤️ Europe
Thanks for reading! Have a charming and nice day!
