Let's pick some olives

I'm thinking of bringing 40 of these young 200-300 year old trees home to make some olive oil, I just can't get excited about a 7 year old Olive tree anymore.

Ancient gardens

Orchard

In a narrow valley below the temples is an orchard that dates back to 500 BC, that's right early Sustainable multiple cropping, layering from ground cover flowers and herbs to enable berries and artichokes to pomegranate and various citrus to almond trees and banana circles in a garden 2500 old.
My photos don't do this place justice, the feeling you get walking around this Garden of Eden is other worldly, the whole place is hidden from view below ground. In my opinion this living and ancient garden leaves the Temples and other ruins in it's shadow.

Olive tree 1000years young being conservative.

Greek Temple of Concord, Sicily

Valley of the Temples, some of the crew.

Where am I going to find a restaurant with atmosphere in this old town?

Erica has the most famous Sweet shop in Sicily

Castle at Erica

Typical streets of the town.

Erica from the top

Erica

Driving up the mountain to the walled Medieval city of Erica (pronounced Aretche ).
.

So I spent a little longer in Sciacca then planned, however the town is so beautiful and the people were very warm and friendly. You must remember almost no one in Sicily speaks English and I have no Italian other than a small smattering of words and an ever increasing array of hand jesters and shoulder shrugs, So from booking hotel rooms to ordering breakfast lunch and diner and all communications in between it's a variable comedy sketch. Yesterday morning on my way out of the walled city I spotted a local Barbers Shop and couldn't resist the opportunity. So here I am in an old red barbers chair, Religious Statues of the Madonna and Patron Saints in miniatures on shelves surround me, the Radio pulsing with Mario Alanzo belting out a heart retching number setting the tone in the background and just as Giovanni has the straight razor at my throat for the final shave, the sun creeps through the doorway accompanied by the sound of pigeons and I'm thinking shit if my memory serves me correctly this is when there's a squeal of tires and a burst of machine gun fire. Anyhow having survived both the bad movie relapse and Giovanni's splash on after shave,I reluctantly left Sciacca behind and headed out to the historic Temple ruins of Selinunte to visit the sacred site of Hera the Goddess of the feminine. The site is breathtaking both energetically and visually.
I will fill you in more on this magical place tomorrow.

Sacred Jewels

Gates of the walled city of Sciacca, sad to leave.

Leaving Sciacca

Locals in frantic banter after sitting the Counts relation from Australia.

Uncle Rogers bathroom.

Sciacca and Count Roger, is there a family connection here!!!?

Hi tribe,

Well Sciacca what an amazing and beautiful city, an absolute must if traveling to Sicily. Its very European as apposed to being just Sicilian in look, with its Greek, Roman, Arab, even Spanish and Baroque influences on it's architecture showing off an array of styles stretching from the 10th - 16th century. In fact as I'm sure most of you know that the year 1101 the Norman Count Roger gave the town of Sciacca to his daughter Juliet. She enriched the town with churches and monasteries, raised the walls and built a castle. The castle resisted all attacks for several hundred years before the shit hit the fan when in 1400 the marriage of Margherita Peralta and Artale Luna brought about bloody battles between the two opposing families of Luna, of Catalan origins and Perola, of Norman origins. So I'm sure your asking yourself being that the name Rogers is a Norman name from around the 7th century was Count Roger actualy a distant relative, well I tried that one on in an attempt to get a better price on my ceramics purchase to no avail.

 Rogers is a patronymic surname derived from the given name Roger, and meaning "son of Roger." The given name Roger means "famous spear," derived from the Germanic elementshrod "fame" and ger "spear."

Rogers is also possibly a modern form of the ancient Irish name "O'Ruadhraigh."

Conte Luna preferred transport on the ready.

"Conte Luna" my B&B in Sciacca. $40 Euro per night.

Guiseppe Arena and Scoco Ceramic Artist and eager buyer.

Sciacca

Headed off again for  three days site seeing before I start my Sicily Permaculture PDC course at Villa Francesca. Headed this time towards Trapini and stayed last night at very nice little B&B called "Conte Luna" in central Sciacca. Sciacca is a Beautiful and ancient walled city overlooking the Mediterranean on the Southwestern coast of Sicily. It has been occupied by the Greeks, Romans and Arabs in its history and the most ancient human settlements here date back to the Neolithic period.  The Greeks were here in the 5th century BC and is famous for it's thermal spa and sulfurous springs. Agriculture and fishing are it's main financial source along with tourism. However I have seen the most beautiful ceramics here and if I can organize postage I'm taking some of Sciacca back home with me.

 founded in the 5th century BCE by the Greeks, as its name imports, as a thermal spa for Selinunte, whose citizens came there to bathe in the sulphurous springs

Shot looking back at Caccamo heading south for the day.

Licata street scene

Local church at Caccamo

I can't promise that I won't bore you all with photos of crusty old buildings however this isn't to shabby for a local church in a small town in the hills above Palermo. Travelled to the South Coast of Sicily today for a quick look as the Valley of the Temples trip will now happen tomorrow. I visited the coastal city of Licata today and I can recommend the south coast; the Architecture is more intricate, the streets are wider and there has been attention given to the ocean frontage. I will chat tomorrow after the Valley of the Temples has played out. Cheers

Town square at Caccamo the local town here.

Well i suspect Sicily may not be as refined as the mainland of Italy and it is definitely quirky to say the least. It is visually very beautiful, ugly and kitsch all bundled together. Just like the seemingly chaotic traffic as it blindly merges together with mysterious precision the Sicilian People here have a ebbe to them which has been established and formed over hundreds of years and I assume as an outsider in the process of finding my ebbe, i naturally stand out as foreign. However when I surrender my need to get it right and simply make attempts to engage with the locals, they reveal themselves to be an extremely generous and kind people. I still find it challenging at times having let go of all the seemingly solid foundations in my life and can see more of my stories and attachments coming to the fore for me to let go off. Some of my illusions surrounding Italy are being brought back down to earth as you would expect of any imagined perception when it meets the reality, however there is a new depth emerging as I surrender the old view. Off to visit the Valley of the Temples tomorrow and I will be driving one off the cars,so that will be an experience on both fronts so I'll check back in then.
Blessing Scott.

Leaving Taormina, early morning before the Village wakes

Typical street in Taormina, shopping hard to resist.

Taormina, Mount Etna in the background.

Make a wish and leave a donation if you like.

Another typical view from Taormina down to the Mediterranean below.

Parco Duchi di Cesaro gardens in Taormina.

Teatro Greco ruins in Taormina, Mediterranean in the background.

View from hotel room window El Jebel

My diggs at the El Jebel

La Piazzetta, Giovanni and Sister

Sublime dining

I have just had the finest Italian meal of my life at a traditional family owned Ristorante called "La Piazzetta just down a little side street that opens onto a small square not far from the El Jebel Hotel. The food was so good I was caught somewhere between wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. Giovanni the owner and his family on seeing the rapture taking place at our table after each course felt compelled to continually ply us with a local Sicilian liqueur made from Almonds, so stupefied and content I have returned to the room at the El Jebel hotel to drop you a line before heading out to take some night shots of Taormina before I return to my woofing again in Caccamo on the other side of the Island.

Taormina, yep this will do me as a home away from home.

Well it's the first day in Central Taormina Village, it is the end of Winter and Spring has arrived today, Its 1.00pm and shops are now closing until 4pm. The breeze is cold and the sun is full and warm on my face as i sit on the steps of one of the fountains outside a 17th century chapel and soak up the warmth. The streets and alleys are full of cafe's, bars and Ristorante's exuding charm and elegance and the beautiful ancient architecture of the buildings surrounds designer boutiques toning down any exclusivity or pretense. I can't help but think that this would be a nice place for a Scoco Boutique run by someone else of course, while I put the finishing touches to some Co creations gathered together from around the globe. I'm thinking I could probably find myself a little run down Villa at the bottom of the hill with a small orchard a few olive trees overlooking the Mediterranean, just enough land to create self sustainability. A perfect place to work from a couple of months of the year and share with like minded people the rest of the time. Just knock out a wall, slap up some plaster, throw down some nice rugs, create some homely sacred space, lots of fresh produce, herbs, a few chickens perhaps. I have to say that sounds perfectly feasible to me, anyone inspired to visualize this picture into reality for themselves go ahead? Well it's almost 2.00 o'clock and I'm catching up with Mark alias Gi Gi to take some photos of the landmarks of Taormina and by the way I have finally been given a nick name by the crew here that has stuck and it is a mixture of Geoff ?and Scott, they now call me Sceoff or Sceoffo. So cheers for now, photos to follow this evening.

The only way to travel in Sicily, Fiat power.

Livin the dream baby!

Catana

Driving through Catana

Taormina ahead in the distance

Hi all,
Well we travelled through the middle of the island of Sicily today to the eastern side that faces the mainland of Italy. The old abandoned homes, farmhouses and villas set into the country side and perched on hills above the ocean are the stuff of Magazines and I wish I could bring one home with me. We winged our way through the city of Catana along towards Taormina which could be viewed above our heads high in the distant hill top, while to our left was the massive snow caped volcanic peak of Mount Etna. I have been talking about one day visiting Taormina for so many years now and it has not disappointed me in anyway. We drove up to Taormina this evening for diner and for me I have finally found the Italy that has been living in my imagination all this time. To much to share just yet so I will let it sink in and will back it up with photos tomorrow as we plan to book into the central area and spend the day hiking and site seeing. This place is magnificent and diner was sublime.
Bona-sera and arivaderchi for now.

.

The bar/ restaurant at the Villa Igiea Hilton, some ambiance hey?

Villa Igiea Hilton Palermo,

Cabin fever

Hi Tribe,
Well after working non stop at the Permaculture Farm since my arrival and with the First Students now here and snuggled up in there tents, the time has come to get out of Dodge before I loose my mind. Myself and Mark, another woofer (worker for learning,food and lodging) from Maine in the States have rented a Little black Fiat and have headed off to check out the little beach town of Taormina ( forms the 1988 cult movie"The Big Blue"). I have promised myself that one day I would visit this town and find the restaurant featured in the movie and have Fruiti De Mari on the cliff face over looking the Mediterranean. I have decided to stay in the city of Palermo overnight and have booked accommodation in the Villa Igiea Hilton which is situated in the most beautiful Old building on the ocean front in Palermo, a hot bath to soak my sore, stiff and filthy body was at the top of my list. The front desk seemed horrified when two apparent park dwellers appeared filthy and unshaven seeking lodging. I have mud and white Gesso (plaster) dust caked on every piece of clothing I possess and the Virgo in me demands some balance. Cheers from Sicily.