As my chopsticks take another excellent piece of tuna sushi, I glance out of the window at Monte San Calogero, towering some 1325 metres over Termini Imerese on Sicily’s north coast to the east of Palermo. We have spent the last four days here when we should be well on our way across Sardinia by now. What gives? Have the 2slowspeeds settled down and purchased a one Euro house in Italy?

Ok….. lets go back to last week and our return to Sicily after an amazing wedding(s) in the UK. Collected at the airport by our host where we had stored Streak and Storm, we headed back to San Giorgio outside Catania. The next morning, we repacked and prepared to depart riding along the eastern side of Mt Etna and on to the north coast of Sicily to overnight at Zappulla. The route chosen will take us along the eastern flank of Mt Etna on the Via Mareneve up to 1800 metres and then the SS116 which runs from the northern end of Mt Etna to the coast. Those that have seen the previous video blog can skip the next paragraph.

Thunderstorms had been forecast from about 4pm, plenty of time to reach our destination. We leave, round the first corner and the grey threatening thunderclouds are advancing from the southwest. So much for forecasts. We head north and pass through village after village climbing up the eastern flank of Mt Etna until we reach the start of the Via Mareneve. We are now in the cloud! Retreat or advance, advance of course. It was very atmospheric with cloud swirling around us, jagged lava on both sides and patches of volcanic ash on the road. Streak and Storm now sport volcanic ash in addition to Sahara sand. They will really need a clean when we return to the UK. Lightning flashes and we count the seconds to the clap of thunder that follows – it is close. Sometimes we are amongst the lava, other times in forest. There are no sweeping views to the sea to up the mountain, but neither are we bothered by other riders and drivers racing past us. There is no discernible drainage on the road and water and debris stream across the road from time to time just to make it a little more interesting.

Visibility improves as we descend and while still grey and rainy, the Roman gods’ messages delivered via thunder and lightning have abated. I wonder what those messages were? Lunch allows us to dry out a little and we then head north on the SS116. Villages and houses seem to cling to the mountainsides, anyone living here needs a head for heights and good turning skills. As we turn left and right time and time again I can see how one could easily be drawn into riding faster and faster, flowing though the bends sweeping left and right until the road ahead reaches beyond one’s skill level. Slow and steady for me, you will have to find more exciting videos on youtube.

Our decent to the coast is blocked by an armco barrier bolted into the tarmac to ensure No Entry! Only half the road ahead has slipped away into the valley below, Streak and Storm can get through, but no, we must now follow narrow lanes down to the coast. Some sections must have a 20% slope. We overnight in a cabin near the beach, which has very large grains of sand, we call them pebbles in Australia.

You may recall that one of our faithful Sena communication headsets died while riding from Cairns to Brisbane in May. With only days before leaving for Europe, after our arrival Anne researched headsets and we made the decision to get Cardo Neo as a replacement. Anne’s headset after Mt Etna’s rain stopped working and could not be turned off. We lost the ability to communicate while riding which is both frustrating and disappointing as we talk as we ride. Part of the pleasure for us as well as a safety feature. Weaving through the mazes of narrow lanes in villages and towns and losing sight of each other made it trickier to stay together at times – see you at our destination if we get too separated or lost.

The main highway along the north coast of Sicily is an engineering marvel, tunnels and viaducts provide a smooth quick way to travel. I prefer the slower roads and we have a couple of days to get to Palermo for the ferry to Sardinia, so the SS113 is our preferred road, apart from all the slow villages. While we are getting used to traffic driving style here, such as pulling out of lanes regardless of the traffic or road signs, stopping for countless of reasons such as shopping or chatting to a friend on the pavement, we only covered 25km in the first hour and ones clutch hand gets a workout.

Anne finds a nice holiday apartment at Campofelice di Roccella where we spend a relaxing night. Our last night will be spent outside Palermo in readiness for the ferry to Sardinia early Sunday morning.

We depart after 10 taking the Viale Himera back to SS113. The road is a little rough in places but nothing unusual here in Sicily, but then an uneven patch, a little mud and I am over. Ouch my ankle takes a hit. We remove the luggage to get Storm upright and decide to go back as maps cannot predict the road surface ahead. Best to be safe. As I try to move from first to second gear, neutral is all I get. After a few attempts I check the gear lever, it is bent but functional. The gear change will not work upwards. I get the “click” sound but not the “click CLUNK” that Anne is getting. Storm is broken.

As we were travelling in Europe this year I had added RAC European Breakdown Service to our motorcycle insurance before we left for Spain. Once contacted, I was impressed with the service. We had regular updates on when the recovery truck was coming and followup after being recovered to a workshop in Termini Imerese. A hospital visit in Termini Imerese, taken by the tow truck driver, confirmed no break just bruising. Thank you to the excellent staff there, no charge made. We did note the polite waiting room, did it have anything to do with the pistol in the hip of the hospital security guard?

Anne gets us an apartment in town, we are collected by the owner who shows the nearest place to eat as our next priority now is food – we haven’t eaten since 8am.

So what next you may ask, as we certainly did that night. Anne says “where will our coddiwompling take us next”?

– Anthony & Anne