Brindisi – Lecce – Salicetti – Guardia – Catania – Cozzo Di Papaleo – San Leone
From Albania to Italy by boat and bike
Before heading off for some Motorcycle Touring and Camping in Italy, we had an overnight stop in Vlore in Albania to catch the ferry over. , Zsofi worked her magic to find the ferry ticket office which was no small feat. The departure was to be midnight so we spent the day walking around Vlore and drinking lemonade and coffee. A bit of advice here; when you ask for an ice coffee, that is exactly what you get, an espresso with ice. Finally, we left to board our ferry around 9pm, however, because we were on motorcycles, they decided to make us wait while they loaded all the trucks first. This was impressive as all the HGV drivers had to reverse onto the ferry. After sitting watching this for about 2 hours, we were finally allowed to board. We pretty much slept for the 6-hour crossing before arriving in Brindisi in Italy.
Accommodation scoring: 0 = Worst 3 = Average 5 = Best
Lecce (distance from previous location – 64km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 3
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 4
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 4
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 3
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 4
Our first experience of motorcycle touring in Italy, was sitting in a MacDonalds, trying to keep Molly calm during a thunderstorm that was like no other. It was a day later that we heard about Storm Boris ravaging the north east part of the country. We had been lucky in our choice of direction and remained dry until our first nights accommodation in Lecce.
Tropical Sky, as it is listed on Booking.com, was like a little oasis in rustic Italy. Francesco, the owner, referred to it as Pablo Escobar’s compound due to the palm trees and high walls that surrounded it. The apartment was stunning and spacious and was perfect for our needs with the exception of the stairs but even with the climb with the luggage, it was totally worth it.
Francesco and his father must have thought we looked hungry as they were always giving us food. Pastries and fruit from the garden were going to be our first realisation that Italians always want to feed you! We stayed here for a couple of days and managed to have a great ride out around the southern tip of Italy. This area is beautiful with impressive coastlines and we read recently about the Italian government paying people to take on some of the ruined buildings on the condition that they are restored to their former glory. I may have looked at the landscape a little differently had I known this beforehand.
Salicetti (distance from previous location – 251km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 3
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 3
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 4
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 4
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 3
Our last stop on mainland Italy for the time being was going to be in Salcetti, a very nice camping resort that was very close to the beach. Completely surrounded by walls and an electronic gate, we stayed in a lovely little ground floor apartment with its own terrace.
As the holiday season was coming to an end, there weren’t many people staying here. This allowed us to let the dogs roam free. The free coffee was a plus, which obviously I abused the hell out of. Although we were only here for one night, I felt it worth mentioning this little cool place and recommend it for bikers heading towards southern Italy for some motorcycle touring.
Our first few days in Italy were wonderful but things were going to get even better because now we were heading to a place I had never given much thought to but was about to become a firm favourite during our trip so far: Sicily!
Guardia (distance from previous location – 253km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 3
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 3
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 4
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 4
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 3
We arrived at the port of Messina in Sicily by ferry which takes about 25 mins from the mainland. Our first impression of Messina was that the traffic was crazy. A scooter lay on its side and a pink crash helmet was nearby. It seemed that if there was a space, car drivers felt duty bound to try to go through it. Here we were on fully loaded bikes, carrying dogs, trying to navigate through our first Italian city. This was a bit daunting to be honest and we eventually lost count of the amount of ambulance sirens we heard during our stay in Sicily.
After a few days however, we kind of got used to how the traffic worked, especially at roundabouts which there are a lot of and that’s saying something coming from a UK guy! We even joke now that we should drive like Sicilians when we get stuck in traffic. I wonder how the rest of Europe will take to our new style of riding!
There is nothing to mention about our first apartment in Sicily except they overpriced for the dogs and it was up an ally. The room was nice and they served an average breakfast in the mornings. The owner recommended a restaurant used by the locals but we didn’t really enjoy it.
Guardia was good spot to use as base for meeting our new friend, Natale, who had agreed to show us around the area. We agreed to meet him at a local café in his home town of Misterbianco (love the name of this place). The Caffe Doriani is also home to his local motorcycle club and on the day we met him there, we were lucky enough to meet a few of them as well as other riders from all over Italy that had travelled down to attend a huge bike festival in the nearby town of Augusta.
After cannoli and coffee, it was time for our first outing with Natale, who decided there was no point in starting small. A lot of twisty roads and a couple of thousand meters higher, we found ourselves face to face with Mount Etna and various lava rivers that had become rock formations some time ago. Etna is still an active volcano that erupts about once a month and couldn’t help looking at the houses down below and wondered how people live in the shadow of a volcano. Natale explained that this was just the way of life they had become used to, even with places they have known now being under lava. There is seeing Etna as a tourist but seeing it with a local is a completely different experience. Listening to how they sit and watch it erupt occasionally like a firework display to hearing stories about what used to be there and where the new building is now located.
The following day we changed locations to Catania, which was about 27km away. Here we would be staying an additional 3 days to look around the area and obviously eat more street food. Catania was a city and with any Sicilian city comes the crazy drives, our riding skills learned to grow and adapt.
Catania (distance from previous location – 20km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 2
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 3
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 0 (for alternative accommodation but good in the main house)
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 1
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 3
Our accommodation was very modern with great internet but we hadn’t realised that it was a shared living room and our private bathroom was right next to the shared kitchen. We had wanted to stay for 2 nights but the room wasn’t available. Luckily, Alessandra the owner offered us an older apartment just across the backyard that we could have all to ourselves. She didn’t normally rent this one out and kept it for friends to stay when visiting. The down side was that there was no internet. Nevertheless, we actually opted to stay an extra day to use as a base, it also helped that the dogs had their own area out in the yard that they could play.
The next day we visited the Gole Alcantara Botanical and Geological Park, a unique landscape, formed from numerous eruptions thousands of years ago and carved out by the Alcantara river.
Later that afternoon, Natale decided to test our riding skills with a barking dog that makes a bike bounce. Off we went up another winding mountain road on our bikes to see an unusual café and a spectacular view of Etna at sunset and indeed, it was spectacular! The evening wasn’t over yet because instead of sitting in a nice restaurant for a meal, Natale had learned quickly who we were and we were off back down the mountain, or in my case, bouncing back down, to a small bakery he used to frequent in his younger days for some Sicilian street food. Two portions later, and that was just me, it was time for home after this rather long day.
The following day we were invited to the biker meeting in Augusta as guests where we met with the vice president of the main Italian motorcycle club and chatted for a while. The atmosphere was so good, everyone was incredibly friendly and so many people had questions and wanted pictures of the bikes and the dogs. At the main venue, security were waiting for us to let us through the gate. The crowd inside was huge and following Natale, the dogs managed to navigate their way through, only tripping about half a dozen people up on the way. All food and drink were free and entertainment was laid on. Each bike region had its own stall where they would cook their favourite dishes for the guests and the scent of cooked ham, onions, ciabatta and local wines filled the air. The food was amazing and the dogs needed to be rolled back to the bikes because people just wanted to feed them bits and bobs all the time. A big thank you to the organisers and guys for inviting us and making us feel so welcome.
After a few days riding around this beautiful area, it was time to temporarily say goodbye to Natale and make our way up to the mountains for an overnight stop at Cozzo Di Papaleo. However, this was not to be the usual goodbye, as he had arranged an interview with one of the major Sicilian newspapers, La Sicilia in the Carpe Diem bar in Misterbianco (still love this name). The reporter was a lovely lady by the name of Francesca Aglieri Rinella who spoke to us for well over an hour to capture our story for her paper. The Brioche con gelato and coffee flowed throughout the interview and Natale did a wonderful job at translating for us. A few days later, our story was printed and we found fame at last, well, at least in Sicily.
Cozzo Di Papaleo (distance from previous location – 109km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 3
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 4
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 0
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 3
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 2
We arrived at Agriturismo Cozzo di Papaleo just before sunset and were pleasantly surprised at how nice this little hotel in the middle of nowhere was. The whole place was surrounded with stunning views and a small celebration for a group of people was just starting. I took the opportunity to grab another sunset picture for my growing collection. Tonight’s lavish dinner was going to be cereal and cookies and anything else we happened to be carrying. Molly found another cat to chase around the grounds, no idea how she came out of the cacti unscathed. The staff were very friendly, the facilities were great but unfortunately the WIFI was none existent.
San Leone (distance from previous location – 133km)
- Roads (Scenic, Surface, Twisties, Police Presence) – 3
- Accommodation (Clean, Comfort, Space, Room Access, Shower) – 3
- WIFI (Download, Upload, Reliable) – 3
- Parking (Secure, Level Ground, Covered, Distance with luggage) – 4
- In the area (Shopping, Restaurants, POI) – 3
Back in Bulgaria, we invested in a tent and sleeping bags but never used them as yet, today, that was going to change. We decided that now the weather was a bit milder, it was high time to use our camping equipment, such as it was. Our first camping experience on the road was going to be in the Valle dei Templi, ancient temples and giant statues surround the area. We stayed in a campsite in San Leone and in the high season, I could imagine it being quite popular. A supermarket sat right across from the site which was super handy for supplies, well, beer at least. I got chatting with some Italian bus drivers and one asked if Triumph was better than Ducati for motorcycle touring, how do you answer a question like that to a Sicilian guy? Yes, I gave him my honest answer, started my bike and got the hell out of Dodge!
