David's Diary: Monday, May 5, 2003

Siracusa, Sicily

Central Circle

First thing this morning Jocelyn and I went into town to locate a phone store. We have a SIM card for our mobile phone with TIM, an Italian mobile phone company, but it is out of money. We get to see the local people opening their shops as we climb the hill to the central circle before finding a phone store and getting our phone card recharged.

Fresh Vegetables

The Siracusa market is as spectacular as we remembered it and we stock up with some fresh supplies. We wander around looking at all of the selection and have to hold ourselves back from buying too much or it will never fit in the refrigerator onboard Dragonsinger.

Fish Display

There are numerous fish displays that catch our eye, but because we have decided to eat out tonight we don't purchase any. That doesn't stop us from continuing our tour of the market and taking in more of the sights, sounds, and smells as we watch the local people purchasing supplies for their lunch and dinner.

Delicatessen

If the weather continues to hold, we plan to head to Greece tomorrow. We stop at a delicatessen in the market and stock up on special Sicilian treats. We get sun-dried tomatoes in a sauce, black olives, meats, and a few more things that will last for a week or two in Dragonsinger's refrigerator. Not only will we have them for our two-day passage, but we should also be able to enjoy a little bit of Italy when we are in Greece.

Later in the day we visited a supermarket to stock up on Italian wine and other specialities from Sicily. Our taxi ride home was overpriced and I argue the price with the taxi driver to the point that we both went to the local port police to discuss our differences. Before living in Tunisia for five months I never would have been so aggressive about arguing the price and perhaps Sicily wasn't the best place to do so, but we settle our differences and I shake the taxi driver's hand.

Kevin Enjoying Mussels

For dinner we visit one of the seaside restaurants only a few steps from Dragonsinger. We have an Italian feast with lots of pasta and fresh seafood. Kevin really enjoys fresh mussels in an Italian tomato and fish stock. We drink Italian wine and savour our last night in Italy.

Sunset Over Siracusa

After dinner we go for a walk along the main quay. A three-masted Italian tall ship is moored there and we watch the setting sun as it spreads golden colours over the bay. What a way to end our short stop in Siracusa.