Bimota Forum

[GeeKay]

with 3530 miles covered, my new Dunlop Sportmax rear tyre was worn beyond the marker bars. on the way back to my b&b, I took a wrong turn and found Alfonso's tyre shop. After some friendly bartering, I accepted a new Pirelli Corsa, fitted, for 160 euros.
How many Italians do you think it takes to change a tyre?

well, you need Alfonso, shop owner and GSX-R600 racer



and Alfonso's assistant, and his gopher......



and Alfonso's assistants mother and father, plus interested on-looker....

[GeeKay]

next morning, off to Vesuvius again...........











the bay of Naples

[GeeKay]

All I see is ruins, all I hear is Echoes..........

I wanted to visit the ruins of Pompei not out of archeological interest, but because they were the venue for my all-time favourite live concert.

Pink Floyd: Live at Pompei, was released in 1972 and featured 3 songs, "One of these days", "A saucerful of secrets" and the masterful "Echoes" that were recorded during 1971 in the old Roman amphitheatre at Pompei.
So i paid my 11 euros entrance fee and joined the tourist hoardes to set about finding the amphitheatre. Of course, on a baking-hot day, it's not going to be anywhere near the entrance, is it? In fact, it's as far away from the entrance as you can possibly get. Pompei is a huge site, full of multi-national coach parties each following their numbered guide. The "gees" indicated residents of the USA, giggling was the preserve of the Japanese, though what they found amusing is beyond me.
Pompei is so highly over-rated, it's beyond a joke. Street after street of "houses", all conveniently missing their facade (and mosaic floors and wall frescoes) paint a bleak, granite-grey picture of austerity. Anything worth a look is locked away behind bars that prevent access and a decent picture. I couldn't wait to get out of the place. I found the amphitheatre, took a few pics, hummed the opening to "Echoes" and left.

[GeeKay]

and so, with a heavy heart, I set off for more Roman ruins, the town of Herculaneum, in nearby Ercolano. And just like Pisa, it blew me away.
What a stunning archeological site this is. Lacking the crowds, and size, of Pompei, it allows you to get as close to history as is possible. You "live" Heraculaneum - walk the mosaic floors, touch the wall frescoes, access almost all the site. It is truly impressive, and if you get the chance, visit it at the expense of Pompei. In every building, around every corner, there is a photograph to be taken. I took over fifty - here's a few.

[GeeKay]

and another Roman relic........



Roberto's mobile advert for Il Fauno.

[2bims]

Still enjoying your updates Gary, shame that you must be coming to a close to your journies as you seem to be made for it, with roaming reports (sorry about the pun), helpful incites and honest views perhaps theres a carrear change looming as a motorbike journalist?

Couple more shots for you of the days in Wales, I gather theres no home-sickness setting in yet?
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And we came across this place offering accommodation on the Toll Road around the Great Orme in Llandudno, used to be a lighthouse in the 1800's now converted to B&B, complete with rustic victorian charm, and the old lighthouse housing as a lounge for one of the rooms, perched on the edge of the precipice
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[GeeKay]

I left Pompei with advice from Roberto to avoid Sorrento and take the mountain road instead to Ravello. Much better "for moto" according to Roberto. It certainly was an interesting road, winding up (and down) a very large mountain before depositing me in Ravello. From here, I took the coast road costeria Amalfia to Positano, then back through Amalfi to Salerno. Again, another much-hyped "attraction" failed to impress me. It's not particularly scenic, heaving with coaches full of the dreaded tourists (must be murder in season) and not that challenging. I was glad to make Salerno.

Positano



The coast from Salerno to Sapri is much nicer, and it's a nice road to ride.











at sapri, I made a navigational mistake, accepting the advice of the local petrol-pump attendant, and lost the coast road, winding up into the surrounding mountains before picking up the A3/E45 autostrada heading to Reggio Calabria. I stopped for fuel and consulted my atlas, from which I planned a route back to the coast at Belvedere Maritimo. A few wrong turns apart, all was going well until 15kms from the coast, when I ran into an almighty thunderstorm. I donned my rainsuit again and pressed on through deserted mountain ranges and near darkness. I couldn't see with my visor down, nor with it up if I rode faster than 10mph. It was a very long, and wet, 15kms. When I reached the coast road, I turned off to find a room for the night. I couldn't find a hotel that was open in Belvedere Maritimo, so pushed on to Cetrato marina, where I chanced upon the Parco degli Aranci hotel. They had a room for me, at a very reasonable 40 euros with breakfast, and a garage for the bike "as long as I didn't run the motor"

[GeeKay]

oops! double post

[GeeKay]

Next day dawned bright and sunny - hurrah! - and most of my clothing had dried overnight.
The Parco degli Aranci in all it's (sunny) glory.





back on the SS18 coast road, and riding in baking hot sunshine, my spirits were lifted and I was enjoying life "on the road" again. The SS18 hugs the pretty coast as far as Pizzo, then due to the prevailing topography, runs inland to Vibo Valentia, Mileto, Rosarno and Giola Tauro, all of which give the first indication of the "north/south" divide. They are squalid little places, displaying all the attributes of finacial depravity. It would come as no surprise if crime was the only thing that paid around these parts.
Back on the coast at Palmi, things improve again. Tourism is on the up in these parts, and it's not hard to see why well-to-do Romans and Napolese cherish these resorts.
I took a light lunch in Scilla, which pupils of ancient mythology will remember as the home of the six-headed serpent (or was it the siren)?
Anyway, it does a brisk trade in tourism and tacky souvenirs.



from Scilla it's only 9kms to Villa San Giovanni and the ferry to Sicily.

the straits of Messina



out of Messina and onto the A20 autostrada, Tom directed me to the doorway of my next hotel, the Monte Alto. Situated atop a mountain just outside the delightful town of Patti, it has stunning views across the Aeolian sea to, surprise surprise, the Aeolian islands. Rooms are chalet/bungalow style, ranged on different levels. I was given a room with a garden so I could park my "moto" outside my door.











and that, dear reader(s), is where I am at now. I've climbed Etna, visited the Aeolian islands and am currently chilling in an airconditioned internet cafe on piazza Marconi in Patti. It's beer time now, so until next time - ciao!!

[GeeKay]

Thanks for the kind words Steve, but I think I'll stick to the day job!
I do try to write about the journey, not me, hence the lack of pictures of yours truly.
That part of Wales looks great - you will have to show me around sometime soon.

[zombie]

Thanks for that installment GeeKay, wonderful!

I used to venture down that way as few years ago. My family originates from the town of Torre Anunziata, between Torre el Greco and Pompeii, so this was a great post for me. Love that winding coast road from naples south and the hills around Naples.

Watch out for the traffic light "discipline" down there though and don't be too tempted to take your helmet off !

Cheers,
Zombie

[GeeKay]

Today has been a great day, spent in and around Patti.
Backtrack to Monday, my first day here, I ask at the local bike shop where I can get my hair cut. He points to the shuttered building next door, informing me that although closed today, will be open tomorrow.
When I enquire at the hotel about an internet cafe in Patti, Carlo, the hotel owner, points me in the direction of bar Vanilla in Patti Marina.
I visited bar Vanilla on Monday night only to discover that their solitary pc lacked a USB port for my card reader. A chance conversation with the breakfast waitress today revealed another internet cafe site in Patti, on piazza Marconi.
So, after breakfast, I called at the hairdressers next to the bike shop. Women only. But he gave me directions to another shop further uptown. Which was also women only, but the owner insisted on showing me to a shop for men. He indicated that I get my moto (parked across the street from his shop) then, to my surprise, hopped on the back and directed me through the back streets to a male hairdressers. He then jumped off, shouted "ariverderci" and ran off back down the street.
So I entered the shop and sat down. In the chair was a guy, late thirties, early forties, having his hair cut. Sat in one of the waiting chairs was a guy in his sixties, and me. Fifteen minutes later, the barber asks me a question. I reply that I "no parla Italiano" to which the old guy next to me translates. "Do you want wash and cut"? I reply that I just want a dry cut and the old guy translates back in Italian. Now the ice is broken, I ask the old guy where he learnt to speak English. "In Newcastle" he replied. Turns out he worked as a waiter in Newcastle, Durham and Hexham before accepting a job with Vaux breweries as a wine waiter in Stirling.
Then another, younger man enters the shop. He says something to the old guy next to me, who then asks me if I had enjoyed my visit to Lipari yesterday. I said I had. More Italian exchanges, then old guy (og) says that young guy (yg) was on the same ferry. Although I knew the answer, I asked how he recognised me. Og translated and yg laughed, tugging at his hair. Yg muttered something in Italian, and og asked me if I liked Lipari. I replied that I did, as it felt like an island, unlike Sicily which felt like mainland Italy.
This provoked some heated conversation, with og, yg, barber and current customer all presenting their opinons. After a further ten minutes of animated conversation, the barber recommenced work. I eventually got my haircut after an hour wait. I take it the barber agreed with me, as he cut my hair and not my throat!
As I left the shop, I shook hands with the barber, og and yg and proffered an "arividerci" to each - they replied with "ciao!" a sign of friendship. I left a happy man.

[GeeKay]

Today has been a great day for double posts

[GeeKay]

D

[GeeKay]

next day, well breakfasted, I took the coast road (SS113) from Patti to Capo d'Orlando then followed it inland and upland, over the Portello dello Zoppo (alt 1264 metres) to Randazzo.

high on a hill is a lonely goatherd..............



first sighting



Randazzo