So death march in our family has been described as follows. When the kids were young we would go cruising and Dad would say it is time to go on a hike, so we would sun screen up and put on our shoes and head for the hills.. He would always pick the highest mountain around and try to get to the top. Well after a while we caught on and Haley , Gus and I would decide to stay at the beach and watch him hike to the top, while we swam in the closest lagoon. My idea of a day on land. this is how it became to be known a death march. Dads thinking of a death march and we all would think of numerous things that needed to be done.
Well this adventure redefined death march. We started out at 8:00 in the morning. There were 6 of us. We got to the bus on time and found out that it was canceled due to traffic accident. So we quickly changed gears and decided tonhead for the train, which was not as convenient but now the only choice. The problem with the train was it was a 45 minute hike or $20 euro taxi to get to the station. So it was early in the adventure so we hiked. Now the roads some times had side walks, most of the time had narrow paths along side road with huge buses whizzing by constantly. We made it In time for the train and avoided any collision with Italian traffic. So we made the bus to Catania. Arrival at Catania and got a bus ticket to Syarcusa. Had a hour or so, and we walked, hiked to the Doma and had a bite to eat. Got back to the bus station and found out bus left 15 minutes early. Ok, quick trip to train station and yes, there was a train in an hour.
So we finally got to Syarcusa and hiked from train station to ancient city. Saw apollo temple, and Archimedes square. Relaxed and had a bite and a beer. Interesting food, called a orangena,, maybe, it was a take off from the Indiana state fair, deep fried rice ball filled with many different vegetables, delicious. Went to Archimedies museum and saw a lot of his inventions and geometry equations he discovered. He is the father of mechanical engineers. Great fun in the museum.
Saw another dome, on a beautiful square, the piazza was covered with marble and buildings were very clean. We hiked to the port and up to the fortress. The fortress was from the 1200's and has a light house at the entrance. There are many turetts for some sort of war machine. It was attached by pirates many times. Has many levels, and rooms, with high domed ceilings and ancient columns, still standing. It went through an earthquake but was rebuilt. You can tell why Syracusa was important in that there is a large bay enclosed by a narrow entrance that could protect many boats in the bay and the entrance could be well defended. Would be beautiful to cruise.
We got a Italian pizza on the boardwalk. Yes we ate it with knives and forks, amazing and delicious, wi a beautiful view of the bay. Then we hiked back to the train station to find out our train went from Syracusa directly to Rome, no stop at Taromina. To bad we did not have our luggage, our flight tomorrow stops in Rome! Yea, the train takes a ferry at Messina. So, quick find a bus. Running from train station to bus station, some luck was on our side and a bus was just leaving for Catania, that would be 1/2 way home.
Got to Catania ran to the train station, no more buses, and yes lady luck was with us, got a train to Taormina, arrived there and had a 45 minute walk back to hotel. Arrived at hotel at 10:15. Talk about barking dogs, I soaked my feet for an hour. Have another big day tomorrow. Just hope the buses are running. This was the ultimate death march!
Syracusa ancient city is beautiful well worth the Death march.
No comments:
Post a Comment