April 28, 2016

Yesterday we sailed out of Licata, and Serafina was on the move for the first time since October 8 of last year, when Sarah helped us tie to the dock at Marina Cala del Sole. A weird feeling, leaving a place that became a kind of home. The community of cruisers there is breaking up quickly as people head out for destinations all over the Mediterranean.

Just to forestall any homesickness for Licata, we rented an apartment there for 2017. It will serve as our base for further cruising in the Mediterranean next year. It should keep us moving forward on our Italian (and Sicilian) too!

We planned a short trip for our re-immersion in the sea, and just went 35 nautical miles east to Marina di Ragusa – also something of a wintering center for cruising sailors, but without a town as old and complex as Licata next to the marina. We had wind on the nose, of course, and some nasty chop on the beam, but both we and the boat performed just fine. 35 miles, 7 hours, one sail up for stability, but, yes, motoring the whole way. But nice to have the engine warm and dry…

We’ll hang out here to let another bad patch of weather blow through, then on to Marzamemi and Siracusa, both in Eastern Sicily. Siracusa (aka Syracuse) was one of the earliest and biggest colonies of “Magna Graecia” (Greater Greece, which included most of southern Italy), fought over by Romans, Greeks and Carthaginians for centuries. We’ll do some updates from there.

Leaving Licata in the wake, for now, wearing a new Sicilian “coppola”

Happy at the helm, once again

April 19, 2016

Memorial for Rosa Balistreri

As you walk from the harbor into the center of Licata, one of the first things you see is this statue dedicated to Rosa Balistreri, who was known during her life as the “Voce di Sicilia.” She was part of a group of left-wing artists that included the writer Leonardo Sciascia, the poet Ignazio Buttitta and the painter Renato Guttuso. Most specifically, she was known as the Voice of Licata, and is much celebrated in the town, with recently held a celebration of the 99^th anniversary of her birth.

Her words, which appear in the photo, say:

When I die, bring me a flower 

When I die, pretend that I didn’t

 When I die, sing my songs

 When I die, think of me now and then

 Because in this crucified land, I died without a voice

 You can hear some of her songs by starting with this link to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AtNW2u2YL8 and this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMmnaOl-HU 

“This crucified land” refers to Sicily, conquered, fought over, exploited, despoiled and victimized, from the early days of its prize status as “the bread basket of the Mediterranean.” It’s reputation as poor, corrupt, violent and backward is something of which every Sicilian is aware, and with which they may have some personal experience. You can even hear, in her songs, the traces of Spanish, French and Arabic culture left by the conquering nations.

Sad and violent as much of Sicily’s history is, in our experience it is hard to think of a warmer, more giving and stalwart people anywhere. Not that there aren’t bad apples – eager to take advantage of the powerlessness of most of the people here. But they are not the people you meet on the streets or in the cafes. We’ve felt invited to make ourselves at home here, by many acts of kindness.

We’re finally, with mixed feelings, getting to the point where it’s time for us to move on for the summer. Weather permitting we’ll be pointing Serafina toward Greece next week, but we’ll be back to Licata soon.