San Croce Camerina

4/11 Camping Luminosa d2

Jeff awoke at 5 and lay in reading “Enduring Love” (Ian McEwan), Jen out for a run amongst the paper, plastic, & dog poo and eventually Jeff strolls out for a clamber along the point to the old ruins, dodging the beer bottles and the thorny coastal heath, to find the ruins to not be too old (<200yrs) but around the corner a covey stretch of lapping Mediterranean coast with the odd beach house and fisherfolk.  Hard to get motivated to tachycardia in such a relaxing environment but a few sets of push ups did the job.  First swims for the old folk - the water is cool but bearable for a hang about and a float, followed by a cold beach side rinse off in the shower and then back to find the Squids ensconced in their books, but ready to head out for some beach play.     

The bread van arrived with a barp at 0800, the kids lined up with the wide-bodied Germans and  bought some hefty rolls, onto which we piled jam and peanut butter and cheese and stuff while Jen enjoyed her regulation cardboard + natural yoghurt + milk.

Maths games and revision followed by another beach play, this time with kids new Italian friends Monica and Roberta, and a cool dog called Pina who only speaks Italian but is very obedient when eventually taught not to stand/walk/sit on the sand constructions.

The parents wash clothes, string a long line for drying, clean out the school bag and other not for return to Oz stuff jamming up the site bins, discuss the plans for the next few weeks, and then crank the BBQ for Pranza - fish foils filled with mackerel, spices, cucumber, tomato, parmesan and nuts which was transferred into exotic burgers sin bones by the loving mumma.

The kids do their writing tasks and wash bikes, dad patches a puncture, another swim and a lie about reading, a coffee and a chat, more sorting and chucking, then a scotch on the beach as the sun sets.  Not so colourful today with the overcast conditions but then a lovely pink afterthought (not the scotch, the photo doesn’t lie, much).  

A chat with Liz and Bill our UK/Glaswegian friends, a last play for the kids with their new friends who leave tonight to be home for school tomorrow, the kids have a final swim in the very near dark, and then a light dinner followed by 2 games of “Sleeping Queens”, 1 to Kel, 1 to Jen, and one big giggling fit to Wil.

5/11   d3 Camping Luminosa

We set off on the bikes early morning to “fall in love with the behind scenes” whilst exercising but this was the only time we have ever come back depressed having ridden through 1½ hours of rubbish, endless plastic veggie & fruit hot houses, as many empty and derelict as full, dirtying up every millimeter of land and spilling right into the seaside for miles, wrecking even the usually untouchable view of the coast.  Around all this are houses, flats & buildings in various states of decay from premature & unfinished, to stillborn and abandoned to sorry, lifeless skeletons.  We passed a well nourished, well dressed family crowding into their BMW on their way to school/work and wonder how they live amongst the extraordinary trash & ugliness.

We arrived home flat but were buoyed by the beauty of the fresh skinned kids, the ‘Daddy Pingu’ new day chatter of our fellow travellers and the neighbouring ocean - just look outward toward Africa & listen to the gentle swishing rhythm and gentle swishing sound of the ocean at the end of the camp…..and the fish man (bought some fresh tuna steak for lunch) and the veggie man (some tomatoes, lettuce, parsley and bananas) and the bread man who attracts the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd - there’s even a bit of pushing and shoving in the queue!  Today,we bought some marmalade filled croissants (or cornettos) and a delicious plump spinachy pastie thing.  None of this was cheap however.  These deserving entrepreneurs have a captive market.

Bill showing the bread guy where to park

fish man

We bought some internet time and Jeff took some 4 hours or more to wade through ferry websites again, some no longer in operation or incomplete making necessary challenging phone calls with non-English speakers whilst sifting through conflicting time table information.  Finally, the ferries from Sicily to just north of Rome and then across to Barcelona were booked!!

The kids did some more exam revision for maths and then some research and writing.

Several swims, plays with Pina and chats with other older campers filled out a very relaxed and enjoyable day.  At the peak of the sun & heat, we collected inside away from the flies for our tuna steaks cooked in olive oil & garlic with a side salad and then a few card games. 

The English folk invited us to their Guy Fawkes beach bonfire celebrations after nightfall where we lapped up conversation with a young Welsh couple returning home soon, with a pair of retired primary school maths teachers and our lovely Bill & Liz.  The kids thought we came home prematurely!

Linda, Wil, Kel, Jen Liz, John

6/11 d4 by the beach 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE MICK!

Having checked out the headland the previous day, Jeff dragged his bride across the thorns & shattered beer bottles to a spot of sand on a high windy plateau where they executed their 10BX routine staring out across the calm clean water.  We inspected the ruins afterward and then woke Kel to join us for a pre-breakfast bob in the Mediterranean.

Our phone call to Uncle Mick brought tears to our homesick hearts as we heard the girls squealing and clambering all over him trying to get in a “g’day”.

In the quiet of our serene campsite that we share with largely over 60 yr old full-bellied Brits and Germans, the day was peppered with swims, handstands, paper plane making, maths, writing, washing up bits of Ed (as we do) and more swims.

Another superb sunset with a scotch, followed by a plank in the sand (3:35 Uncle John!), sandwiches for dinner and early to bed for a read.

Pina

D5 by the beach

Rain over night and into the morning so flicked the run, had a slow breakfast, helped the kids with finishing school (only a week or so left now), and hung out the wet towels and ground mat in the sporadic sun.  Then late morning as the clouds passed away to the east we both went for separate runs through the fields of plastic and litter, followed by swims, lunch (pasta with tuna and anchovies and stuff from the vegie van), then more reading, paper plane and jewelry making, games (Bill and Liz gave the kids Battleships and Sleeping Queens has been a big hit of late, thanks Alex), a big load of washing, another coffee for the olds and a  swim for the kids, a beer with yet another lovely sunset, filled up with water (the camp hasn’t had potable water for 4 days, thankfully Bill gave us some for our teas and coffees today), and headed out in the dark (not so ugly when the lights are off) for our pizza joint and a feast by the sea.

8/11 D6 at the Beach

Up slowly with the sun and the barp barp and the “pane, pane, BONJOURNO!”  Kel rushed up for the promised chocolate brioche to supplement our cardboard.  Jeff wolfed it down having been for a swim across the bay & a run back to camp.

An easy day of school, sunshine, paper planes, swimming, handstands, jewelry making and passing conversations followed.  Wil and Jen took a bike ride to the local shops for milk (& snuck in a taste of an arancine) and under the warm sky, Jen took off for a pre-lunch run.

Biker Bill

paper plane testing

Our late lunch off egg & lettuce rolls fueled more swims & handstands before the kids helped gather firewood for the evening beach bonfire - one of our most special European memories to date.  

Having sat motionless for another fantastic sunset, we moved our chairs a few feet across to join Bill & Liz, John & Linda, Andrew & Tiffany around the fire for chillie con carne, lasagne (cooked by a Welshman) and fire baked jacket potatoes.