PORTO EMPEDOCLE AND THE VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES

Envoy is now in the Egadi Islands, north-western Sicily.

Leaving Syracuse after six great days we cruised further south down Sicily’s east coast, trying to avoid marinas due to their cost, and anchored near Porto Palo, then outside Ragusa marina, then outside Licata. Unlike most of the Med the southern coast of Sicily is quite shallow and we were mostly cruising in eight to fifteen metres.

This lighthouse at Porto Palo is built inside an old fortress

From a distance these look like houses and apartments but ...

Closer up you can see that mausoleums occupy much of Licata’s prime waterfront real estate

When Chris arrived with us in Italy he was cleared-in like us as “crew”, so his passport wasn’t stamped. With Chris’s departure imminent we had to get his passport stamped so he would be able to leave from Palermo airport without problems, so we decided to go into the harbour at Porto Empedocle.

Here there’s no proper marina but we moored stern-to a small jetty alongside an eighteen metre motor yacht called Rhapsody in Blue, powered by twin 800 hp Cats, and owned by a charming retired French couple, Michel and Marie. They live in Paris and drive down to stay on their boat for about four months each summer. They mentioned they consumed about 10,000 litres of diesel when they made the 72 hour trip from France to here, and this probably explains why they don’t leave the harbour too often.

The jetty is managed by very-helpful Giuseppe and cost 45 Euros (NZ$70) per night including power and water. Porto Empedocle is rarely visited by cruisers, but it’s a busy small port with many fishing boats and some large ferries plying in and out.

The water is badly polluted by floating trash, diesel slicks and sewage, detracting from the experience – the fisherman seem to just throw most of their garbage into the water.

Envoy moored alongside Rhapsody in Blue at Porto Empedocle - it's laundry day

This nearby motor boat hadn’t been used for so long that mussels are growing on the trim tabs

From the harbour it’s only a short bus trip to the Valley of the Temples –one of Sicily’s premier sites. Five Doric temples were built along a ridge around the 6^th to 4^th centuries BC, close to the ancient city of Akragas, of which little remains. A couple of temples are in a surprisingly good condition, particularly the Temple of Concord - traditionally visited by local prospective brides and grooms on their wedding day, which was appropriate as our visit coincided with our 43^rd wedding anniversary. Built about 430BC, it was converted to a Christian Basilica in the 6^th century and reinforced, explaining its remarkable appearance today. During early Lonely Planet advises a full day to visit the site, but we’ve now seen so many ruins ranging from the spectacular to the mundane, that four hours was plenty, although the site is right up there with the best and well worth seeing.

This eight metre long statue of man was constructed to support part of a temple

The Temple of Concord is remarkably preserved

Great distant view of the Temple of Concord set in glorious countryside

A modern-day work in bronze with the Temple of Concord behind - ladies don't look too closely!

Not far from the Valley of the Temples is the town of Agrigento, said to be home to many of Sicily’s drug-trade-controlling crime families. Lonely Planet said the medieval section of town is worth a visit, but we found it disappointing. This may partly have been because everything was closed and deserted – Sicilians enjoy their siesta between about two and five pm.

TECHNICAL

Chris and I spent most of a day in Porto Empedocle stripping down the main Raritan head to replace the joker valve - now how good a friend is that! Tight access makes this a difficult job, but when Chris finally pulled the old joker valve it was clearly in very poor condition and when a new valve was installed the head worked well again. We’d never replaced this valve in the eight years we’ve owned Envoy, so this was long overdue. From now on we’re going to flush the head with white vinegar once a month or so, allowing the vinegar to stay in the flushing system for a few hours to break down some of the solids build up that occurs.

The old clogged joker valve would no longer close. The new one has a slightly different design

ENVOY LOG

As at 8/6/14, we’d spent 62 days aboard and cruised 602 miles for 97 engine hours.