We have been having a rest! We have been suffering from travel fatigue! So for the last few days we have been in a camper park, sleeping late, eating out, and generally doing nothing much.
But we have been out to see a few of the sights, especially these nearby unmissable places.
The above photos are of the Sicilian coastline. And then we came to Taormina!
This is the island of Isolabella. It was privately owned last century but was declared a national monument and is now open to the public. It really is enchanting!
Behind Taormina is Castelmola, a hill top town with stunning views of the coast.
Also in Taormina is an ancient amphitheatre, first built in 2nd or 3rd century BC and then altered in 2-3rd centuries AD by the Romans.
And that is Mt Etna in the background. We will have a closer view of Etna in the next few days so
I will leave that for then!
There are lots of prickly pears bushes around here, obviously a popular ornamental, but becoming a pest in places. For Australians this is not a surprise, but Italians may not know what a problem this plant has been for Australia. It was brought by immigrants (Sicilians perhaps?) and spread to cover thousands of hectares of farming land. It was eventually controlled by bringing in "Cactoblastis moth" a natural pest on prickly pear. This has greatly reduced the plants and they are no longer a problem.
In this camping ground there are a number of Australian plants such as silky oaks, callistemons, and eucalypts. So the movement of plants went both ways.
And on the subject of immigrants, the owner of this camp ground, Lagani Camper Park, had an ancestor who went to Australia and became a cane cutter in Innisfail. There are still relatives there and in Tully, including a "Lagarni Cafe" in Tully. Small world.
We know there have been many Italian migrants to Australia, with the sugar cane growing areas of Innisfail and Tully, and the fishing areas of Western Australia around Freemantle having large numbers of Sicilians. I know people with names like Ceruti, and Di Giacamo from Tully.
And one last thing....I have 99 "likes" on my Waltzing Matilda Facebook page. So hopefully it will go over 100 with the publishing of this blog update! That is amazing to me! The Facebook page has additional content to this blog, such as videos, as well as some discussion from readers. The two platforms compliment each other. So if you haven't already, check Facebook. You will recognise the muddy vehicle from the top of the blog. Maybe you can be my 100th "like"?
Ciao!
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