A boat trip around Egadi Islands – II
We are in the midst of our tour of the Egadi Islands aboard our sailing boat. From Trapani we got to Marettimo. After exploring the marine grottos, visiting the Saracen tower and enjoying several stops at many of the restaurants and bars of the island, on Day 4 we raise anchor and leave towards Levanzo.
Day 4 – Marettimo-Levanzo
We decide to leave our beloved Favignana for the end, and point the bow towards Levanzo. We were prepared to leave at dawn, but when Daniele ordered to get the sails up, it was 11 o’clock in the morning. Blown by winds of which we don’t even want to know the names (to the great displeasure of the Captain) Levanzo is visible and slowly approaches. In a few hours, we reach the island and decide to go ashore in the bay of Grotta del Genovese. And time there stands still. Wow.
In the evening, Daniele and Paolo (one of the 2) go back to the sailing boat aboard the dinghy. The remaining 3 of us sleep on the beach, although it’s actually not allowed. On the following day we get on our vessel again and sail to the port of Levanzo, a place that is even smaller than what we usually call a “town”: it is a wonderful, small village of white houses with tiny doors and windows, sitting along the shore. Behind them, only rocks. The mandatory stop in Levanzo is the only path leading from the “town” up to the 200 meters summits at the centre of the island: after a 30 minutes’ walk, you will enjoy a breathtaking view, with the Sicilian coast to the east, Favignana to the south and Marettimo to the west. And an endless blue sea all around.
The evening of Day 4 arrives without no one asking for it, so we are forced to put our legs under the table again, choosing the restaurant Mimmo e Angelo this time. We are sitting on Levanzo’s so-called promenade, which can be walked back and forth in ten minutes.
Strangely enough, after dinner the dinghy zigzags on his way back to the boat, but fortunately the moon shows us the way.
Day 5 – Levanzo-Favignana
The Captain sets the alarm clock and this forces us to wake up early, at nine o’clock in the morning of our Day 5. At 10, breakfast is doled out, the anchor is up, sails are set, neurons… who knows! Still drowsy we stumble up and lie on the deck leaving our destiny to the Captain’s discretion. Towards our final destination.
Our (and your potential) friends in Favignana
Favignana, always in sight, comes after a few hours of sailing. The crew has recovered, also thanks to the cheerful excitement for what we consider the Promised Land, California, Freedom, Frivolity, Peace and Escape. Many “friends” await our arrival at Favignana: for example Mauro, newsagent-buddy. But also Rino, Turin-restaurateur who has lived on the island for 30 years; Uccio, his cook; the sweet Cristina, who rents houses on the sea; Vincenzo, the crazy-good-handyman; Scipio, the philosopher of the oceans, who’s been writing the same book for the past ten years (in Punta Lunga he owns the diving center where even Licia Colò got her patent;) Anna, the blonde taxi driver who takes tourists to the harbor and the resort villages of Favignana on her van, but also organizes excursions on the island (347.4796745); Beppe and Giovanni, L-E-G-E-N-D confectioners in via Garibaldi, Antonio, with his deli shop of delicacies based on tuna, mullet and so on, situated right in front of the newsstand; Rosario, who carries tourists on his boat (ask at the port;) Andrea (a descendant of the Grimaldi Family, moved en masse from the North) who rents bikes, scooters, cars, boats, canoes, and quads in Piazza Europa (339.1609239); and many others.
The circumnavigation of Favignana
We decide to put back the pleasure of meeting our friends and we opt instead, for the first time, for an attempt to circumnavigate the island on a sailing boat. We head straight to Cala Rossa, we would need a poet to tell about it. Cala Rossa (Red Creek) is named after one of the bloodiest battles ever fought here between Romans and Carthaginians during the Punic Wars, after which the sea turned red. Nowadays, the dominating colors are blue, crystal, turquoise, dark blue, the gray of tuff caves, yellow-pink-white of the girls’ bikini.
It’s perhaps the “feel of home”, but even Captain slows down and lets us enjoy the panorama of Cala Azzurra, one of the most beautiful creeks in the Mediterranean; Lido Burrone, with one of the few beaches on the island; the promontory Punta Lunga, where the gulls nest; Cala Rotonda, where legend has it that Ulysses landed, then the lighthouse of Punta Sottile, the esplanade of Cala Pozzo and, at the end of the journey, here are the Faraglioni, where the sea is always very, very agitated.
And then finally the calm waters of the harbor and the town of Favignana, and Playa (the other beach of the island, all the rest is rock and tuff.)
And there it’s truly… “ET phone home”.
Last but not least appointment with our tour of the Egadi Island next week! Save the date, we are going to discover the amazing Erice! Stay tuned:)
Photo by payhere
About the Author
Andrea Guerriero Hi, I'm Andrea, a travel blogger, web programmer, seo apprentice and amateur photographer based in Milan. I love reading, I love music. I love to travel but only if I leave on a mission! I've been traveling through most of Europe and I love writing about it. I love photography, especially as a way to document experiences, places, events. My Nikon D300 camera is always with me, and it helps me in sharing my life with the rest of the world. Getting in touch with new people, different life styles and foreign traditions, and write about it, is all I can ask for.
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