Wednesday, April 8, 2015
During the night we followed a
course north and easterly from Valletta towards the Strait of Messina, a narrow
passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in
the south of Italy. This connects the
Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the
central Mediterranean Sea.
Messina is just 3 miles from the
mainland of Italy and the third largest city in Sicily. The city offers relatively new architecture after
surviving a series of natural disasters, a 1908 earthquake that turned into a
tidal wave and of course, the wars.
The main things to see and do in
this area of Sicily is visit Mt. Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano
that has erupted over 130 times in recorded history. Or visit Taormina, perched 700 feet above sea
level, and in existence since Roman times.
In the countryside there is also many vineyards and opportunities for
wine tasting.
In Messina, the Duomo is a 12th
century cathedral, with the world's largest astronomical clock that springs to
life every quarter hour and provides a grand display at noon. Unfortunately, the tower was covered in
scaffolding, undergoing refurbishment!
Weather today was quite chilly with
winds blowing and potential rain. With
an upper respiratory cold threatening to "join us again", we decided
to remain on board the ship.
We set sail for Sorrento, Italy at
6pm.
