In a time when we have to stay at home to avoid the contagion of this ugly epidemic it comes to tell a path I did last spring in Favignana, more or less in this period. Enjoy the reading.
Text and photos: © Giorgio De Simone
The path in soft red that starts from ball
Nice day, it's 7:30 of the morning.
Today I want to try a path from Cala Rotonda runs along the cliff to get to almost Cala Stornello.
The bus leaves me in the district Case Canini, shortly after the release of the only island tunnel linking the east wing of the island in the shape of butterfly wing west.
Here the sun has just popped gives Monte Santa Caterina. It's spring. Green triumphs. The flowers are in bloom almost all. The Mediterranean perfumes is strong.
The stone walls are adorned at the base by an incredible amount of wild fennel… just touch it with his feet in the air emanates a cool heady scent.
The stones of the walls emerge almost camouflaged the blacks geckos that seem set in stone. Less mimetic but not green flamboyant Sicilian endemic lizards Podarcis Wagleriana and together they take the first heat of the day. I can take pictures from very close… seem dormant.
Walking on the municipal road I enter in the dirt that is left. Here the borders of the properties are all made with dry stone walls. Works of art of ancient local artisans. The cart track stretches sunny between grain fields and small wooded areas, Aleppo pine and pine mainly.
But the typical shrub and bush are a joy for the eyes and the soul: During the entire journey even in the cliff it is all an explosion of life… absinthe, euforbie, lentisco, sea squill, coastal chamomile, Cupidone, convonvolo, thistle, the beautiful and delicate colored Silene, anemoni spontanei, garofanini, multicolored daisies, salsify… and more and more wild fennel almost fill the voids of the blooms. Bees make their incessant workings… but pollination is more interested…
arriving in Cala Rotonda, after a half-hour walk, I am seized with a sense of tranquility and peace… every time I see it… bella… shiny… beautiful… sunny and silent I always the same feeling… peace and tranquility… virtually for a moment I forget everything! In fact it is the syndrome of those who practice trekking… the sight of so much beauty of nature can only give you that feeling of being healthy that is facing life in another way.
The path is clear, along for a while the big circular bay and then, almost to the small beach, climb up the cliff and head between the rocks toward Cala Stornello. Here near the sea between sharp rocks and almost total absence of land… even here the nature explodes in a thousand colors and scents…
The path is almost absent but also because you can feel helped by GPS which contains a trace can follow it. But one can not enjoy the fantastic views offered here and the rugged coast impractical.
Golfetti and bays are alternated with cliffs almost to the sea are transformed into small sculptures carved by the incessant work of erosion and sea here exposed to the most important tides.
It is the world of the herring gull. He grazes his head as if to say… and you what are you doing here ? You can find it perched on a rocky peak or in flocks near the shoreline. But even the buzzards, overlooking the hinterland from the summit of Santa Caterina almost to the sea, the kestrel that always recognizes the typical flight to holy spirit, virtually stationary in the air looking for small prey on the fields ! And colonies of swifts moving fast emitting a pleasant sound wave along with boisterous eaters, bright colors and looks superb.
There are plenty of small finches that quickly hide in the bush inshore, where they nest among the rocks… and that accompany you along the way with their continuous harmonious song… what a show !
When you reach a plateau you can see clearly the sea side of the current rocks, beautiful to see outcrop just off the coast and is a popular destination for divers snorkelers. Here as elsewhere fishing is prohibited and the rules are dictated by the Marine Protected Area Aegadian Regulation.
Some blue butterflies welcome me to the slope that leads to Cala Stornello… even here the slightly different Mediterranean flora of the other side but just as important to me back slowly to the ring end with an ever raccordandomi dirt track that goes to the local road through sunny houses and pretty safe tourist use houses.
Leaving another I find myself turning on the municipal road, not before spotting a flock of bee resting on a tree.
I recently traveled more than 5 km in an hour and 45 minutes… but I recommend you do it more slowly… worth. But always to mornings, when nature wakes up and is already active before man !
All this can be done in one day trip from Trapani by hydrofoil.
Let me know if your feelings are the same as mine. If you need any information contact me: www.sicilyhiking.it
Safe journey in the island of the islands… Favignana.
You must log in to post a comment.