I’ve been fascinated with the island of Sicily ever since we rented an apartment near Taormina in 2015.  This year I wanted to explore Southwestern Sicily’s ancient Mediterranean cities and do it by bicycle at a different pace. I booked a tour with Experience Plus, a bicycle tour company I’ve used a number of times in the past. They know Italy almost better than anyone as they have an Italian base and hire really outstanding guides. For this tour we had the amazing Lisa and Alain. I can’t imagine anyone better! Their bikes are lightweight titanium and they even have ebikes.  Come along with me as we explore ancient temples, taste Sicilian delicacies and wines, and make new travel discoveries on this beautiful island.

I’m in the garden of the Hotel Colleverde in Agrigento ,waiting for my friend from Paris, Philippe Auzas.

We enjoyed lunch down the street at Trattoria dei Templi. The sea bass was fabulous along with a Semedorato beer!

After our group assembled we took the Experience Plus van down the hill to tour the “Valley of the Temples”, an Unesco World Heritage site. Our temple guide, Lorenzo, took us to see the Temple of Juno, also called the Temple of Hera, after the wife of Zeus, the Goddess of fertility.  Built about the 5th century B.C., the temples’ columns were originally painted white as marble was scarce in Sicily.

Group portrait next to the Temple of Concordia.

Lorenzo Capraro gave us a fascinating history of the area. Check out this link to Lorenzo on the National Geographic Channel giving a personal tour in the ‘Valley of the Temples.”

The scale of the Valley of the Temples is impressive and is filled with Greek and Roman ruins.

This is actually a modern bronze casting and part of a recent art exhibit.

“Smile”everyone!

Our first night’s group dinner featured an assortment of traditional Sicilian delicacies. Our antipasti plate included a delicious Caponata, Arancini, and a few anchovies.

The pasta is called “Busiate” and is typical for this area of Sicily.

There were others raring to hit the road this morning. This was a group of British vintage car enthusiasts heading out for their Sicily tour. That was a fine Bentley!

Our route today was from Agrigento to Sciacca on the coast. This is a very typical view of the countryside with vineyards and olive trees absolutely everywhere!

A unique feature of Experience Plus tours is their “Arrows!” One of the guides goes out on  the road before the group and marks chalk arrows for us to follow. I have found their ‘Arrows” to be immensely helpful on their tours in Italy and France.

Bicycle racing fans  (called “tifosi” in Italian) painted the road in support of a favorite rider. The Italian road race, the Giro d’Italia was on this road the week before!

The countryside was interesting though we really had to concentrate on the road surface in front of us! There were many holes to navigate around in many places.  I was also very surprised to see so much trash and litter around Sicilian roadways!

We made a quick coffee stop in the town of Ribera before tackling the long and steep road up to ancient town of Caltabellotta. The day was long and hot but everyone made it to the top!

We finally road into the port city of Sciacca. (Pronounced “shack-a”) I was totally wiped out so I put on my compression recovery socks and laid in bed watching the Giro d’Italia in my hotel room. I needed a break before dinner in town with Philippe. 

Sciacca has it’s charms if you overlook the less than pleasing newer construction. The old medieval quarter is high up in the town and is serviced by steep narrow lanes down to the port. The Greeks used the thermal springs as early as the 7th century BC. The Romans used it a a mail service hub and the Arabs used it as a trading port for North Africa.

I made a 7:30 PM reservation at Ristorante Hostaria del Vicolo on an ancient lane near the port. The Italians have dinner very late and many restaurants don’t open before 7:30! Philippe looks hungry!

We both settled on the 6 course degustation menu. We ordered a bottle of a Feudo Montoni “Perricone del Core”, a totally new grape for me! I must say we both loved it!

The starter was this beautiful glass plate of seafood! Amazing flavors and so fresh!

Next came the fried octopus. Yumm!

My favorite was this torteloni filled with Monkfish.

The pasta made with red fish arrived next. Very tasty!

Delicious sea bass!

And to finish,….some desert delicacies! Amazing meal and we both felt it was the best,…so far!

The walk back to the hotel was needed to work off all those calories! Loved this Vespa scooter!

Sciacca is known as a center for ceramic production and you can see its use all over the place.

The walk back up the steep steps to our hotel had a certain magic to it on that quiet Sciacca evening.

Photos: Dick Gentry

NEXT WEEK WE’LL TRAVEL TO MARSALA, ERICE, AND TRAPANI AND DISCOVER NEW SICILIAN SURPRISES!