Cefalu, the last Sicilian adventure.

Arriving in Cefalu, I left the train station with no plan ahead of me. I had no map, no address scribbled down, and no plans of where to stay that night. I only had one night that was growing shorter by the minute and half a day to see the small town of Cefalu, but my first task was securing a place to sleep. After wandering around for some time, my bag growing heavier, I popped into a tourist information point and met a very chatty Italian man who was able to call a B&B for me to try, and they said they were on there way to pick me up. When they didn’t arrive he started carrying on about the apartments he rents out, but I was still set on the idea of a cheap B&B and didn’t allow him to sell me on this idea. That was until he called back to check on the status of their arrival and found out they had rented out their last room while I was waiting. Full of solutions, he told me not to worry because he would call “his guy” who showed up in a minute to escort me to the surprisingly reasonably priced apartment for the night. Walking down the main road, passing the Duomo Cathedral and adorable streets, and stepping into the large spacious apartment all just for me, I began wishing for more nights in Cefalu. Alas, my return ferry ticket had already been purchased to Napoli and I had to leave the next day. After collecting loads of advise from “the guy” about what to see that night and the following day he left me to it.

The following morning, well rested from a peaceful sleep in a room of my own, I got up early and began exploring. After wandering the streets aimlessly for some time, I visited the plaza of the Duomo Cathdral, exploring the inside while trying to eavesdrop some information from all the tours going through, since some of them were in English. Continuing on I decided to climb up, “La Rocca,” the giant mountain rock that sits behind Cefalu, and at the top is full of many historical ruins including a large castle and the Temple of Diana, which is made from massive stones. Though not quite as large, the people of Cefalu relate the creation of the Temple to the mystery of Stonehenge, both leaving archeologists puzzled about how such massive stones would be transported during the time of its creation. On the hike up I underestimated the height of the rock, and was exhausted by the time I was only a quarter of the way to the top, stopping often not only to bask in the scenery but mostly to catch my breathe. Reaching the top you can see all of Cefalu, along the beaches and every building in sight. After exploring the Temple of Diana and some of the other sights, I trekked back down to find the recommended beach from “the guy” and spent the last couple hours of my time in Cefalu people watching on the beach and enjoying the sea before heading off to the train station once again.