On The Road Again

Left Casteldaccia at 9AM after settling up for the month’s Hydro usage (48E!) and hit the Autostrada for Messina. After some mucking about on the docks, finally found the right pier and ferry, waited ½ hour, then spent another ½ hour in the ferry before finally being liberated near the Autostrada on-ramp on the other side and heading off northeast.

We cut across the instep of Italy's boot through Calabria to the top of the heel and wound up on a good but slow two-lane road (SS106) through Cortone to our next stop, the resort hotel Roscianum Club Residence in Rossano Calabro for the night.

This part of Italy is hugely different from what we’d seen so far, being modern and loaded with beach resorts that apparently are the secret summer vacation spots for Italians. Few Duomos, castles, Roman ruins, foreigners etc., just miles of beach and (in October) no tourists. The vegetation is different than that of Sicily and the Olive trees here are huge, gnarled affairs that have obviously been producing for hundreds of years.

The hotel is quite nice, new with an enormous Club Med type swimming pool in the central courtyard, a play area for the kiddies and its own outdoor amphitheatre for summer shows. Unfortunately, its restaurant doesn’t open until 8PM and they have no Diet Coke.

So off we ventured into the nearby town, found a huge, chain-type grocery store and started looking for things to make our own supper. In one corner was a take-out counter that was happy to sell me a mound of fried chicken and fries for 3.99E and a beer for 0.80E. One lady bought a pre-made, family-sized lasagne, had it heated up and went off home to feed her mob. We ate standing up at their tables, picked up essentials like Coke and returned to the resort one-half hour before the resto even opened. Just can’t eat late anymore…..