Arriving in Lipari

May 1 1998

7 455 words, 2.5kB

Prologue
Lipari
Arrival
The Main Drag
Masks

Prologue

After three days of almost constant driving, Anita and myself arrive in Sicilia (Sicily) deep down in the South of Italy, almost 2200km away from out starting point near Frankfurt in Germany. Sicily lies further south than the northern edge of Africa, a position making for very hot and dry summers. The island is in fact so close to the black continent sand from the Sahara gets blown across the Mediterranean Sea, producing an orange-yellow haze hanging over the archipelago.

From our last camp in Nicolosi, south-east of Mt Etna, we go on a pleasant trip circling the volcano clock wise. A winding tour through the mountains takes us via Novarra di Sicilia to Milazzo on the Northern coast, where we catch the last ferry by arriving a full 10 minutes early.

With Sicily slowly disapperaing behind us, the Siremar ferry takes us to the Islole Eólie, the Islands of Eolus, the God of Winds.

Vulcano Sunset

It's very hazy, and though the southernmost island of Volcano lies only 20km off shore, Sicily quickly disappears on the horizon, giving us the feeling of leaving the continent and heading for a place in the middle of the ocean.

After two hours Vulcano is well in sight. We will stop here before landing in Lipari, the destination of our journey.

Lipari Islands at Sunset

What looks like a single landmass are in fact the hills and cones of three different islands.

Lipari

Lipari is the largest of the seven islands. Of the 10.000 inhabitants, almost half live in Lipari City, on the Eastern shore. The city skirts a prominent fortified rock which has been the focus of human settlement for thousands of years.

Two harbours, Marina Lunga and Marina Corta (the long and the short marina) lie north and south of the fortress. The Aliscafi, the hydrofoils, arrive and depart from Marina Corta, wheras the big ferries drop anchor at Marina Lunga. This is where our story begins.

Arrival

We arrive late, after 8pm, and it is already dark as our car rolls down the ramp. A couple of men and woman are offering appartments, but we want to go to the camping ground you save money and check the situation.

Camp Ground on Lipari

The camping ground isn't to far from Lipary City, but we "take the scenic route" before we find the street which takes us to Canneto, 3km further up North. Since the raod gets narrow and quite rough and because the wall around the ground looks a bit like a prison, we are not too delighted by our first impression. After some discussion we decide to stay, and look for something better tomorrow.

The place is almost empty, and we have free choice. We pick a spot close to the office and to the light, so Anita can feel safe, especially after the "Etna fright night" where she felt so spooked it infected me, too.

The Main Drag

Lipari Main Street

I'm so glad we came here in April. The streets are not crowded at all, but the number of tourists at this time of the year gives a hint on how it might be in high season. It's nicely warm, and not baking hot as it must be in summer.

Lipari Street Scene with Anita

So we enjoy the scenery, stroll along the streets and look what the shops have to offer.

Masks

The Local Pantheon in Clay

My guide has a picture of a shop which sells terra cotta ("baked earth") replicas of antique masks, and it's really hard to miss it on the way up to the fortress.

A large vitrine shows the whole Pantheon in clay, and some of the heads are available in up to four sizes, all with different level of detail, and of course with largely varying price tags.

Anita and Patata