Vendicari, a wildlife refuge, and Marzamemi, a fishing village

15th century Spanish watch tower, Vendicari

We left our hotel near Ragusa, Eremo della Giubiliana, reluctantly.  It is an old monastery where Benedictine monks lived in what was then a very isolated area, so is really a hermitage.  The owners have restored it beautifully.  They even have an airstrip next to 5 stone cottages they built.  We much preferred the monastery to the cottages.

young flamingos at Vendicari Nature Reserve

This morning, we visited the Vendicari Nature Reserve.  It is a pretty marshland area behind a long and beautiful beach.  There are flamingos, many kinds of ducks, herons, storks and other water birds in the lagoons and marshes.  In the 15^th century, the Spanish had a watch tower on a rocky point and, later, a tuna processing factory occupied the spot.  The fisherman would “herd” the tuna into a channel and then into cages and tubs where they would spear them before processing and packaging them.  Quite interesting to see how they managed the tuna in shallow waters.

ruined farmhouse in the Vendicari Reserve

old fishermen's houses in Marzamemi

We went on to Marzamemi, a charming old fishing village that is now quite a tourist attraction for Italians, American bicycling tours and European groups.  The central piazza is unusual.  It does have the customary church, but is surrounded by small stone fishermen’s houses rather than the typical large villas of the wealthy.  Today the houses are shops and restaurants, many with terraces overlooking the Mediterranean.

old fishermen's houses, now a restaurant in Marzamemi

There is a small local industry that makes delicious pates and spreads out of tuna and local fish.  We tasted half a dozen of these on small rounds of toasts.  If I came here on vacation, I would buy their jars of spreads and eat just those for my meals.  These spreads are fish roe, tuna, mackerel, sundried tomatoes, olives, of course, sometimes by themselves and sometimes mixed together.  The shop is packed with these delicacies which are very enticing.  If I didn't have just carry-on luggage, I'd take a supply home.

sunset over Siracusa's big harbor

On to Siracusa where we are staying in a rather funky hotel with a perfect location, on the island of Ortigia, the old center of Siracusa, home to decaying villas and palaces, a beautiful, renovated cathedral and Piazza Duomo, and a reconstructed castle that is off limits to all but military personnel.  The site is gorgeous, with clear turquoise water all around.  There are huge cut stones in the water off the sea wall which I assume were part of an ancient city wall.  Sunset over the bay was soft and lovely.