East Coast Sicily Day 8 Milazzo - Pozzallo

The next day is Monday and we get off to a relaxed start, cleaning the apartment and then getting to the port area with our luggage where we take the coach  to Messina. Enticingly there is a man selling delicious looking figs just next to the coach stop but the thought of sticky hands after dissuades us. The coach is on time and it's a smooth journey to Messina where the coach leaves us right in front of the railway station. But by now it's getting on for midday so we wheel our luggage just a few 100 metres as far as a Rosticceria. It's a bit early for lunch by Sicilian standards but there are quite a few options already ready, including arancini and we have a very satisfactory early lunch. Back at the railway station we get our tickets from the automatic machine and board the train early because it starts from Messina. Our journey takes us all along the coast so it's nice to look out of the window and see the scenery. The train is reasonably on time and we have a short wait in Siracusa. Here things slow down because the train leaves Siracusa late and then has some agonizing and mysterious waits in various places along the way. By the time we get to Pozzallo we can't wait to get off. The station in Pozzallo is totally boarded up and we make our way on foot towards the apartment, between modern but uninspiring apartment blocks. It's uncomfortable going up and down pavements with no slope and the trolley suitcases find it hard going. Finally, we arrive at our destination where our host's mother and grandmother are waiting for us. The apartment was cheap and looks it, although it is clean and very spacious. Looking on the Internet before, I had seen that Pozzallo as a town had nothing special to offer apart from the beach and the fact it was a convenient location for public transport to Modica, Ragusa, Scicli etc and I was surprised at the price of accommodation so late in the season, hence our choice. Nevertheless, there is everything one needs and the bedroom is roomy and comfortable and has air-conditioning. The other big advantage of the apartment is that it's above a supermarket so we are able to stock up and get all the mundane things over and done with immediately. We also discover it's strategically located one minute from an excellent Pasticceria which makes some of the best and/or biggest cannoli ever, directly to order.

We wander out for a look at Pozzallo and to get our bearings. The town is mostly modern but the beach looks immediately promising heading south, being sandy and firm for walking and a big relief after the Milazzo shingle. There is a also a castle right on the sea. We walk along the main road parallel to the sea where there is everything from the tourist information office to shops and restaurants and reach the beach at the other end where we espy a fishmongers which has just opened and where we are able to buy some local fish for our supper. By the time we get get back to the apartment, picking up some cannoli on the way, it is getting dusk and we are ready for a rest.