Salemi, Sicily, Italy

    So you have probably have never heard of Salemi and there isn't a ton there but it is a town that I really wanted to visit while I was in Sicily. My intentions though weren't for sightseeing. Earlier in the year I had read an article about a town that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. Much of the old town was still in rubble and the townsfolk had resettled in the valley below. Now in an attempt to boost the local economy and regenerate the town the mayor decided to sell the crumbling properties for one euro. About a buc fifty. The only stipulation was that you have to fix the property up to historic regulations in the next two years. Sounded good enough for me. Upon arrival I was a little confused; I thought I would see hardly any buildings. Instead I was greeted by a town that had the majority of building being lived in. And perched on the top of the hill above the old town was a grand castle with a trivial history as well. There were lots needing work and abandoned but they were mixed in with the rest of the community. After touring the castle I headed to the back streets and found what I had come looking for. There were more and more buildings just sitting empty. And at the bottom of a grand marble staircase there was an entire complex just empty and crumpling away. They needed a lot of work and I am no expert but they looked far from ready for the wrecking ball. I walked to the bottom of the stairs and went in to one of the houses. The floors were all slanting a good bit. It wasn't a large property, but I fell in love with it almost instantly. The view out the back overlooked the many groves of grapes and olive trees below. And off in the distance was the glistening of the ocean. My heart was won; I was in love with this town. I took some pictures and headed back in to town.

I was greeted by hoards of old men and women running errands. Most of them looked at me a bit oddly as I had my huge back, paddy cap, and flip flops on. As they were all dressed quit proper I didn't really fit in. There didn't seem to be many people my aged in town. Only school kids who didn't have a choice where they lived and the people who had been there their entire life. As it was getting dark quick I headed up the mountain looking for a camping spot. The views from the top were stunning. I sipped on some local wine and enjoyed a prosciutto and cheese roll I had bought at the market earlier. Taking it all in, I was contemplating how I can buy one of these properties and become a part of my new love, the Salemi community. As there are only two busses between Palermo and salami I had to be up early. The last bus leaves at 8 am and I had to hike back in to town. As I sat and waited I was greeted by two girls my aged asking me in Italian if the bus had come for Palermo yet. I gestured that it hadn't and that I didn't speak Italian. Then she said, oh you speak English. Turns out the two girls were there for an archeological dig fro there university. They asked what in the heck I was doing there as in the year they had been there they hadn't seen a backpacker. I quickly explained and then the bus came. When we arrived in Palermo the girls asked if I wanted to join them for a coffee. Indeed I did and we discussed what they were doing there for uni and what my intentions were there in more detail. They also wanted to relocate there but to a house that was livable, not in shambles. They also told me how the younger people in Italy didn't want to have anything to do with old houses. AS soon as they had enough money they would build a new one and move away for the historic old towns. This is one of the reasons no one wants many of the properties in Salemi. I do however, and I'll just have to wait and see if I can't get my hands on one. Who knows, maybe I'll have the two girls as neighbors. It was great to meet them and learn more about the town. I'll definitely have to keep in touch.

Next stop, Greece. So getting from Sicily to Greece isn't that easy. As Matt found out, it takes several trains, a lot of patience, and two ferry rides. I left Palermo for Villa San Giovanni. The town just back on mainland Italy. I only had a half hour to make my connecting train and as luck would have it my train was running 40 minutes late. Luckily I met a really nice Italian journalist that spoke English. She had picked it all up from books and said she never really spoke it. She could have fooled me. To save some time she said I should leave the train and take the ferry via foot. It's to me an odd setup but to get from Sicily to Italy they load the trains on a ferry and unload on the other side. It takes about an hour. However if you get off the ferry and walk to the train station you can save a half hour. This proved to be true and I made my connection by less than 5 minutes. Had I stayed on the train I surely would have missed it. 12 hours of trains and I am now in Bari, where the ferry to Greece leaves from. I have to wait until eight tonight and I will be on my way. 16 hours on a ferry, Woohoo!