Welcome to Agrigento

Our bus does not leave until 1315 so we sleep in a bit and then go upstairs for breakfast. We eat in the kitchen of the owners home and there is another couple at the table who are staying here also. They are Italian and at first are just speaking Italiano with Miko. We are introduced to Benito and Maria and I ask if he speaks English. He says very little and I tell him I am sure it is more than my Italian. It turns out his English is very good, I think it is even better than our host. They are from Milan and here on vacation. We have a nice conversation, sometimes they revert to Italian but it is good practice to try and understand some and then they explain to me as best they can in English. Alessandra, Mikos wife joins us for a while before she has to leave for work. We went up at 0830 and are talking until almost 1030. It is a nice relaxing start to our morning. The food is very good also. We have crepes filled with pistachio cream, chocolate filled pastry, cheese, cannoli, and other Italian specialties. Everything is good. When we are done talking, Miko wraps us up a large quantity of items to go. I think we could live a few days on it.
Back in the room we shower and pack. At around 1215 we say our goodbyes to Miko and head out toward the bus station. We hear and see a vehicle with a loudspeaker on it start to come down the street. The driver is speaking over the loudspeaker. Some older ladies come out of their homes and he stops, takes the cover off the back and they can buy their fruits and vegetables. Kind of like the ice cream man except with more practical items. We saw one of these yesterday afternoon but did not know what he was saying or selling. I imagine they are announcing t they have and the specials of the day. It feels like we have stepped back in time.
The walk to the piazza and bus station is pretty simple. When we are entering the piazza, the same man who gave us information yesterday, sees us and says bus to Caltinisetta does not leave where he told us but the opposite side of the square. This concurs with what the gas station guy told me yesterday so I tell him the he is very kind in Italian. He is either the mayor or the local mafia guy watching over all who come and go from his spot on the piazza. We obviously looked like we needed help. We go to where he pointed and again there are no signs anywhere for our bus. We have 30 minutes or so and we watch both sides of the piazza. School lets out while we wait and the stop is inundated with kids. A bus comes that is not ours and they push and shove to get on it until it is full. About twenty do not make it on. In the meantime, another wave of kids get out. We kind of fit in with our packs although they are a bit larger. I tried to ask a bus driver or two if we were in the right spot but they either do not know or won’t give out info on rival bus companies. Between 1310 and 1315, two buses pull up but they are not ours. I see a smaller bus pull in behind them and go look. It is our bus, yea, I am happy now. We get on and he does not want me to pay now. Driving away and a little bit out of town, we stop and another guy gets on. He is the ticket guy so we,pay our fare and all is good. This was the tricky part of today’s journey as there are only 3 buses a day to Caltinisetta and once there the connecting bus company runs about every hour to Agrigento.

Caltinisetta Bus Station

We arrive at Caltinisetta 10 minutes late but with 20 minutes until the next bus. There is a ticket booth, so I buy our tickets and he tells me the bus stops right there. We find a bench in the shade and wait. It has really gotten warm, definitely mid 90’s or better. We people watch until our bus arrives right on Sicilian time about 15 minutes late. Next stop Agrigento. We cruise across the Sicilian countryside amid quite a bit of road construction. We arrive in Agrigento at 1610, only 15 minutes behind schedule. We find a bench and I was going to check out the bus situation for when we leave when a lady approaches us and says Charles Zerilli. I guess the news of my celebrated arrival in Siciliy has spread throughout the island. Or we look different than the locals with our big backpacks. It is Federica from our BNB and she has come to drive us to our room. I had sent her an e mail telling her the bus we were on and that we would then walk to the BNB so she had our estimated time of arrival. We did not ask or expect her to pick us up but we are glad she did. We are staying in the old town and the walk up the hill would not have been fun in the very hot weather. Her small Italian macchina with air condition is molto bene. She does not speak a lot of English but I can get the gist of most of what she says in Italian as she points out things along the drive. Reaching the BNB she explains breakfast,,we have a menu of items we can choose from and we can pick the time as well.

Sesame Seed Cookies and Malvasia

Then she shows us local specialty, sesame seed cookies, which I tell her my mom and grandmother would get in New York. Also, there is Malvasia wine, a Sicilian dessert wine, which I experienced in Italy on our last trip. I drank a bottle and became very happy, quite possibly squeezing a statues ass in the process, but that is just a rumor. She shows us our table downstairs for tomorrow breakfast and the room is open for us to use, juice in the fridge, tea,, and coffee. Our table has a bottle of wine on it and she says we can have it here or she can bring it to our room. We think the room is the way to go. We had a choice of rooms and chose the blue room. It is very bluetiful and very clean. A little table with a blue decanter with some type of Italian liqueur, chairs, and a small balcony. We love the feel and vibe of this place and the owner. After explaining a few things to do and showing us on the map how to get around, Federica says ciao and we are on our own.
When we finally decide to go out to eat,,we promptly get misplaced on the map and have to find ourselves. Not easy without any street signs that correlate with our map. We just keep going downhill knowing that will eventually get us near the bus station and the street we want. Finally, there is a sign and we are relocated. We get to Via Atenea which is what we should have come down and find a restaurant to try. Carol gets a prawn and presto dish, I am in the mood for some red sauce so get pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce.

Pasta with Eggplant and Tomato

We get a light antipasto of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, and basil. After dinner, we get our bearings and find the way up to our BNB, even though it is not the direct line it shows on the map. We call it a night after a night cap of sesame seed cookie and Malvasia for me, a little amaretto liqueur for Carol. I think we will like it here.
Expenses
Bus from Piazza Armerina to Caltinisetta 11.8E
Bus from Caltinisetta to Agrigento 12.8E
Dinner and Wine at Naïf Restaurant 36E
BNB Liola 76E
Walked 3 Miles