After a short Zodiac ride we embarked our buses with local guides and went up into the hills to reach the town of Taormina.
Naxos was the first Greek settlement at Sicily. Soon a harbor was established but the town was later destroyed by invaders. The next settlement to be built was Taormina. This time they looked for a safer place, easier to protect. Of course, building further up on the hillside was advantageous and made it possible to defeat any intruders.
Today Taormina houses a beautiful ancient theater built in traditional Greek style but later rebuilt by the Romans. The photo shows the theater, and the Caledonian Star in the distance, in the harbor.
The town also gave everybody a chance to stroll around and feel the flavor of the Sicilian delights. Remember that most of the ingredients for the good food we always associate with Italy has been brought in from somewhere else -- for example, pasta was brought by Marco Polo from China. What would Italian cooking be without tomatoes from South America and most of the spices from all over the world? Still, the Italians have become the best in mixing all these ingredients.
In the town of Taormina, a walk down the pedestrian Corso Umberta offers a mixture of small boutiques and cafes and the ceramics are particularly good. Of course some of us could not resist all the shops.
After lunch we had an easy afternoon. Some of us went into Naxos to explore the town, others preferred the beach and some of us did a swim from the Zodiacs. It was relaxing and maybe something we needed after three very busy days at Sicily. We need to process our impressions. Still, in the late afternoon our historian gave a lecture about the history of the Mafia. At 6 o'clock Caledonian Starsailed for Greece. Our excellent chef had prepared the dinner with lots of local flavor. It was our last touch of Italy and Sicily on this tour.
