I Saw a Sign

Day 68

As my alarm when off my brain protested. I had sat up way too late and now I could really feel it. Still, I showered and got my act together to move on. I made the 11 am bus to Catania, despite grabbing water and only have 15 minutes to get there!

I have about a 45 minute time span in which I can carry my bag comfortably. The hotter its been getting the harder it has gotten to carry the dumb thing around. When I got off of the bus I was really confused about where I was and my map was really inadequate. It was just a flyer that I had picked up about the hostel I was staying at. The first person I asked for directions sent me the wrong way and then when he saw me come back he laughed. Jackass. Thankfully a kind pharmacist left his store for a minute to point me in the right direction.

Even with his help I was missing a few streets on the map and was confused. When I got to the Duomo I knew that I was close, but didn’t know how close or which way. Then I smelled the fish market, I knew from the flyer that my hostel was right next to that. When I was just about to wander out of a small square I saw a miniature sign pointing towards the hostel. It had been about 1.5 hours since the bus had dropped me off and I was thrilled to find the hostel.

I attempted to book a tour to Mt. Etna for the next day, but it was full and I ended up with a reservation for Thursday instead. I was quick about dropping my stuff off so that I would have some time left to see the sites.

After wandering aimlessly for some time I did manage to visit the Duomo. The building is not remarkable, but there were some interesting landmarks. The mummy of Cardinal Dusmet was there. His face is covered by a metal mask, but his 300 years are apparent on his uncovered hands. Vincenzo Bellini, the singer, is also buried here. He was born in Catania and also has a house and museum here.

Catania’s patron saint is St. Agatha. She is very recognizable in art because she is the woman holding a plate with her breasts on them. She refused to renounce her faith so her breasts were cut off and then she was forced to roll in hot coals until she died. Her grave is here as well, however it is behind a gate that is only opened once a year and today was not that day.

Earlier in the day I had met two traveling Canadians, John and Emily. I ran into them again when I went to happy hour at the bar and they invited me to join them. They taught me how to play crazy 8’s. I don’t know if I got it or not, but it was still fun. John and Emily had a tour in the morning and called it an early night. I followed soon after.

D’OH!

Day 67

I slept late, later than I had wanted and later than my midnight bedtime warranted. It didn’t really matter though, I didn’t have a clue about what to do with myself. It was Monday and all of the museums were closed, in fact, some of the stores and restaurants were even closed. Weird.

After some aimless wandering and a fruitless search for a new pair of jeans (my have a few holes) I took a cappuccino break to regroup and figure out what to do with myself.

Ortigia is a very small island that is connected by boat to Siracusa. I think that it’s the oldest bit of town and it is certainty the most attractive. You can also get really good views of the water all around it. Feeling like there was very little other choice I spent a few hours exploring just about every street. At one point I found an aquarium, but the woman there seemed more interested in her phone conversation and after several minutes I simply wandered away.

Back at the hostel there were two empty beds in my room. Dorothee and the rude Irish chick had left. I spent some time reading before Katrina and Summer wandered in. They were sisters from Kansas. Katrina had been teaching a group of American students and Summer was along for the ride. We got to talking and decided to find some food. The kabob place was closed and the only other cheep option was to hit up the grocery store. Our hostel didn’t have a kitchen so we ended up with some pretty interesting dinners.

Almost as soon as we had gotten back Christina came in, she had picked up a grocery store meal as well. We made a little picnic in our room. We spent a really long time talking. When it got later Katrina was ready for sleep so the three of us headed downstairs to the common room.

We ate in our room because the cable guy was in the common room earlier. I was amazed to find that they had sky cable. We got to watch the Simpsons, Southpark, CSI and Sex in the City all in English! Summer and Christina retired long before I could get my eyes off of the tv. Too soon there was nothing left to watch and I headed upstairs myself.

20,000 Reasons to Visit

Day 66
I was up early for one of the two daily buses to Siracusa. In Sicily its better to take the buses than the trains. Palermo was much calmer on a Sunday morning. I didn’t feel like I was about to die every time I crossed the street!

The bus was only about 3 hours so I figured that there wouldn’t be any stops. In Spain the buses never stopped until they had been going at least 3. 5 hours, if not longer. I was surprised when after only about an hour of driving we made a bathroom stop. I don’t know if it was so much of a bathroom stop or a smoke break though.

My hostel was super easy to find and the people working there we genuinely friendly. I set off to find some food and to see the sites. The only problem was that it was Sunday and even most of the restaurants were closed. The other problem was that my map sucked. I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Eventually I found a place called Pizza Box that was decorated in American paintings and got a slice. While I was eating I realized that the place I had been looking for was actually right across the street.

When I had finished I headed over for a tour of the St. Giovanni Catacombs. Above ground was the ruins of the St. Giovanni Church. The oldest bits date to the 1^st century, however most of it was built during the 6^th century. The Normans made some structural changes in the 12^th century and then in 1693 the roof collapsed. The space is still used for services from time to time.

Part two of the tour is the 1^st century Crypt of St. Marchano. This was built before the original basilica above. Greek columns from other buildings were reused here, but not until the 10^th century when the original roof collapsed. A few 12^th century Byzantine style mosaics could be seen. They were only partial and it was not possible to tell who they were meant to represent. The remains of St. Marchano’s tomb is here. There was a hole cut out in the stone so that people could reach in and touch him. His body was moved some years ago to another place in Italy, I can’t remember where too.

The third, last, and most interesting part of the tour was originally a Greek aqueduct. By the fourth century when the Christians began to use it as a cemetery hit had been out of use for some time. There were about 10,000 graves dug out here, however it is estimated that there used to be about 20,000 people buried here. All of the remains have been removed. Most of the graves were either nitches in the wall or dug into the floor. Sometimes families would have their own areas, small caves were dug out for this. The cisterns for the aqueduct were used to burry some of the most prominent people. All of the graves would have been covered by a stone slab, but these are now missing. There are miles and miles of tunnels and you could get very lost very easily.

So what happened to all of the bodies? When the Basilica was built in the 6^th century the bodies of church officials and important citizens were moved into it. The cemetery, and the rest of the bodies were not discovered until the 17^th century and it wasn’t for another two hundred years did archeologist start exploring and studying the site. At this point the bodies were still there. At the outbreak of WWII Siracusa was in need of a large bomb shelter. The crypts were cleaned out and the remains put into a cemetery just outside of the city. I can’t imagine having to hide in a place where there used to be 20,000 bodies. It’s creepy. The pictures I have up of this are from postcards as you cannot take pictures inside.

After the tour I wandered over to the Greek theater. Some guy hassled me a bit, making lewd noises from his car, but I ignored him and he drove away. When I got to what I thought was the theater I was happy to see that it was free, even if there wasn’t a lot left of it. As it turned out this was just a mini theater and the big one, which is still in use today, was quite expensive to see. I decided to skip it, I’ve seen a few theaters like this before and I am sure that when I get to Greece I will visit more than I can deal with.

Back at my hostel I met a very nice Parisian named Dorothee. Dorothee worked as a poet, painter, and rewriter. The way she put it she took bad books and made them into slightly less bad books. Dorothee was intrigued by the idea of my trip and insisted on picking up the tab for dinner. I argued but didn’t get anywhere. I made her promise that we could grab a drink when I get to Paris in August.

When we finished eating we returned to the hostel to find the other two beds occupied. One was by a very friendly Swede named Christina, and the other a very rude Irish girl who clearly didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Everyone seemed to be pretty worn out and we didn’t chat long before turning off the light.