So last week I quit my job. And now we’re in Sicily. Greetings from the sunny Mediterranean! And sunny it is, a wonderful departure from the snowy and dark northern latitudes where our journey began. We find ourselves this first week in the small town of San Vito Lo Capo, living that peninsula life in northwestern Sicily.
Winter: The Low Season in San Vito Lo Capo
It’s incredible to imagine the ebb and flow of people in and out of San Vito Lo Capo. The town is built on a flat strip of land by the sea, surrounded by what is otherwise uninhabitable steep, craggy slopes and white limestone ridges. The landscape is stunning.
But no one is here.
In the peak summer months, throngs of beach people descend on this small town. I suppose an equally impressive number of Sicilians join them to support the surge in the form of cooks, maids, bakers, and hotel staff.
Nearly every door in the city center serves the tourist machine. There are endless ristoranti, trattorie (they’re different, allegedly), panifici, and bars (which are actually cafes). You will find hundreds of hotels, BnB’s, and jewelry shops.
And they’re virtually all shuttered in February. It’s as if the Coronavirus swept through months ago, wiping out nearly everyone and leaving only shaggy, leashless dogs and a shit load of cats, none of whom speak English.
“Here cane. Hi there sweet cane.”
“Di cosa sta parlando quell’uomo?”
When I walk the city streets, I feel like I’m in a bad end-of-days movie, one with no happy ending. I can imagine all the options one would have in peak season, yet virtually none are available to me now.
Frustratingly to an internet-whipped American, the shop keepers also don’t update their Google hours of operation. I’m led to believe that most of these businesses are open, only to arrive and find no sign of life.
Basically, when it comes to the town of San Vito Lo Capo, it’s a ghost town in winter.
So why did we fly across the world for a beach resort town in February?
The Limestone
The limestone baby!
There’s so much of it, and that’s a good thing for a sport climber like myself. I also chose this spot for the first half of our winter vacation because I found, through experience, that Mrs. CC is much more willing to support my climbing obsession if it involves short approaches and cliffs by the sea. While she could appreciate the mountaintop majesty of Ceuse, France, she was enamored with the sea-cliffs of Tijuana in last year’s trip to Mallorca, Spain.
I now live in Colorado⏤an alleged climbing mecca⏤but I find that the climbing is better in many other places, especially when it comes in the form of steep limestone. And Europe is king when it comes to exploring endless pale-white bellies of rounded limestone cliffs. And espresso. Oh, and Italian (or French, or Spanish) food. And wine.
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Shall we discuss the weather? I don’t know if we were lucky or what, but we had nearly consistent sun, low 60s, and no rain.
Below are some sample photographs from each of the four crags we visited. I’d say the quality of the climbing improved from day to day, all being excellent and within a 10-25 minute drive of our Airbnb. Approaches are minimal. The climbing style is also highly variable: crimps, pockets, slopers, jugs, slab, vertical, steep…and my personal favorite: tufas!
In general though, endurance climbing is the name of the game here.
Lodging in San Vito Lo Capo
And the climbers are here, but not in any great abundance. We’ve met friendly climbers from Germany, Spain, and a gaggle of folks from Poland. Who knew?
Two campgrounds in town⏤La Pineta and El-Bahira, which are hardly roughing it⏤house pasty Europeans in search of sunny and warm rock. Climbers may be the only tourists this time of year, but at least we’re not alone! A fair number of visitors have even ferried their vans across the Mediterranean, posting up in post-card quality alcoves by the sea. It’s comforting to know that these peaceful options still exist somewhere in the world in 2020.
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On these sorts of trips, I tend to try and downplay the climbing portion to please Mrs. CC. For instance, I’ll generally try and find accommodations away from “the scene” to make the trip feel less like a climbing trip. This trip is no different.
We chose an Airbnb in the city center. At $53/night (all taxes and fees included), the deal is phenomenal for what we’re getting. We have a very roomy two bedroom flat with a full kitchen, bathroom, and rooftop deck and solarium. I suspect this place goes for $200+ nightly in the peak season.
And of course, as we’ve mentioned in the post How to Fly to Europe for Free, we use reward credit cards to either purchase or “erase” travel-related purchases. So in the end, we’re staying here for…$0.
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In the case of San Vito Lo Capo, I actually wish we would have stayed at one of the campgrounds. They are mini-villages, lively and offering various levels of accommodation, from tent camping to full bungalows. The social experience to meet other climbers and travelers from across the globe is not a common occurrence back home in Colorado.
Rest Day Options: Erice and Trapani
A variety of rest day options exist around San Vito Lo Capo, but the mountain-top village and castle of Erice jumps off the page.
The town is precariously situated on dodgy-looking cliffs of choss, nearly 2500 feet above the valley floor and beaches below. A pucker-inducing narrow road takes you slowly to the top, where the old castle (Castello di Venere) has stood in various forms since the Norman period.
In town, you will find the typical over-priced and under-quality offerings. We stopped for an espresso and I was strong-armed into getting some sort of “caffè della casa” ⏤or “house special”⏤involving swirling pistachio cream (with large nut chunks) in my coffee. In other words, a way of getting an extra Euro out of my pocket.
We did, however, enjoy visiting the Pasticceria Maria Grammatico, allegedly a very famous pastry shop. The cannoli was excellent, and we had the shop to ourselves. Another perk of off-season travel.
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Food in San Vito Lo Capo
Do you like cooking Italian food? Great! Because you are going to cook most of the meals you eat.
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There are two (small) supermarkets and a couple of other small mini-marts with fresh produce and a small selection of daily essentials. We had one good bakery in walking distance from our apartment.
The Deco supermarket is the main market for the town center, and it has everything you need. The deli section is crammed with loads of Italian cheeses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cured meats, and minor amounts of cured fish (sardines, anchovies). The pasta section, as with all markets in Sicily, is the main event. Gluten is lovingly embraced in Sicily, and I happily rise to meet the quality of the glutenous excellence.
Across the street from the Deco supermarket is the pescheria, serving incredible seafood by a very friendly fish monger. Between my robust, three-word Italian vocabulary, Google Translate, and his limited English, we were able to purchase and have prepped a variety of very fresh and tasty seafood options. Be aware that local supermarket chains only sell frozen seafood. They appear to respect the local fishermen, and you’ll need to search for the pescharia or markets where fish and other seafood is sold separately. Although mildly annoying, I appreciate this stance.
In essence, even in the low of the low season, finding good food in Sicily is not a chore. But in San Vito Lo Capo, you’ll probably want to do most of the cooking yourself, owing to the lack of available restaurants and cafes. Below are some photos of some of our favorite home-cooked meals.
San Vito Lo Capo Sunsets
The sunsets are simply awesome. And I don’t use this over-used word lightly. Each day presents a new sunset different from the last, but far better than most I’ve seen anywhere. Words don’t capture it, so here’s a couple of attempts in photograph.
Stay Tuned for More
We’ve already moved on from San Vito, crossing Sicily in search of more lively accommodations in the port city of Syracuse (Siracusa). I suspect the next week will involve less climbing, and more cultural affairs (read: fattening up on food and wine).
If you are looking for a mid-winter climbing escape with plenty of sun, great rock, and fewer crowds than the meccas in Spain, San Vito Lo Capo makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that amenities are few, but enough. Restaurants and other evening entertainment options are almost certainly closed for the season, but the views along the endless rugged coastline are free. And they shall provide.
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Thanks guys, see you next week.