I couldn't photograph the Dancing Satyr but I did shoot the static dancers in this doorway.

The first place I went when I MedTrekked into Mazara del Vallo, a seaside town in northwestern Sicily that has a delightfully laidback North African feel about it, was to the two-room Museo del Satiro in the former Sant’Egidio church. I wanted to get an intimate photograph of the alabaster eyes of the dashing “Dancing Satyr” that is the highlight of the museum.

The alluring 2,400-year-old seven-foot high bronze statue, which gets its name from its flowing locks and flapping goat ears (it’s missing arms and a leg), was found by local fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea in March 1998 at a depth of 480 meters. Some experts believe it could be the work of Praxiteles, the hottest Attic sculptor in the 4^th BC.

Little did I know that the “Dancing Satyr” has more physical security than the “Mona Lisa.” There were six, yes six, humorless guards patrolling the tiny museum and throughout my half-hour visit, and I was the only visitor, one stuck to me like a mollusk to a bronze statue at the bottom of the Sicilian Canal.

There were also twelve signs indicating that photographs weren’t permitted and security cameras in every corner, cranny and nook. I politely asked about getting permission to take a photo of the statue’s alabaster eyes and was told to contact the “Sopraintentenza di Trapani,” though I’d hoped my request would simply encourage the guards to let me take a quick snap before I MedTrekked out of town.

No such luck. After an animated chat with the somber security officials about my ongoing walking adventure, and a few more pleasant minutes in the captivating presence of the seductive “Dancing Satyr,” I left the museum and took the above photo of these static dancers adorning the doorway across the street.

Then I headed south on the Lungomare Mazinni on a sunny, sirocco-windy day and continued down the seaside for thirty-three easy beach-walking kilometers until I arrived at the backdoor (no ticket office here!) of the expansive ruins at Selinunte, which was founded in the 7^th century BC long before the creation of “Dancing Satyr.”

I took another photograph of a temple dedicated to Hera, which admittedly was reconstructed in 1957, before spending an hour wandering aimlessly amidst the stoned ruins. I was in such a good mood at the end of the day that I did a little dancing satyr jig on the sand. No photo of that either.

Hera's temple and other Selinunte ruins had me dancing, satyr-like, on the sand.

And here’s a link to a photo of the Dancing Satyr: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VKa0YFmDwAg/SKjx9xPGbRI/AAAAAAAAAag/m_8hSyM54Z4/s1600-h/Picture+2.png

Text and Photos (except the Dancing Satyr): Joel Stratte-McClure

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."