I’m occasionally a bit frustrated when, after hours of arduous climbing/trekking on the Mediterranean Sea, I encounter an obstacle that forces me to humbly backtrek, patiently retrace my steps, cautiously attempt to find a new route around a difficult part of coastline and pray to numerous gods and goddesses in Greek mythology. Wide rivers, of course, can be particularly trying and frequently result in long detours inland. At times like this, I know it’s a mistake to refer to my MedTrek odyssey as a soft walking adventure! After all, I’m The idiot.

But the four hours that I spent tackling Cape Gallo and Mount Gallo this afternoon were so breathtaking that I simply retreated in awe of the vertical mountain, rocky coast, inaccessible cliffs and delicious scenery. It was too dicey to continue alone without climbing and security equipment and even Odysseus would have chosen to approach this as a virtual traveller.

The Cape looked easy enough when I kicked things off…..

…..but then everything got very steep and I felt I was part of Homer’s dramatic travelogue.

Click the link below to see the satellite/earth images of the terrain I was dealing with on Capo Gallo.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.22092,13.30788&ll=38.22092,13.30788&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Message: This is where I was on May 3 on my counterclockwise MedTrek around Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean basic.

In fact, after walking 15-kilometers beyond Cape Gallo on the seaside on May 4 it still looked very steep, which defines it as a real gem for the global trekker.

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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."