I had to go to Noto to photograph another pigeon in flight.

No, The Idiot is not back in the USA.

But I’ll be hiking through these towns as I continue my walking adventure along Sicily’s eastern coast to Messina.

After a glorious weekend walkabout in Gozo and a queasy 5 am ferry ride on the wavy Mediterranean Sea to Pozzallo yesterday, I kicked things off in Portopalo di Capo Passero and walked 35 kilometers to the beach at Noto Lido. Portopalo is where the Ionian Sea meets the Sicilian Canal and I was, according to one itinerary, walking on the part of Le Vie Dell’Estremo Sud that’s dedicated to medieval towers, former tuna factories and salt works.

This is where I kicked off the MedTrek along Sicily’s eastern coast.

Much of the day was a meditative, painless and mostly barefoot hike along and through the clean and calm 574-hectare Vendicaria Nature Reserve. Created in 1984 for migratory birds and sand-loving vegetation, even sunbathers have to walk a few kilometers through nature to get to a sandy beach.

It takes a 2.5-kilometer walk through the nature reserve to sunbathe here.

I ventured a bit off the path to check out the renowned mosaics at the Villa Romana del Tellaro and wound up the day in the Baroque city of Noto where I caught another pigeon in flight at the Cathedral, checked out tennis shoes on Italian women and learned that Thai is right up there with English.

It’s all about the tennis shoes in Sicily.

Okay, when did English become as popular as Thai?

I’m now off to the gem that is Siracusa/Syracuse and its mythically named island of Ortygia. Established by the Greeks in 8 BC, it became the powerhouse and pride of Greek colonies.

I haven’t been to Siracusa since 1981 but have been assured that it’s still the type of place that would have enchanted Homer, Odysseus and even Zeus and other gods of Greek mythology. I’ll dedicate tomorrow to all of them and spend the day meandering amidst the Greek Theater, the Ear of Dionysius and other gems.

Meanwhile I’m kicking off today after another cappuccino where I left off last night @

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36.85245,15.11296&ll=36.85245,15.11296&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

NB: Didn’t quite manage to make it to Siracusa on Wednesday but after a late lunch here, in Fontane Bianche, I walked on to the beach at Arenella. Will MedTrek around the Capo Murro di Porco and into Siracusa today (May 20).

There were lots of bodies on the beach when I arrived in Fontane Bianche.

Text and Photos by 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."