Before leaving, we hear again the church bells ringing out a Christmas carol. They do this twice day, it is lovely, though quite a challenge to identify which carol it is. The only one I got, was Away in a Manager, well I think it was??
En route to Palermo, we stop for ice cream in a small harbour town, whose name was like Nichola - my sisters name; the hamper of dried goods and various petite sized delights she sent us off with is nearly gone, only a couple of sachets of Hot Chocolate remain.
San Nicola l'arena is another very nice little town, it has a small castle on the harbour in need of a refurb, an ideal summer residence should we win the lottery! It still remains though, that these small streets and their very necessary but confusing one way systems are better suited to a bike.
Once in Palermo, we source a ferry. There are less options than we had thought. The brochure we picked up on our last ferry, whilst showing the routes did not differentiate between passenger routes and freight only routes. Consequentially, fate has chosen for us. We are on a 21 hour crossing to Genoa and thence to Tangier.
Fri 5th-Sat 6th Dec
It is dark when we dock in Genoa, by the time we are off the ferry it is 8.30pm, not a good time to find a campsite. We head for the car park only to find there is a height restriction, there is however, a quiet corner where other vans are parked. One has a German plate; a good chance he will speak English or between us we will manage to converse? Well more chance than with Italian or Arabic. He is waiting for for the morning boat to Tunis and like us, unable to fit in the carpark.
In the morning we position Fay in line for the Tangier ferry. We are surrounded by cars and vans twice their normal height, stuffed to the gunnels and as low on their axles as it is possible to get. They are loaded with everything imaginable: bicycles, pushchairs, kitchen units, boxes, bags, blankets, groceries, tables, chairs and kitchen sinks! Each vehicle is so overloaded, none would be allowed to turn a wheel in England. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how they manage to turn a wheel anyway!
We spend the morning arranging a green card and informing the bank that we will be leaving Europe. So far, it appears we are amongst only a handful of Westerners on this ferry. We heading back to a land of headscarves and men drinking tea. I am loosing that holiday feeling already!
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