Agrigento, Italy (October 7, 2025)
When Elena was figuring out how the three of us should get from Naples to Sicily, she discovered there was an overnight ferry that would get us into Palermo (northern Sicily). None of us had ever done an overnight ferry, but we all love cruise ships so we figured we’d give it a shot. We were not disappointed. More cruise ship than ferry if you ask me:
This “ferry” looks much more like a standard cruise ship, doesn’t it?
The room was a bit dated, but we were only there for the one night so it was perfectly fine. The point was we were able to go to bed in Naples and wake up in Sicily. And, to that point, when we did arrive, it was to a beautiful sunrise over the Sicilian mountains.
Now, here’s the thing. We arrived in Palermo, but the thing Elena most wanted to do in Sicily is the really ancient stuff (and that’s on the southern most part of the island.
Do a quick Google search for “Agrigento” and the first thing that pops up is an image of the Valley of the Temples. This is what Elena wanted to see more than anything. It’s (basically) Italy’s version of the Parthenon (which we’re also seeing when we arrive in Athens in a few days). It truly is spectacular. But to get there, we needed to take a little over a 2 hour train due south. But hey, now we get to see a good part of the island of Sicily by train. Not a bad way to be introduced to Sicily.
Elena pointed out that the pillars perfectly space out our heads ;-)
In these pictures, sometimes you just get lucky. I love this first shot. I’ll share the others, but I think when Elena makes up her annual calendar this one will likely make it (although I’m not sure which month). It’s a good picture of the three of us. As we walked through the Valley of the Temples, we captured a few more we liked and some to just give a sense of what we experienced.
On the way home, Violet and I decided to walk back to hour hotel. It was a 30 to 40 minute walk and Elena would have joined us, but it was mostly up hill and she decided to wait for the bus we took to get there (scheduled to arrive every 20 to 30 minutes). Turns out the bus was late and she ended up sharing an Uber with a nice British couple instead.
Meanwhile, Violet and I discovered a really cool couple of climbable trees and had our own side adventure. I forget what these trees are called, but their limbs are so big that they drop anchor roots from them to support their weight. I’ve seen them in the south of the United States and was able to share what I had been told and had learned.
And that’s what I love about our side-quest adventures. We never know where they will lead, but always somewhere fun and interesting. This time, leaving the Valley of the Temples brought us to a fascinating tree climb and and aerial bonding opportunity.
