Camping "El Bahira" and San Vito Lo Capo

So "Sahara dust" came down with the rain at the moment we drove from Cortigliolo to San Vito Lo Capo. You can see in the picture what our car looked like - but in reality it was much worse xD because it doesn't really come across in the picture.

The journey only took half an hour and by the time we got there, the rain had already stopped. I completely missed the "exit" to the campsite because it was almost parallel to the main road, but went downhill, while the main road went uphill. Well, if I had just realized what the big sign above it said more quickly, I wouldn't have missed it ;)

And this access road - which leads to the campsite alone - was amazing in itself, because it was also a very narrow tarmac road with the usual southern Italian potholes. The only way to avoid it was to "run off into the bushes". But the sound of the breakwater and the view were magnificent!

When we arrived at the campsite, we were supposed to choose one of the pitches designated for tents. They were mainly "up" at the foot of the mountain or a few at the very bottom, almost directly on the rocky, impassable beach. Impassable because a) it was just made up of misshapen rocks and b) it was so windy that the waves wouldn't have let you into the sea anyway. But because of the weather, I didn't feel like swimming anyway ;)

We decided to take one of the pitches downstairs because of the privacy. The "upper" pitches were almost completely full anyway, some of them with caravans that obviously hadn't been in for months. We weren't allowed to put a tent on the other pitches, which I found a bit strange in this context. But OK...

Because the ground was very rocky, I had real problems getting the pegs into the ground. And they were more stable pegs than you get with a cheap tent. It was good that there were enough large stones lying around to stabilize the pegs that couldn't be completely sunk in.

It was around 11am when we had finished setting up and the only open washroom was a bit further up the hill. We still desperately needed a shower, but we were denied one for the time being. That morning the showers - which were also only outside - were being repaired. In this case, that meant that every shower got a new shower head (very commendable!) and the coin system had to be put into operation.

Unfortunately, the coin system didn't work straight away, so we asked almost every half hour when the showers would be working again. The answer was "we don't know exactly" - typical Italian? Hmm...

We had arranged to meet my friends from Custonaci - without an exact time. But we didn't want to go there completely unshowered and sweaty. So after asking about the showers for the third or fourth time, the man at reception said that there was also a shower cubicle with hot water in the washroom next to the toilets, which could currently be used without inserting a coin. "Great!" I thought to myself; he could have told me that when I asked for the first time -.- I really hadn't paid attention to it because it looked to me as if there were only toilet cubicles. If you had looked up, you would have seen the boilers ;)

So I went for a long shower - it felt good! Well, "long" means 10 minutes instead of 6 or something like that ;) Then I sent my son to the shower. He came back and said that the men only use cold water - hmm... Peter (our travel buddy) confirmed this; he just took a cold shower himself. Of course I *couldn't* expect my teenager to do that - so he had to wait - unfortunately.

We then met up with my friends in the afternoon at the "viewpoint" directly above the exit to the campsite. The viewpoint in this case is simply a long, spacious car park. But that's fine. We then drove into San Vito Lo Capo together. A fairly small town at the very top left of the tip of Sicily. We parked on the main road and then walked down towards the beach. It was - still totally unexpected and unusual for me - quiet, hardly any people on the street and most of the shops, which would probably be packed in the high season, were closed or only sparsely attended.

What seems to be common in Sicily: There are often "self-service" kiosks or whatever they are called. These are basically just "half houses" or recesses in houses in which there are 3 to X machines. There is always at least 1 coffee machine and several drinks and snack machines where you can get all kinds of drinks, but I have never seen them in a large grocery store. For the family I know, it was already a tradition to get something there - something special for the children of my friends, who are just 13, 7 and 4 years old.

We then went on to the beach and what can I say? I was a little overwhelmed by the beauty! Maybe because there was not a soul on the beach except us ;) but sooo beautiful! Clear water, fine sand, the mountains in the background, the bay beautifully round.

We were at the CP "Pra d'elle Torri" near Venice in summer 2021+2022. The place is great, but the sea was not nearly as clear!

It was still quite windy, but we enjoyed the time on the beach. I put my feet in the cold water (yes, the water is still really cold at the end of March!) and could hardly look away - I could stare at the water forever with this Caribbean flair <3

Soon the sun had completely disappeared behind the houses and the next hill and the wind was getting really cold. We went back to the car and arranged to meet up with our friends the next day because we wanted to spend the few days we had together and be inspired by their experiences in Sicily.

Peter, my son and I went looking for something to eat on the way, which is not so easy if you get hungry before 7/8 p.m. ;) Almost all restaurants and "trattorias" have a siesta - this means that there is usually nothing to get until 7 p.m. In the end we went to several shops. Either completely closed or "private parties". In the end we went to a fish restaurant in Castelluzzo that was obviously a bit more upscale (but not quite posh). I wasn't very hungry, but when you have to choose between "antipasti, primi piatti e secondi piatti", you just pick one ;) I had calamari with grilled vegetables. Admittedly, the calamari alone would have been enough to fill you up. However, I noticed that I shouldn't eat more than 5-6 pieces because I just don't enjoy them after that. But that was probably due to the quality of the preparation. I'm not saying I could do better, but they were a little tough and not the best calamari I've ever eaten.

A lot less money but full, we drove back to the campsite. As the wind got stronger again and I was a bit worried that we would fly away with the tent, I had to take down the canopy. Otherwise, there would have been too much surface area for the wind to attack if it "grabbed" underneath and possibly lifted the tent off.

Fun fact: In the tent photo, note the "foundation" of the lantern ;) Just a few stones, pour a bit of cement on top and you're done.

Of course we fell asleep, but it was really loud because the gusts of wind shook our (air) tent quite a bit.