SIRACUSA -- Helmut, the proprietor of www.sicily-bike.de, turns out to be as illusive as the Wizard of Oz. Invisible. Behind a curtain in Deutschland.
After a 50 euro deposit and a series of e-mails in which most of my questions about rental bikes went unanswered, I received a cryptic response. Go to the little town of Solarino, a few miles west of Siracusa, and meet Giuseppe at the soccer field. Call him by cell phone first. He will arrange the bikes.
I thought this sounded more like a Mafia drug deal than a cycle rental business. But with 50 euros already spent through PayPal and no other rental prospects, we decided to go along. So mid-day yesterday, six of the seven Chippings on the Giro di Sicilia boarded the Interbus at Piazza Borsellino in Catania and took the one-hour ride to Siracusa, the ancient city that for three centuries before Christ was the biggest power in the Mediterranean. The capital of Greater Greece.
We were six because il ambasciatore, Dottere Jimma Jimma, was still waiting for Alitalia to deliver his luggage from the Saturday flight he took from Venice. So he opted to spend another night in Catania at Gianluca's B&B (And, buoni auguri, his bag was finalmente delivered last night, a mere two and a half days later.)
The six Chips arrived at the bus station in Siracusa, where they boarded a local bus, full of Italian school kids, for the final 20 kilometers to Solarino. The piccolo paese of Solarino looks like the hot, dusty, sun-drenched stone town in "Cinema Paradiso." Old guys in old suits gassing away on stone benches in the central piazza. A baroque church, its doors closed against the world, facing city hall. An ancient dog, drool down its muzzle, asleep in the shade.
I had called Giuseppe first from Siracusa. Forget the soccer field, he told me. I'll meet you in the piazza. And there he was, bounding toward us, a burly, enthusiastic, unshaven guy in his 40s. He showed me the e-mail message he had received from Helmut at 4 that morning. It was the first he heard of us, he said, explaining that Helmut is totally disorganized.
We piled into Giuseppe's cargo van and proceeded to drive out of the little town, through groves of lemons, oranges and olives. Some Chips were apprehensive; others dubious. At one point, we found the street blocked by a motorcyclist. Giuseppe, yelling, gesturing and waving his arms, berated the guy, calling him a "pazzo," an idiot. The guy laughed, Giuseppe laughed, they both shrugged and we moved on.
After winding down a long gravel road, we came to a farm. Giuseppe's father was out on a tractor, tilling between rows of grape vines. We parked in front of a large concrete, barn-like shed. Giuseppe flung open the door and, allora, biciclette galore.
Over the next hour, Giuseppe adjusted saddles, pedals, brakes. We changed from our long pants into bike shorts and shirts. We filled water bottles, tested tire pressure, and fastened our panniers to the rear carriers. And then we were off, back to Siracusa on a less-travelled route suggested by Giuseppe.
In fact, Giuseppe mapped out a whole tour of southeastern Sicily for us, using various Magic Markers on my Rough Guide roadmap, to indicate routes he called beautiful, enchanting, without equal. But also some routes with a good bit of climbing.
In Siracusa, we are lodged for two nights in an eight-bed dorm room at the Lo! Hostel, a very hip, clean, Euro-tech place done up in black, white and stainless steel. Our spotless, white linen came starchily folded in clear
plastic bags. We ate the complementary breakfast in a kitchen that would have done Julia Child proud.
And, last night, John D and David were introduced to the joys of pinochle.
"Introduced" seems hardly the right word since the two of them are both obvious card sharpies, very familiar with counting tricks, flushing out trump and passing for maximum meld.
The first official game ensued. Despite aggressive bidding by the team of Davide and Spazio, they were unable to overcome the first hand advantage of Gianni D and Filippo. Gianni D, holding a run and aces around, bid 48 and, with Filippo along for the ride, captured all 12 tricks. Their partnership wound up with 59 points for the hand and deprived Davide and Spazio of their meld. Final game score was 120 to 57.
Location:Siracusa, Sicilia
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