By Joanruth Baumann
A retired marine engineer and university professor from an island off the Washington coast, Joanruth has traveled, worked and lived abroad all her life.
Landing on this Mediterranean island in mid-May, Lampedusa is the southernmost political point of Italy and a welcome break from the constant activity of Italy proper. The stunning beauty of the turquoise water and stark rocky landscape immediately relaxes your mind and sets the agenda for some welcome downtime.
Lampedusa is geologically part of Africa, as only 61 miles (100km) separates it from Tunisia and the sea is no deeper than 390 feet (120m). A semi-arid island with a rocky landscape, the entire northern coast is dominated by cliffs and the southern side by intimate, white and aquamarine coves.
Historically, Lampedusa was a landing place and maritime base for the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Saracens and Romans. It was logistically a key spot for the Barbary pirates under the Ottoman Empire. Malta’s Hospitaller fleet had also used Lampedusa’s harbor as a shelter from bad weather and Corsairs. Roman fish sauce was also manufactured here for centuries. The list of historical contacts is long, but puzzlingly, few remain for us to see today.
The Hotel Belvedere ($97/night in mid-May) offered a tour around the tiny island. The owner’s nephew arranged to drive every mile of the road and see the island in one hour for only $50.
The sights included a lighthouse promontory, a WWII bunker disguised in rock, the peaceful town harbor, Capo Ponente, Isola dei Conigli (literally “Rabbit Island”), one of the last remaining egg-laying sites in Italy for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle and Capo Grecale overlooking the protected marine zone to the NE.
On the way back into town, past the houses of the fewer than 6,000 residents, my young driver dropped me at the inviting Cala Croce for some sunning and swimming. The scene was idyllic, but the powder-blue water was somewhat chilly for swimming. So, a lazy few hours were happily spent lying in the sun, watching the few who did dip into the bracing waters. A little beach
restaurant offered wonderful seafood pasta.
The town has one main street for shopping and restaurants and was as quiet as a churchyard on Wednesday! Evenings brought out families, diners, strollers and shoppers — a relaxing opportunity to dine and chat with locals. I was able to add to my spoon and comfy shoe collection.
My hotel was only two blocks from the main scene, yet hung serenely over the marina and cove beyond. I suspect I was the only guest because the owners had so much leisure time to visit with me. I enjoyed their bougainvillea-filled front patio.
After two relaxing nights, a one-mile taxi ride took me to the airport for the one-hour flight back to Palermo, my starting point for this journey ($221 RT on DAT airlines.)
