Martin HoffmannHere’s a map! As there was a lot of waiting again today, a larger scale will work.
Good morning! Did you know there is a ferry from Pozzallo to Malta and it only takes an hour forty-five to cross? No that’s not the plan but it certainly is duly noted.
Pozzallo doesn’t have a ticket machine. Good thing ticket purchase through the Trenitalia app works quite well (only since August, if I understand the constant announcements correctly).
The next station announcement for Scicli is also in German but not in English. Did Baedeker like the place or something?
Quick change of plans. I wanted to take this train to Ragusa, but since Siracusa Depot hasn’t gotten the memo about Trenitalia’s new policy of keeping trains graffiti-free, I jumped off at Modica. From the map it looks like the section between Modica and Ragusa is the most scenic (with a helix and such), so should be worth re-rolling the dice.
But looks like this was my last ride on the Punk. Possibly for ever.
Palermo Centrale, where they have electrified the waiting area.
Stazione di fine giorno.
“It’s not cities that are loud, it’s cars that are loud.”
“What?”
“IT’S NOT C… ach, never mind.”
And today’s map. We started at nearly sea level, climbed up past Ragusa – a breathtaking section with gorgeous gorges*, then went down again to sea level at Gela, along the coast to Licata, then way up again to Caltanisetta, and from there down via Xirbi to sea level. Spectacular tour, this! The difference between the very dry south coast and the fertile north is markable.
* Oh, yes, he did!
G’day! Today I am trying something completely new: I will be using only one train for the entire day. It’s still a nine hour ride, mind.
But first, have a picture of a man on a horse.
Don’t underestimate the size of Sicily. The express train takes three hours from Palermo to Messina.
The plod is checking everyone’s documents. Like, properly, with scanning and typing names into phones and waiting around while we’re in a tunnel without coverage.
We’re going on a boat trip!
For the day Intercitys, they now just keep the locomotives on with the trains which speeds up operations quite a bit. Once your train has been pushed onto the boat, you can leave and wander around. Or not. Up to you, really.
Each four carriage plus locomotive half of the train (one from Palermo, one from Siracusa) fits exactly into one track.
How long does an iPhone last on a video call? Asking for the Australian lady across the aisle who’s been going on for an hour at least and won’t shut up.
Complaining to her friend on the speakerphone that people here are rude.
We’ve arrived in Villa San Giovanni exactly one minute early. Now just five more hours mostly north.
(The chatty Australians are going to Salerno. Guess it’s going to be a headphone afternoon.)
Twenty minutes past departure time in Villa and our driver just got bored and left the locomotive.
In many European countries you will find a white line going up and down in tunnels. They aren’t decoration but rather lead to a rescue alcove in the tunnel wall where you could hide from a train. The line is at the floor at an alcove and at its highest half way to the next one. Thus, wherever you are, you just need to follow the white line downwards to get to the nearest point of safety.
Ryan Rampersad