Baia del Corallo

Baia del Corallo

The train departed Giardini station 15 minutes "retardo". Our connection in Messina was also delayed, officially, by 30 minutes, but in actuality it was more like 50 minutes. Such a long delay gave the train station officials in Messina the opportunity to change their mind 3 times on which track to board the train to Palermo. So, all the passengers awaiting the Palermo train got their exercise lugging their baggage back and forth between platforms. Organized confusion. Enroute to Palermo at about the half-way point, the train lost its electrical connection and no one knew how long it would take to repair. We finally pulled into Palermo 3h-45m "retardo". To reach the Baia del Corallo hostel by bus, one must find a ticket vendor, purchase a ticket to Punta Maltese, disembark at Alcide de Gasperi "Square" (actually an enormous round-a-bout) and switch to the #628. After a few minutes of wandering around, in the area, we found the hostel at 19:50, precisely 10 minutes prior to dinner which was included in the 29 euro fee for the private room. So, once again, we find ourselves to be the fortunate recipients of providence. Our room overlooks the bay, and because we arrived in the evening, the light of the setting sun on the rock face on the opposite side of the bay was lit up with breathtaking beauty. Tomorrow, we must head into town to procure a ticket for the ferry from Palermo to Cagliari. I booked it on line, but only have a reference number (no e-ticket). So, we need to get hard copies of the ticket and, also, we'll need to scout around the port side as well to determine where the ferry dock is located so that we know where to go on Saturday evening. Palermo is a bustling city of approximately 1 million people all of whom drive cars with scrathes and dents or motor bikes who probably made a lot of those scratches on the cars considering the maniacal way they swerve fearlessly between moving vehicles (both the young and the old). But the motorbikes clearly have the advantage in heavy traffic which often crawls to a halt while everyone beeps their horns thinking this will somehow speed things up. In these traffic conditions, the motorbikes weave in and out of the stagnant streams of cars and thus maintain a certain momentum of hectic progress.