#126 Back in Sicily while still thinking about Australia

Santo Stefano di Camastra ©Rochelle Del Borrello 2024

We returned at the end of the summer, when the paese was still filled with tourists. Yes, even in small Sicilian villages, the summer is all about being invaded by tourists.

Uncomfortably overwhelmed and overcome by a stream of people visiting their relatives or looking for a cheap place to stay near the beach.

Sinagra, my little town, is about a 10-minute drive from the beach, so it's an inexpensive alternative to staying in overcrowded coastal towns like Capo D'Orlando. The result is absolute chaos. 

In the paese, every tiny doorway and every small space is occupied like many rabbits in burrows. Every single empty house is alive with occupancy. Lights are on in tiny windows the same height as street level; who knew you could rent out a basement with a window looking out onto people's feet walking past?

Abandoned homes are now occupied; even places you think were uninhabitable or could barely fit anyone now have people staying in them. 

Looking out of every window, I see strange faces opening doors that are usually always locked. Looking out the window means looking out onto others' business as if we are spying on them; instead, they are invading our space.

We come back to a stuffy dusty house, rowdy people walking past, conversations at all hours of the night and an invasion of vacationers spending time in this usual tranquil place. 

The visitors turn the usual sleepiness into noisy disturbances; they smoke cigarettes near our windows, drunkenly stomp by on the side streets, and rev their motorinos in the early morning. 

One young couple sat on a step under our kitchen window, ate their pizza out of the box and rolled a joint for dessert. 

We were forced to keep our shutters closed because we didn't want to see other people's affairs.

Everyone is still on holiday, so there's either music booming every night or some obnoxious MCing in the piazza. 

We weren't sleeping with the heat and humidity anyway, but if we did manage to nod off, we'd be woken by the noise or a pesky mosquito bite.

It's hopeless to complain as the impossibilities of the end of summer overcome us.

All we can do is wait for the weather to cool down and vacation time to end.