Calabria Van Life Tour – Episode 1 – Scilla
First stop of the Calabria Tour: Scilla! The famous Scilla and Cariddi, the two sea monsters that rule the Strait of Messina.
To get there, I took the ferry from Messina city, my first time on the Caronte & Tourist (it’s a ferry company). The price was €56 one way for a camper van, convenient for those heading towards Palermo or stopping in Messina city, otherwise, I recommend the Blueferry in Tremestieri. The ferry took very little time. On these occasions, I wonder if it really makes sense to build a the famous Straif of Messina bridge that will cost tens of billions of euros, the construction of which will disrupt two cities, lasting 30 years, all to save perhaps 10-15 minutes? Wouldn’t it make more sense to upgrade current routes and roads for embarkation?
I was the only foreigner in town and I was eyed by everyone, a strange sensation that will accompany me throughout the journey in Calabria.
As soon as I disembarked, I had to do grocery shopping and refill the water in my camper van. I went down to Reggio Calabria and … the journey and the road were at least interesting. There’s an amount of eyesores (illegal buildings left in a costruction state) visible from the road that is breathtaking, an embarrassing amount of abandoned rubbish everywhere (from my experience, we’re definitely at the levels of some Sicilian areas like Catania and Agrigento) and potholes that I’ve never seen so big: if I hit one, I would definitely break an axle.
We’re talking about potholes 30cm high and over a meter and a half wide. I had to drive at 20 km/h being extremely careful and invading the opposite lane to avoid them. Fortunately (fortunately?) the local people are resigned to this level of neglect so they tolerate these low speeds. Reggio Calabria gave me a sense of abandonment, disorder, chaos, and little security. As soon as I filled up with water, I headed north.
After exiting the highway, I headed towards the town of Scilla and the closer I got, the more wonderful the view became! In search of parking, I ventured right into the town, then seeing some shady people that I didn’t like, I turned back leaving the camper parked alongside a French camper and went biking to visit the city.
From Scilla, the view of Capo Peloro (where there is Torre Faro, in Messina) is really close, it seems you can touch it. And you can also see the Aeolian Islands and Stromboli in the distance. Sicily, a magical and strange land, it really has an effect to see it here: so distant in many ways (economic, cultural, infrastructural) but so close to the mainland. Could the bridge be the way to definitively bring Sicily closer and reunite it with the mainland? And if so, would it be a good thing?
From Scilla the sicilian island is really close, it seems you can touch it
Obviously in Scilla, I was the only foreigner in town and I was eyed by everyone, a strange sensation that will accompany me throughout the journey in Calabria. Calabria is a particular region, strange in many respects, which must be appreciated even with its dark sides.
The town is a little gem, with its fortress and church overlooking the sea, and the famous fishermen’s houses overlooking a crystalline sea. Definitely a must-see stop. In summer, I’m sure it will be overrun by mass tourism.
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