This map outlines the route we took during our twenty days in Sicily. We started in Palermo, then traveled clockwise until we got back to Palermo.
The Island of Marettimo was the last stop of our trip. I saved it for the end, because you don’t want to spoil the rest of your trip by visiting the best place first. My love affair with this island goes back over a decade to when I visited in 2001. In my memory it was the perfect Mediterranean island pristine, untouched and ready for adventure. One bar, a couple of restaurants, and a few home stays for visitors. Once there, your options are a bit limited. You can go hiking, swimming, scuba diving, take a boat tour around the island, or go fishing if you are able to sweet talk a local. Most of all, visitors just come to experience a totally different type of living. One completely cut off from the noise and striving of the rest of the world. If you are an island snob, searching for that perfect essence of what makes an island a special place, then you will find it and none of the extra trappings that can get in the way of that special vibe.
We stayed at La Tartaruga Bed and Breakfast, which was perfect in every way.
The old Norman Castle can be seen above the city, even though it’s all the way on the northern tip of the island. 
Half way up the side of Mt. Falcone, among some Roman ruins, hikers can stop for a rest in this Byzantine church. 
On a boat tour around the island, guides will expertly stear their boats into several of the islands caves and blue holes like the one seen here.
We hiked to the highest peak on Marettimo, Mt. Falcone. The town can be seen below on the left.
Visitors can hike to a crumbling Norman castle that also once served as a prison. 
by P-Lo
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