February 2, 2013
We drove up from the south on a bright blue day.
“Let’s stick to the little back roads!” I said, and Kim raised his eyebrows.
We saw gorgeous villas abandoned to pigeons.
We saw Giovanni, pastore, who has kept goats for half a century.
We saw abandoned houses the color of persimmons, with trees shaped like corn dogs on a stick.
And that is where we got into trouble.
We had to turn around. (Only lost a few hours.)
We zipped through the cold Madonie Mountains…
…and came out the other side to warm sea breezes. Palermo! Straight on!
