Skyla and Charybdis

In antiquity crossing the Strait between Italy and Sicily was perilous as two monsters resided on either side.  On the North side Scylla a vicious sea monster lived in a cave.  On the South side was Charybdis a dangerous sea whirlpool that could submerge and sink entire boats.  Scylla had 6 heads and 12 legs used to catch and devour mariners.  Charybdis was a whirlpool on the ocean floor that sunk and trapped boats killing their crews for food likewise.  Odysseus decided to cross close to Skyla thus he lost only six of his crew.  He was also following Athena who had metamorphosed herself as an owl and was flying in front of his ship showing him the way. 

A 17^th century engraving shows how busy the strait was, with Sicily depicted on the right and Calabria on the left.  Although modern writers have presented Charybdis as the creation of poetic fancy, a British frigate got caught by its eddies and kept spinning as appears in the book Travels in Sicily, Greece and Albania by Sir Thomas Hughes “…. we ourselves witness the strength of this current at the mouth, when a large frigate in full sail, having incautiously approached too near, was drawn with irresistible force stern for-most into the port, from whence it required the united efforts of the whole flotilla to extricate her…”. We motored by Charybdis and although eddies of the famous whirlpool are still visible our 10 HP engine drove us by without any difficulty.  My brother and I personally know, Thanasis,  a most capable sailor who crossed the strait using his sails only on his remarkable trip from Marseille to Greece, on his 6.5 meter boat Kalliste all alone.

A sensual Sicilian ballad that talks about the moon that is buring in the sky as we burn with love on this earth,  brucia la luna n’cielu E ju brucia d’ amuria from the town of Corleone, enjoy the beautiful song about feelings.....

Strait of Messina

View of the west entrance of the Strait of Messina, a narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south.  At its narrowest point, it measures 1.9 miles in width, and its maximum depth is 250 meters.

When we approached the Strait of Messina a little town with the name of Skyla, the same name as the ancient monster, was perched on a hillside of the Italian peninsula. 

A traditional fishing boat we met near the entrance of the strait. 

When we were close to the entrance of the Strait of Messina we saw a boat with a very long bowsprit and very tall mast.  These unusual boats are used for swordfish fishing by professional fishermen.

Motoring at the entrance of the Strait of Messina on the Sicily side where a communication or power tower is a prominent feature.

A beautiful song, and Adele’s beautiful voice muse over Sicily the land of love - tra mare e fiori, sei mata tu, terra d’ amore - that was born between the sea and flowers.