Day 204. 12km (81558kms 7yrs)

I spent a second night under the palm leaf shelter on a beach in the northern extremity of the island’s settlements. It rained a little as I had my coffee so was glad to be under cover.

There are frequent ferries between the islands but Liberty Lines hydrofoils do not accept bicycles so I was waiting for the afternoon car ferry to Lipari. I’d ridden just about every metre of Stromboli’s 5km of roads so waited out the wet morning in a cafe. Their wood fired pizza came out the oven just in time for me to enjoy a slice before heading down to the pier.

The volcano continued to rumble, the black smoke belched out every twenty minutes or so can be seen all over the island but the crater and lava are obscured from the village side. The island has a Santorini feel to it; awash with wealthy holiday-makers staying in fancy villas. I wasn’t bringing much to the island in the way of euros - surely the only reason the 500 residents tolerate the yearly flood of tourists.

The ferry ticket instructs to arrive at least an hour before departure time and I see now why. With only me and one or two trucks on board we set off half an hour early! The next ferry was three days away so I was very relieved not to have missed this one. Travelling back the same route I’d come we stopped in at Ginoastra - a village on the other side of the volcano but unconnected by road to Stromboli town - Panarea, and Salina before I disembarked at Lipari.

Lipari is the ‘capital’ of the aeolian islands and quite a shock to the system after Stomboli. I restocked at the town’s supermarket before heading out in search of a camp. But of course it’s not just a case of wandering to the end of the beach here! I passed through the beach-side settlement of Canneto without success (I even enquired at a hostel: €25 a night). The road began climbing up into the north of the islands. If I wasn’t careful I’d be all the way around with nothing more to ride tomorrow!

I passed by two coves down precipitous dirt roads and tried a couple of tracks which accessed nothing flat, before slipping under a chain across a dirt lane. I admit a sign attached to the chain read ‘private property’ but it led to a comparatively large patch of land used solely for storage behind a further small locked gate, dumping a little rubbish by the entrance, but mostly for growing weeds. Looking out to sea this football field of land has got to be worth a few quid!

I found a discreet spot and set up camp in time enough to enjoy a daylight dinner and contemplate my route around Lipari the following day.

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