If Panarea and Salina seem off the map in the quiet month of October, then Alicudi & Filicudi feels like the absolute ends of the earth...

Alicudi & Filicudi - wild pearls of the Aeolian Islands

Forget glitzy Capri or crowded Rhodes and instead explore my  favorite hidden gems: 

Sleepy Alcudi and Filicudi with its painted houses.

The volcanic Aeolian Islands lie off the north coast of Sicily, remote and peaceful with dramatically beautiful landscapes enriched by the volcanic soil. 

Alicudi is the furthest west - and quite possibly one of the most isolated islands in the whole of the Med. Electricity and TV only arrived in the 1990s, there are no marked roads and just one hotel and one restaurant. What there is, however, is crystal-clear water and utter, blissful peace.

The island is a simple and basic place, with an absolutely unique atmosphere and fewer than 100 inhabitants. Its rugged charm and isolation attract a particular brand of voyager: adventurers, artists, writers and loners looking for some peace to reflect or to work.

Filicudi 

Our best spots are isolated and most can only be reached by boat since the island is surrounded by beautiful rocky cliffs.

To the north is a diver’s paradise. In the waters just off the northern coastline of Filicudi is where you will find the rock obelisk towering from the sea known as Scoglio della Canna.

If Panarea and Salina seem off the map in the quiet months, then Filicudi feels like the absolute ends of the earth...

With just a smattering of hippie-chic villas and small guesthouses, the island has recently become a second-home destination for tourist-weary Italians, especially Tuscans, who strive to keep it well off the radar. But Filicudi’s hermetic nature and remote location have long been a draw: The island has served as a hideaway for many artists and actors (Robert De Niro among them) since the 1970s.

Sicilia: To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.

The Aeolian Islands.

Lipari is the largest island in the chain. Here the Archaeological Museum is one of the must-see places – it is tucked inside Lipari Castle, which stands out on the island’s eastern bay in between its best docks, Marina Lunga and Marina Corta. There is also a marvelous Greek acropolis and a Norman cathedral.  Named after the God of Wind, Aeolus, the Aeolian Islands have a reputation for enjoying a little too much of it! However, most of the time they are delightful and they provide some of the most secure anchorages available in the Tyrrhenian.

There are eight islands in all, the last being little more than a rock, jutting out of the sea. Visitors can anchor off the island of Stromboli, who’s active volcano occasionally provides a spectacular light show. The neighbouring island of Vulcano also has an active volcano, and here visitors can enjoy hot springs in the bay and volcanic mud baths ashore. The islands of Lipari and Salina are larger and have attractive towns with well established marinas. On the mainland, the new and attractive harbour of Capo d'Orlando makes a very good stopping off point when on passage to or from the Aeolian Islands. 

Dadurch, dass wir jede Seemeile zwischen der Ostsee und Sizilien eigenständig zurückgelegt haben, wird uns gerade klar, was für einen Facettenreichtum verpassen, wenn wir einfach mit dem Flieger darüber hinweg sausen...im Flugzeug bekommt man eben einfach kein Gefühl für die unendliche Vielfalt und Schönheit unserer Erde.

It's time for Cannoli and Granita 

(The best you get at Subba Pasticceria, Lipari)

Salina....Isola slow!

   

Wer auf Reisen die totale Entschleunigung sucht, ist auf Salina goldrichtig. Hier herrscht so vollkommene Ruhe, dass sich das grüne Eiland sogar mit dem Titel „Isola Slow“ schmücken darf.

Vor allem aber prägen Kapernsträuche die Natur. Die zartroten Stiele mit den runden Blättern brechen wie Unkraut aus Mauerritzen hervor; sie wachsen am Wegesrand und ranken sich über Felsvorsprünge. Ihre Knospen, die Kapern, gelten als besonders exquisit, weil sie kleiner, kompakter und gleichförmiger sind als ihre hauptsächlich nordafrikanische Konkurrenz. 12 Euro pro Kilo haben wir bezahlt, essfertig in Meersalz eingelegt!

Salina is the second-largest island, and has the highest reliefs on the archipelago. 
It is also the home of a beautiful wooded area of ferns (la Fossa delle Felci), located on jagged cliffs above the island’s gorgeous beaches (Pollara being one of the most notable). 
Don’t miss a visit to the house where the beloved “Il Postino” (starring Massimo Troisi) was filmed, and be sure to taste the renowned granita, a local crushed-ice treat. 

Straddling a sunny waterfront terrace in Lingua, Alfredo's place is renowned Sicily-wide for its granite: ices made with coffee, fruit or locally grown pistachios, hazelnuts and almonds. For an affordable lunch, try their pane cunzato, open-faced sandwiches loaded with smoked tuna carpaccio, citrus, wild fennel, almond-caper pesto, ricotta, tomatoes, capers, olives and more; split one with a friend – they're huge!

Awesome anchorage on tour of Salina..... and it's so hot!!!

Panarea summer vibes

    

    

Exclusive and expensive, Panarea is the smallest and most fashionable of the Aeolians, attracting international jet-setters and Milanese fashionistas for a taste of dolce far niente (sweet nothing). In summer, luxury yachts fill the tiny harbour and flocks of day-trippers traipse around the car-free whitewashed streets of San Pietro, the port and principal settlement. Panarea is a strictly summer-only destination.

Panarea is the smallest and lowest of the Aeolians (421 m/1,381 ft at its highest, at Timpone del Corvo), but it is also the oldest and attracts boatloads of tourists for its clean water, underwater volcanic vents and its nightlife.

Together with the tiny islands of Basiluzzo, Spinazzola, Lisca Bianca, Dattilo, Bottaro, Lisca Nera (of which little still remains) and the boulders of Panarelli and Formiche, Panarea forms its own minuscule archipelago with characteristic homes, bottegas and shops. 

1kg fresh giant prawns =20 EUR 

Grazie, ragazzi 🦐🦐🦐

More inspiration needed?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/t-magazine/travel/aeolian-islands-mediterranean-guide.html?referer=https://www.google.de/

Impressive Stromboli

The Archipelago of the Aeolian Islands consist of seven exquisite islands off the coast of Sicily - Lipari, Panarea, Vulcano, Stromboli, Salina, Alicudi and Filicudi - in addition to smaller islets and giant boulders. 

They all emerge from an uncontaminated sea, created by still-active volcanoes (Stromboli and Vulcano), and blessed by a savage beauty. The
Stromboli is actually the most active volcano in Europe, and boasts frequent, spectacular eruptions that can be best seen from the north.

San Vincenzo, the medieval borgo surrounded by very particular white house-boats; the isolated fishing village of Ginostra that clings to Stromboli’s rocky side, accessible only via animal trails; and the Strombolicchio, a giant boulder – of course, born from an eruption! 

Cena al Ristorante da Zurro:

Zurro is an artist said somebody I spoke to. When he’s good, he’s very good. But, said another, yes, he’s like all artists… Zurro – his real name is Fillipo Utano – looks like an old hippy. His face is engulfed by hair, like the mane of a lion, only grey and wiry. 

We had pasta nera and a mixture of tuna, swordfish, anchovies, and sardines each prepared and preserved in a different way. This is simple food, the cooking of fishermen, says Zurro !!!