Traveling through Sicily on Remembrance Day 11 Nov 2024

We leave the apartment at 730. It is raining. One last coffee for the road:

It takes 20 minutes to walk to the bus stop. We go to the gas station where we were dropped off, eventually I see a big bus parking a block away. Yup that's our bus, well I checked first - Skoozie is this the bus to Syracusa?
We will pass just north of where the Canadians landed in 1943

It is Remembrance Day and we are travelling through, or at least near, where Canadian soldiers fought in the Second World War.

Farley Mowat was here and wrote about his experience in "And No Birds Sang". They left England as naive, brash young men, almost boys. Those who survived returned older, wiser, harder - they had tasted despair as they moved robot like through the scorching heat, parched, suffering from dysentery, one more hill to climb. Some got malaria, some were shot by friendly fire. Three ships were torpedoed before they even landed, resulting in 52 lives lost and a lack of critical supplies.
The Allied invasion of Sicily, lasted from July 9 to August 17, 1943. From Sicily they moved on to the mainland.
The conquest of Sicily led to the fall of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the surrender of the Italian government to the Allies.
Canada’s longest Second World War army campaign was in Italy.

They started in Sicily from July 10 to August 6, 1943, and moved to the mainland via Messina from September 3, 1943, to February 25, 1945.
There were 25,264 Canadian casualties in the fighting, including more than 5,900 who were killed.

92,000 Canadian soldiers fought alongside the Allied forces in Italy.
In Sicily they formed the left flank, landing near Pachino and then working their way north over mountainous terrain to Agira. The Germans called them "mountain boys."
Since Germans were perched in towns high in the hills the Canadians climbed the cliffs at night. Boys from BC, the prairies, average age 24. Churchill, Mountbatten and Patten were here. Running the show.
500 Canadians are buried near Agira where a fierce but successful battle occurred. The evening after, on July 30, 1943, the Canadian Seaforth Highlander Regimental pipe and drum band performed a concert in the main town square. They played "Retreat" and it was broadcast around the world by the CBC. A jolly good time with the Italians gathered round, kids making the V for victory sign, the priests on hand to ring the church bells, so many Italian soldiers surrendered, but the Germans held firm.
No more war I think, so senseless. Nay, no, never, no never, no more.

This is a long day of travel. First the bus to Syracusa that is running a bit late, ten minutes to board the train to Catania. The train is so comfortable, what a great way to travel.

Then two hours in Çatania and a bus to Palermo.
This map shows the first six hours of our journey. The red lines show where Canadian soldiers were in 1943.

The last bus was also comfortable with lots of leg room. It rained the whole way and high in the mountains there was fog.
The interior of Sicily has mountains and valleys, the hillsides are terraced to grow crops.

Nearer the coast is flat land.

It is dark when we get to Palermo - we take city bus 101 to our hotel - the stop is about six blocks away.

This has been a long day of travel. Our room is large and clean with a little balcony, we are half a block to a nice street, it is 640 pm - we have been on the road for over 11 hours.