We start our first longer bushbaby journey with great excitement. We would actually have liked to set off in the direction of Greece, but the route there crosses too many borders.

So we take a leisurely drive via Airolo to the Pavia region, where we spend two nights on a pitch near a beautiful historic monastery (San Roco, Certosa di Pavia) and get in the mood for Italianità. At an agriturismo in Celleri (Loggia Caminata), we learn that Italians also like travelling with motorhomes and that there are porcupines in Italy, as we find our first needle for the bush baby here.

Anita's call from Amaroni/Calabria makes us plan our journey towards Sicily, but we enjoy one more night on a pitch in the Ligurian mountains of Santo Stefano. It's low season and everywhere is quiet except at weekends.

The ferry takes us to a new world overnight: from Livorno to Palermo, in the hot summer of Sicily. 

At the Agricampeggio Scopello, wild at the grottos of San Vito Lo Capo, at Mama Colette in Marsala at the campsite in Noto, on the cliffs of Siracusa, in Brucoli with a magnificent view of Mount Etna, on the cool, thundery slopes of Mount Etna, at the campsite in Mascali and finally in the riverbed of Scifi, we experience the beautiful nature of Sicily. Sea, hills, greenery and, of course, the all-dominant Mount Etna, which erupts again and again during an active phase. Unpredictable, spectacular, surprising. Magnificent.

The island impresses and Etna captivates us.

The sunrises and sunsets dominate our cameras as we chase from peak to peak without haste. Happy times!

After the ferry ride to the mainland, we find a good parking space in the shady pine forest of Pizza, then drive on to Amaroni, where we are once again warmly welcomed by Anita. We stand in the olive grove and hear the wild boars next to the car at night after Switzerland's European Championship match.  We spend a night in the forest above Girifalco, then head down to the sea and spend the night on the private beach of Isola die Capo Rizzuto right by the sea. It's hot and we climb far up to the small but beautiful lakes of Ampollino, Arvo and Cecità, where we enjoy the hiking, the peace and the coolness. A detour to Amaroni to stock up on more excellent olive oil and watch the match against Spain, then back up into the Aspromonte National Park. In the middle of the night, we flee the forest through thick fog. At the mountain station of Gamberie Sullo Stretto, we spend two nights enjoying the view and watching the Swiss finish.

We continue the journey to the ferry to Palermo at a leisurely pace. After so much forest, it should be the sea again. But the culture shock at Camping Marinello in Oliver goes deep, it's the weekend and the pizzeria is having karaoke night. The countryside is beautiful, but we drive up into the mountains of the Parco dei Nebrodi, where we had already said goodbye to Mount Etna, but unexpectedly we see it again here and once more it casts its spell over us - and haunts us. At Lago Biviere, we visualise how it would erupt at night. The fact that it would do so right at the final whistle of the semi-final and the Italian victory was still a surprise and a fascinating two-hour spectacle. We also really enjoyed the encounters with locals and Maltese that Lago Maulazzo and this dream location had in store for us. 

After a final dip in the sea and a stressful journey to the harbour, the ferry took us back to Livorno in comfort.

The weather reports from Switzerland are not very encouraging for travelling home as quickly as possible. Heavy thunderstorms led to the temporary closure of the Gotthard route, and heavy rain is still forecast, including in northern Italy. So we decide to spend the night here near the ferry harbour in Livorno. We find the Agriturismo Lago de Tamerici, a very pretty little place right on the lake and with a nice restaurant, where we have an excellent meal and celebrate the last evening of a great journey. The night is very restless, however, as the restaurant guests don't make much effort to be quiet when we say goodbye in the car park. We set off very early in the morning and reach Ticino and home sooner than expected.

This first longer Bushbaby trip was a complete success, characterised above all by the sea, forest and Mount Etna, but also by warm hospitality.