Hospital Visits, a Wander around Ruins of Cirella and Scalea’s New Train Station

Welcome to the November edition of The Calabrian Dream. I am Michelle, John and I have been living in Scalea which is a small city in the north of Calabria since December 2018. If you are new to this blog and would like to know more about our story of leaving the UK and living in the south of Italy just check out the Archive.

Mixed weather

The weather in November was mixed. Beautiful bright sunny days that were followed with cool nights. Other days were very wet and windy. It is autumn after all and we are in the northern hemisphere. What else should we expect? It is still warmer than the UK. I think we have become accustomed to the hotter summers so when the temperature drops to below 20C we feel cold. Back in the UK we would’ve said that it was mild and lovely. How we have changed ha-ha.

The sunny days did give us amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Visiting the old ruins of Cirella

Near where we live is a seaside town called Cirella. This small seaside town is relatively new and has lovely restaurants on the coast. Every time we drive south of Scalea we see the ruins of the original town which was built high in a hill. One sunny day, John suggested we should drven up there as we have always said we would but hadn’t.

The history of this town is interesting, because of its location high on a hill, it was prime for many invaders. The Romans, Greeks, Normans, Saracens, Ottomans and any other forces had a go. The main reason for its destruction was when it was invaded in the 1800s by Napoleon troops then by the British who were bombarding the French from the sea. Not only were there various armies attacking there were also earthquakes and an infestation of giant ants, although I hope that last one is just folklore. It seems like that that poor town was not meant to be on that hill any more. After all the invasions and natural disasters, the locals decided to rebuild a new town on the coast and as far as I know there has been no disaster since.

When we arrived by car, the first thing we saw were the remains of the imposing castle. Then when we walked through the town along a pathway we saw the remains of the village itself including churches, dwellings and other buildings. There were places that were too difficult for us to go through so we haven’t seen the whole town.

It was fascinating trying to picture what it would have looked like in it’s prime before Napoleon’s navy landed.

Teatro dei Ruderi

Nearby the ruins of Cirella is the modern Teatro dei Ruderi “Theatre of the Ruins”. This open theatre was built in the mid 1990s and every August a summer music festival takes place there most nights. This time of year you can just walk around the whole thing as nobody is there.

The acoustics were amazing when walking to the stage, I walked on the stage and John sat on a seat and he could hear me very clearly. When I made a louder noise the sound reverberated around the structure. The views were stunning, obviously when the concerts take place it is dark as the events start from 9pm or later, so there’s no distraction there. It must be a great experience to see a concert in the hot nights of August. I would love to see a concert there. Another thing to add to our to do list.

Scalea train station had a revamp

Scalea train station has been going through a 3.5 million euro renovation. It is finally completed. I like the new slick look with lights and trees. It is now modern looking instead and looking tired and out of date so the revamp is definitely welcome.

Here are photos of the new one.

I didn’t take any photos of how it previously looked unfortunately, but it is easily found with a google search here

Another visit to the Olive Oil Mill

Moira’s friend Rosa and now also ours, visited from the US for a few weeks. One of the days we took them both to the Sagario olive oil factory in Praia A Mare I wrote about previously. They had just finished pressing the olives but they showed them around as before and let Moira and Rosa taste the oil. We had already tasted previously. This time there was something new, as it was near the end of the season for the pressing, they showed us a huge pile of crushed olive seeds that were drying in the outside area. These, when ready will be bagged and then sold as biomass fuel for heating. There is no waste here at all. Every time John and I visit, we learn something new about that place.

After that shopping visit, we went to a restaurant in Praia A Mare called Andujamu. John and I hadn’t been there for a while. I actually thought that it was closed after the summer. They have a lunchtime fixed menu that is 10 euros for the meat menu and 15 euros for the fish menu dessert is extra. They have their normal menu too.

John and I had the fish menu and Moira and Rosa chose from the standard menu. Everyone enjoyed their meals which is a relief because John and I always hope that when we take people to places whether they are restaurants, bars or whatever that they enjoy them too.

Hospital Visit

About three years ago, John had cataract surgery to his left eye here in Calabria. Some people are always amazed when they hear that they can do things here. No idea why, Italy is not a third world country. I know it can be relaxed but Italy does have healthcare. I find it very strange that people think nothing is avaiable here. anyway, this year he needed it again for his right eye. So as before we went to an Oculista (Ophthalmologist) in Scalea for eye tests. I also had an eye test as I needed to change the prescription for my reading glasses.

Here in Calabria you first go to an Oculista to test your eyes then go to an Ottica with the prescription to purchase the lenses whether they are for glasses or contact lenses. They also sell frames if you require those. I just had my lenses changed.

John went to have an eye test mainly to arrange an operation for cataract surgery as it was becoming cloudier.

After going to the hospital for a pre-surgery check, the appointment for the surgery was in late November. John had to have a Covid test done on the afternoon before at a pharmacy. Luckily it was negative and they gave him a negative certificate which he had to take with him. So one early morning, off we went to Cetraro hospital which is about a 50 minute drive south from our house in Scalea. The location for the eye department in the hospital was the same as three years ago but the area had been reconfigured, so it looked different.

After an initial wait in the waiting room, John went in with a number of other patients who were having eye surgery and I waited in the waiting room.

It was a long wait for me. After two and half hours, a woman from the department came to me and gave me the paperwork for me to pay for the Ticket at the Ticket office. As John was taken to where the surgery was happening. The Ticket (yes, it is called Ticket in Italian) is a cost that is to be paid as a contribution to the health service you are registered with. Each service as a different price. For John’s surgery this was 46 euros. I waited over 30 minutes in the queue to pay, by the time I returned to the eye department, John was in the waiting room waiting for me. The operation itself was faster than me waiting and paying for the Ticket! When that was done, off we went back home to Scalea, obviously John couldn’t drive so I did. John was given a list to buy two types of drops, a pack of eye covers to protect his eye when sleeping and showering and wipes for his eye area as he can’t get water in the eye for a while which we bought from a pharmacy in Scalea.

It was all done, he just needed to visit three more times for check ups. From the first visit to the eye doctor in Scalea to the surgery was around 6 weeks. So much better than the UK. Although it is free for UK residents there, the waiting list can be over a year for that surgery depending on circumstances and local availability. So 46 euros is not a bad price to pay.

The main thing is that John will see properly again. Just in time for Christmas.

The hospital is located on a hill so the iews are amazing. Here photos of outside the  hopital and the views.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our life in Calabria. Hope you return next time.

Until then Ciao