Lost in the middle of Sicily

I have worked as an “applications engineer” in the semiconductor industry for a US-based equipment supplier company for a long time. As part of my job, I would regularly visit semiconductor manufacturing sites worldwide, also known as “fabrication laboratories” or, in short, just “fabs”.
In 2014, my organisation scheduled my first field visit to a company called “STMicroelectronics” on an island off the coast of Italy. This island was the OG birthplace of the Mafia, where some iconic scenes from the movie “The Godfather” were shot. If you have already guessed it, yes, I’m talking about the famous Sicily (you should try Googling this place; it is home to the most active stratovolcano in the world, Mount Etna). My work project there in the city of Catania, Sicily, was said to last a few months.
Mount Etna an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy.
With a very busy schedule in the fab, I had barely any hours for myself. I worked on Saturdays too, as our team was on a tight schedule on this project, and therefore, the weeks passed by quite quickly. Soon I was in my fourth and final month here in Sicily, and I had barely explored the island other than the city of Catania itself and Mount Etna, of course. Most of my weekends were spent re-energising for the following week, catching up on multiple emails, or preparing presentations. I was not sure I would ever visit Sicily again; therefore, I had to visit some of the iconic cities or places the island had to offer. I had my company expense a rental car to help me with this cause. My colleague who visited Sicily earlier this year had mentioned he drove across the island and the trip was worth it.
The Sicilian Road Trip Masterplan
Well, I laid out my master plan: a road trip across the island of Sicily over the coming weekend. After some basic research on places to visit in Sicily (on Google, of course) and suggestions by local colleagues at STMicroelectronics, I decided I’d start my drive early Saturday morning from Catania, drive down south to Syracuse on Highway E45, and continue along the coast all the way to Agrigento (a city on the southern coast of Sicily rich with archaeological sites). After a good sightseeing and meal, I can drive in the evening via Highway A19 from Agrigento to Palermo (a city in the northwest of Sicily noted for its history, culture, architecture, and gastronomy). If planned well, I can have a good, relaxed dinner at Palermo to close off the long drive and call it a day.
Terrain map of the island of Sicily, Italy.
The next day, on Sunday, I can explore Palermo before heading back towards Catania, my home until I’m here in Sicily. This would close the road trip for two days of the weekend so I can peacefully sleep on Sunday night back in my hotel in Catania to be all energised for the work week to come. A perfect road trip plan. Now all that was left to do was execute it.
It’s Friday, and I’m still working in the clean room at STMicroelectronics with a few critical production line setups I had to close for the week. As the hours went by and downtime from other systems in the production line increased, it became more apparent that I would have to turn up to work on Saturday too. So much for my road trip this weekend. As things turned out, I was back at work on Saturday, completing my due duties on the production line before I could get off work around 5 p.m. With about half the weekend left, I could have started by road trip right away, with a shorter route of course, with fewer miles to drive and fewer cities to set foot on, but I was too tired; it had been quite a long weekday, and I needed some rest before I could get behind a wheel.
That night, as usual, I headed out to my favourite kebab shop in town to have my favourite kebab. As I had my dinner, I roughly chalked out the plan for tomorrow, as I still could do my road trip on Sunday, which would be a little more concise than the original thought-out plan. I could drive directly to Agrigento before heading towards Palermo and back. I just needed to start Sunday early, so I headed back to my hotel to get some rest before my big, long-awaited day.
It’s road trip day.
It’s Sunday — finally, road trip day. I woke up to check the time around 9:30 a.m. It seems like I got a well-needed rest from the tough work week. It was a little late to start the trip, but I was going to go ahead with it anyway. I got ready and headed out to grab a quick bite at the hotel breakfast and a quick full tank refuel, and I was on my way alone towards Agrigento. With minimal breaks on the way on Highway SS192, I reached Agrigento around 1 p.m. in the afternoon.
The city is just different and beautiful, with high, narrow roads left, like the city was built just so it could make it to a scene in the “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy. I drove around curiously, hoping to catch something cool and new before I grabbed lunch. Right after lunch, I visited a famous vast archaeological site with well-preserved Greek temples on the city’s outskirts called the “Valley of the Temples.” Well, I was glad I made it to Agrigento.
The Valle dei Templi (Italian: Valle dei ˈtɛmpli), or Valley of the Temples, is an archaeological site in Agrigento, Sicily.
It was a hot, sunny day. I still had to drive to Palermo before I returned to Catania by the end of the day. Agrigento was beautiful; I spent more time there than expected, and the sun had started to come down. It was a dilemma whether to drive to Palermo or have dinner in Agrigento before returning to Catania. After a short introspection, I felt it was better to just have my stomach full and head home safely. Palermo was too far a drive to pull off on Sunday evening; I am here in Sicily for business work after all. With my road trip further shortened, I thought it would be best if I took my time to scout for restaurants to have the best cuisine for dinner. As I finally came to a consensus on a moderately expensive place with a good atmosphere, I dwelled on my delicious pasta and wine.
Hours passed by before I closed the check, and it was around 10:30 p.m., the right time to head back home. Catania was roughly 2.5 hours away, which would roughly get me back to my hotel around about 1 a.m. I got in my car with a quick refuel at the nearest gas station I could find, and I was on my way back. It was a good weekend and a road trip. I got to see Agrigento at least, if not the whole of Sicily.
I have to mention that I relied on an inbuilt GPS within the car to get my way around Sicily. My mobile phone was almost dead due to usage throughout the day, and I had come to realise the connection was poor anyway, in most parts of Sicily. I had to rely on the in-built GPS in my rental car. As I drove away from Agrigento on the road, as told by the GPS, my path back to my temporary home in Catania was straightforward. I had to drive until I hit Highway SS192, which was about an hour away, and that highway would take me straight to Catania in about an hour and a half.
In the middle of the night
About a half-hour into the road, the GPS had issues and started fluctuating. The location of my car it was showing was not precise, and the screen itself was rotating constantly. I was now out into the dark alone, with only the moonlight, and with Agrigento and any civilization about many miles behind me. Hardly any cars were around me in both directions, and there were no road sign boards for directions as the roads were not highways. I continued to drive along the way, hoping I would go in the right direction, but the road was not a single continuation; it split into multiple roads and had many turns. The GPS was still loading and mostly confused. Before I knew it, I was completely lost. I was all alone in the dead of night, lost in the middle of Sicily.
I was too far away from Agrigento to head back and had no clue on the way forward to Catania, which was about 200 miles away. And it was midnight with only my car headlight and the moonlight for visibility, with no sense of direction. I did not know anyone well enough on this island that I could call for help, let alone at this old hour.
It seemed like I had only one option, so I drove ahead on the same road. As it diverged, twisted, and split, I just chose one path and drove on. There was not a single soul in sight to ask for directions or help, and barely any cars were around. I kept driving endlessly, taking turns in random directions. I was completely lost. Now I just wanted to see a single person, let alone an entire city.
I wanted to head to the nearest town or civilization, but I could hardly find anything; the roads went on endlessly into the dark. I also came across the same turn again, which meant I was meaninglessly driving around in circles. I made random guesses on my next direction, hoping any particular right decision would take me closer to any nearest town (Catania now was not even my top priority). And, yes, my GPS is still not working.
I was here in Sicily for work, and my company spent significantly on travel expenses to get the job done. Every day and every hour of high-quality work counts; this is the semiconductor industry, after all. And, currently, I am the only person sent all the way here. I had to be at the STMicroelectronics office at 9 a.m. in the morning. Monday had already arrived, and the week had started again. If I hadn’t turned up to work in the morning, my absence would have escalated within hours. Firstly, the system owner at STMicroelectronics would raise it with the customer team on-site. Soon they will escalate to the regional manager of our company division, who handles all operations in this region. It won’t be long before the news hits Satan himself, my manager, who sits at our company HeadQuarters office in California. The last person you want to piss off, and not turning up for work at a customer manufacturing site, is one hell of a way to do that. My manager would make sure I lost a limb or two.
It was 2 a.m. now, and I had been driving around endlessly randomly for many miles for the past couple of hours. It seemed more obvious that I might have to just stop the car, sleep in, and get up early to figure out how to head to Catania and be at work by 9 a.m. I have only 7 hours left.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Right about when I was about to give up and stop the car once and for all, I saw a light shimmer in the distance; it was a town maybe a few miles away. I was ecstatic that I had to get there, even if the whole mafia lived in that town. Started driving towards the town, taking careful turns or exits as needed. As I approached the town, I realised it was the town of Caltanisetta. I remember this on my way towards Agrigento earlier in the day. Great!!! I am on the right track. I hit the road encircling the town only to realise I was on the other side of it; the road leading towards the highway to Catania is on the other side of the town. So I made careful decisions and turns, and somehow I made my way around the town before I could get on the road that I needed to be on. Finally, I was on the right track; as I drove away, I could see the town of Caltanisetta slowly fade away into the midnight darkness.
Not soon after, I finally reached Highway SS192 and saw the board 111 km to Catania. It was such a great relief. I got onto the highway and was onward to my destination. The only hurdle to cross was now reaching the hotel after entering Catania City. I knew the southern part of the city very well, and I could drive around without any help from GPS or maps. But, luckily enough, as I approached Catania, the highway connected to the airport road. I knew this route all too well; I wasn’t far from my hotel, continued on the airport road, and entered the part of Catania I was familiar with.
Not before long, I was in my room, finally!!! It was around 4 a.m., so much for a cross-island road trip. I was back just on time and safe. I set up multiple alarms, including letting the receptionist know before I went to bed. That day, I reached the STMicroelectronics office at 8:55 a.m. sharp.
Subsequent weekends
The week passed by quickly (which generally happens when you’re very busy at work), and another weekend was here. Perhaps my penultimate weekend in Sicily. I promptly opened my laptop to continue watching “Breaking Bad” from where I had previously left off.
With most of Sicily still unexplored, I binge-watched the series over the entire weekend.