Picture postcard pretty, tiny Levanzo (LE-van-zo) is my favourite of the Egadi Islands for no particular reason other than it has a lovely feel about it. The smallest of the 3 main islands, Levanzo covers only 5.8 kms² and, like the other two, has only one main settlement.  I arrived on the morning hydrofoil from Marettimo on a sunny morning in November and was the only person to get off here! Levanzo’s new harbour is nothing more than a large flat square of concrete attached to the rocks directly beneath the town. Steps lead up to a bar and then the main ‘road’ through town. Barely more than a path, the road is one car wide and runs along the coast with a little wall between road and the steep drop down into the sea.  There wasn’t a soul in sight!  I had booked a room (and compulsory half board) in Albergo Paradiso which was very easy to find as it was straight in front of me as I walked up from the port.

Levanzo’s town is a handful of whitewashed houses with painted blue shutters squeezed into a tiny bay and onto the steeply rising slopes that lead up from the water.  According to the 2011 census, there were only 208 year-round inhabitants! It has a couple of restaurants, a bar, a shop, a bakery and a post office which doubles as the bank. A new-looking church looks down on the town from the top spot on the hillside and a huge villa, Villa Florio – apparently owned by the Prada family – occupies prime position in the centre of town.  A cluster of brightly-coloured little fishing boats are moored in the wonderfully clear turquoise waters along the old harbour which juts out into the bay. It’s all very pretty and very peaceful.

The Albergo Paradiso (Paradise Hotel) has seen better days and could do with a coat of paint and a bit of a spruce up but it was pleasant enough with bright pink bougainvillea and blue woodwork.  Steps at the front led up to a large restaurant with lots of windows and a terrace looking out across the sea to Favignana. The hotel was behind and above, accessed via some crumbling steps where the hotel cat and a rescued seagull lived on scraps from the kitchen.  I was the only guest! The owner/chef whose name I never discovered and Luca, the waiter/receptionist/general employee welcomed me and showed me to a room at the side of the hotel. Being the only guest, I asked to be moved to the room at the front with the amazing sea view. For a small fee, they agreed!

It was a stunning day, unbelievably sunny and warm, so I headed for the beach! It seemed mad to be contemplating the beach in November, especially as the Sicilians already had their coats on, but why not? I asked the way and was given some directions by a couple of ladies chatting outside their front doors.  I took a wrong turn and, rather than the coast road, ended up walking up an almost vertical hill into the centre of the island. Unlike Marettimo, Levanzo has roads! The views from the top were amazing – I could see across the island’s green and fairly flat upper plains to the mountains of mainland Sicily, down to the port and across to Favignana. I retraced my steps – the walk down was harder than the walk up – and found the coast road.  I headed for Il Faraglione – a large rock and landmark just off the coast – a good swimming spot apparently.

Il Faraglione provides shelter for the minute pebbly beach called Cala Camarro where the water is the cleanest I have ever seen anywhere. An Italian couple were already in the water when I arrived. They assured me it was nice once you got in – they were right – it was amazing! It was cold but the joy of being in the sea on 4th November and in such an amazingly beautiful place more than made up for it. After a while, you can’t feel the cold and the water is so clear you can see your feet and every pebble beneath them!  There were about 8 of us in all on the little beach, all with our picnics, plus a few snorkellers diving from a nearby boat – idyllic!

After a very nice few hours on the beach, I wandered around the town’s narrow little sloping streets on my way back and stopped for a glass of wine in the harbourside bar and watched the colourful little boats bobbing around in the glassy waters of the harbour. The bright turquoise colour of the sea is spectacular. There were a few more people about by now.  I found the only shop which didn’t take cards so I was dispatched to the ATM at the top of town to get cash.  The people in the shop were friendly in a nosy kind of way and chatted to me nicely. It was Sunday the next day so I bought provisions in case everything was shut (which it was!)

I hadn’t wanted to book half board but, in the event, it was an absolute bargain, there wasn’t anywhere else to eat anyway and the food was fantastic! Luca had laid the table for me in the huge restaurant but it was such a beautiful night with an enormous silver full moon shining down onto the sea in front of me that I decided to wrap up and sit outside on the terrace.  It was a bit chilly but totally fantastic! Table for one on the terrace with a moonlit sea view and delicious freshly cooked Sicilian food – what more could you want? I had antipasti to start with – peperonata (red peppers in tomato sauce), caponata (famous aubergine dish) and some little fried fish, followed by spaghetti with clams and then 2 whole fresh fried fish with a huge salad of tomatoes, onions and olives.  Some local white wine, delicious bread and a perfect espresso completed my feast.  Inside the restaurant, a large party from the only other restaurant in town were celebrating the end of the season and the beginning of the winter holidays. It sounded jolly! They probably thought I was mad!

Sadly, my second day wasn’t as warm and sunny as the day before.  It was very windy! This time I set off to walk in the other direction.  The island has a good network of signposted pathways and you can walk around most of the island.  I followed the coastal path past the island’s cemetery, decorated with yellow and purple chrysanthemums, and out of town past a couple of lone fishermen down on the rocks.  The path continued through the forest on the high ground and wound up through the pine trees over carpets of tiny pink alpine cyclamen poking up through the soft earth; past stone tors and a stone-built storehouse up to an ancient Saracen tower on the top of the hill.  From there I had a fabulous view across the island and down onto the ruins of the old Tonnara and villa, previously owned by the Florio family, now apparently also owned and being renovated by the Prada family along with the Villa Florio. From my elevated viewpoint, the channel from the sea on the other side of the island through to the tonnara was clearly visible.  It’s a fascinating old building which you unfortunately can’t get anywhere near at ground level as it’s private property.

Levanzo is home to the famous Grotta del Genovese, one of Italy’s most important archeological sites. The cave shows prehistoric cave paintings showing both people and animals. Sadly, it was closed for winter when I was there.  I walked over the hill and down the other side through the well-looked-after terraced slopes of pine trees which run down to the pebbly beach of Cala Nucidda and a flat, sloping stretch of rock which stretches out into the water known as Cala Minnola.  Remnants of summer beach BBQs remain and I imagine in summer this place is popular and crowded but I walked for the entire day without seeing a single other person! The only sounds came from the waves crashing against the rocks. It was beautifully peaceful. Before leaving that morning, Luca had warned me to be careful not get lost. I thought it would be nearly impossible to get lost on a tiny island with sea all the way around it but apparently 3 lost tourists had had to be rescued earlier in the season!

I took the narrow coastal path all the way back to town and popped into the Albergo Paradiso to see if there was any chance of any lunch.  The owner was there eating with his family and there were no other customers. He kindly rustled me up a plate of Penne al Pesto Trapanese – a local pasta dish with a sauce made from tomatoes, basil, garlic and ground almonds. Very rich and delicious! Later, I walked back to Il Faraglione to watch the sunset. It was stormy and windy and hard to believe I’d been swimming in the sea there the day before.  I carried on past the large rock where the civilized tarmac roads peters out into a rocky goat track. From here I had a brilliant view across to the island of Marettimo but it was too windy to be fun!  The sunset was stunning and I enjoyed watching it by myself before meandering back through the tiny back streets of the town.

Back at Paradiso, I enjoyed some baby squid followed by an enormous and delicious fresh fish and some salad. I’d asked for less food tonight as the night before there was way too much!  It was way too windy to sit outside tonight and there was talk of a storm coming.  I sat eating whilst the owner and Luca sat at the next table drinking wine and watching a TV game show on the huge TV above our heads. They were very ready for the end of the season when the hotel closes for a couple of months over the winter period.

Apparently, you can be stranded for days here as the harbour is not very high nor very sheltered and becomes completely submerged in stormy weather.  I watched from my bedroom window as lightning spiked across the night sky and the island was battered by a huge storm.  Scared of being stranded here for days, I got up early the next day, had a quick breakfast served by Luca (who was definitely not a morning person) and headed for mainland Sicily. The skies were blue and it was a lovely day but the locals at the port told me I was doing the right thing by getting off the island today. Being the only guest of the Albergo Paradiso was a bit surreal but the people were very kind and welcoming to me and staying there and chatting to Luca balanced my lovely solitary walks around the island.  The food was amazing as was sleeping with the sound of waves crashing on the rocks and waking up to look out across the sea to Favignana. The cost of the room and half board was ridiculously cheap considering the quality of the food. I would definitely stay there again.

Little Levanzo is a lovely little surprise, a picturesque and tranquil delight with gorgeous turquoise water and stunning scenery.  Amazingly it’s only 15 kms and half an hour on the hydrofoil from bustling Trapani and yet it is a world away. Definitely my favourite Egadi island – the perfect place to relax. Stay at Albergo Paradiso, take the room with the sea view and the great food. Eat! Walk! Swim! Sleep!

NEXT ISLAND: Leaving Sicily behind (sadly) the next islands are off the coast of the south of France.