Testo in italiano

Sicily is calling … Kerguelen islands

By Giovanni Vallone

Sicily is calling Kerguelen islands, Sicily is calling Kerguelen islands!!!

Kerguelen islands, can you hear us?

Hey, Kerguelenian! Can you hear us???

Islands around the world: let’s join together

Over and out!

We are in a place close to nowhere, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, almost 12,000 kilometers from Sicily: the Kerguelen Islands.

They were discovered by Mr. Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec on February 12, 1772.

In that same year another traveller landed in another island, our Sicily: William Young, English, who had not discovered Sicily but he was one of those many travellers of the Grand Tour that in 1700 saw our island as one of the favourite destinations of these illustrious tourists.

But now, let’s see what these island brothers have in common with us Sicilians.

We have caught an Italian-kerguelenian: Matteo Tolosano

MATTEO SI PRESENTA E DICE CHE E’ DI CUNEO

In Northern Italy!

We are below below, to the extreme south of Italy and Europe

The Sicilians are so different from the Italians of the North!

MATTEO DICE QUELLO CHE FA E PERCHE SI TROVA A KUERGELEN

Very well Matteo, you could come in Sicily and study the ladybugs that reproduce on the top of the volcano Etna, at 3300 meters of altitude!

MATTEO DICE CHI VIVE SULL’ISOLA

MATTEO PARLA DI BREAKFAST E MEAL

Well if we come we prepare a nice dish of pasta with cuttlefish ink that here in Sicily is very famous.

And for breakfast granita with brioche, though possibly… given the coolness of those parts …

MATTEO PARLA DELLA SUA GIORNATA DI LAVORO E CHE LE FORMICHE NON HANNO BISOGNO DI ALI

Very interesting dear Matteo

MATTEO PARLA DELLA FAUNA CON MOLTI PINGUINI, ONTARIE, LEONI MARINI

I get it!

Here we have many birds that rest on our island when they fly from Africa to Northern Europe and vice versa.

Sicily is one of the birds’ favorite places to rest during their migrations.

We have many places where they rest before resuming their flight: Vendicari, the Peloritani, the Simeto river, the Saline of Trapani…

We have to ask some of them if during their flight they pass by the Kerguelen Islands.

So they can say hello!

MATTEO DICE COME SI ARRIVA ALLE KERGUELEN CON UNA BOAT DA REUNION

Instead in Sicily you get there by a ferry that you take in Italy and after 20 minutes it arrives in Sicily.

And this ferry is famous for having delicious arancini, fried balls of rice and meat sauce.

MATTEO DICE CHE SI PESCA FACILMENTE

Not like this fisherman that our crew met at Punta del Faro, the closest part of Sicily to Italy, just 3 kilometers away.

MATTEO DICE    “questo e’l unico centro abitato di kerguelen

How nice, it looks like one of our fishing villages.

Like Acitrezza for example or Scopello.

Well… not exactly the same … but there is the sea in  both places

MATTEO FA VEDERE DOVE ABITAVANO ED IL CIBO PORTATO DALL’ELICOTTERO

If you tell us in time we will send you cannoli, parmigiana and a good Sicilian wine

MATTEO FA VEDERE TUTTI GLI ANIMALI, LE MIGLIAIA DI PINGUINI, ED ACCAREZZA UN LEONE MARINO

The triumph of the nature: long live the islands Kerguelen!

Did you know Matteo that Sicily is the Italian region with the greatest extension of naturalistic areas?

Uhmmmm … all those penguins remind me of the confusion in the center of Palermo.

Never go there by car Matteo!

MATTEO O BELLA CIAO

Ha ha … then listen to our Sicilian tarantella

MATTEO FA VOLARE GLI SCI AL VENTO

Oh my what a wind guys!

Here in Sicily so strong is only on the top of Etna and currents form a hat of clouds called Contessa

MATTEO PINGUINI CURIOSI

These penguins remind me of Sicilian women who are very curious.

MATTEO GIOCA A CARTE

Here in Sicily we play scopa and briscola

MATTEO SI FA IL BAGNO

Well, Matteo, don’t get mad if we visit you and don’t go swimming!

Brrr … how cold!

MATTEO SULLA NEVE

If you want to ski here in Sicily you can do it only on Etna, around January and February.

SEGUONO BELLE IMMAGINI DI DOCUMENTARI DA INTEGRARE NEL RACCONTO

Okay, it’s a deal Kerguelen Islands!

Twinning it is!

We bring the granita for breakfast and some eggplant for a good parmigiana.

Then we also bring the ladybugs of Etna and the scopa and briscola cards.

And we also bring a Sicilian cart with a nice tarantella.

And you bring us some penguins that we could host in the high mountain lakes of the Nebrodi Mountains; you bring us some of those colorful little houses; and maybe a magnificent sunrise or sunset; and, above all, that wonderful love for Nature that dominates in places like the Kerguelen