Our last couple of weeks in San Vito seemed to fly by, fortunately with a change in the prevailing wind that’d been threatening to blow us away almost since we’d arrived. Coming straight off the ocean, the campsite was a lot more protected – although we did wonder if the original direction might be preferable overall on the morning there were a couple of large ships sheltering VERY close to the beach…

Christmas itself was quiet – those we’ve come to think of as “the usual suspects” were the only people staying on the campsite, and we just spent a day of eating and drinking (as ever). Quite how we managed to fit so much food into the van’s fridge, I’m still unsure – but it seemed to fly straight back out again.

We finally got around to heading up to the lovely hilltop town of Erice, visible from a good chunk of this end of the island as it sits high above Trapani. The cloud came and went, rolling down the street as we sat having lunch, but the views were superb, stretching as far as Mazara and the sea off the south coast glittering in the sunlight.

Entertainment was provided by another Christmas market, with small huts in a couple of the town squares, and a wonderful series of animatronic tableaus – both nativity and local-life-in-times-past – in a small courtyard.

The run-up to New Year saw a whole load of Italian registered campers appear, and we thought the site might see some lively celebrations. But they nearly all disappeared again on the morning of New Year’s Eve, for some strange reason. The year started with bright blue skies, so we decided to give a try to the walking poles we’d treated ourselves to, with another meander through the Zingaro natural reserve. Not just a meander, either – I even braved the sea for a New Year’s swim! Yes, it was cold…

Before we knew it, we needed to head to the airport to collect my mother for her week’s holiday. We’d spent just over a month at La Pineta, and it proved to be the right choice. We still don’t think the perfect campsite exists, but this one’s definitely a chunk closer than most, with a really good blend of facilities on site and proximity to a town with decent food shopping.

Oh, and top-notch cats. They’ll miss us. Probably…