Today, Wednesday, has been better. I have finally secured the internet wifi (hence an email), David has fitted/is fitting the injectors and has tested the engine works, we have established that the rules have changed around the boat yard and we can now carry out all the work we want on the boat (we will now get everything done here before setting off) and there is the usual Wednesday Quiz tonight…will let you know if we win – ha ha!
March/April 2011
On Tuesday this week we were finally placed, I would like to say calmly, but in 30 knots of wind nothing happens calmly, back in the water. Alhambra has now had all of her old bottom paint sand blasted off and nice new epoxy, primer and two coats of anti-foul painted on all of her undersides and bits that stick into the sea and she looks a dream. We paid out for the work done and the time spent in the boat yard – then had to have a stiff drink at the cost, but hey that’s what happens when you own a boat. So, as agreed with the marina office we would go in the water on Tuesday morning.
We knew which berth we were heading for and off we set, up the long alley to the Darsena (as they are called) motoring passed our position ready to back in, marinaro on shore and friends ready with fenders to help out – and they were needed, as we came to a stop to reverse we were of course without steerage and as luck (or the gods would have it) a gust took the boat out of our planned path and heading into the boat on our starboard side, but Lee and Terry were there and made sure we didn’t hit anything. Safely tucked away in our berth we headed back to the apartment to start the process of moving back on board. In the last three weeks we have packed the house and suit cases, unpacked suitcases in the first apartment, pack and unpacked in the second apartment and now packed and unpacked on board – I’m thinking of starting a website instructing on the best way to pack a suitcase.
It took all day and when he got the water heater out he found that the tank was corroded – which is probably where the water that we find and didn't know where it was coming from has been coming from... “shall we get it repaired?” knowing full well that this is not going to happen and we will need to order a new one…which we did this morning, and ironically is cheaper to buy an exact replacement and have it shipped from the UK than it is to buy one here…that will arrive next week, so until that time we have no hot water. Good job we postponed David’s sister until next weekend.
Having moved back on board we now have to cook on board and when we turned on the gas we could smell gas in the cockpit locker where it lives, so today’s other job has been to replace the piping from the gas cylinder to the cooker. On top of that the fridge/freezer is not ‘playing properly’. So whereas normally David spends his time looking at the fridge/freezer temperature because I leave the door open too long, he is now looking at the fridge/freezer trying to solve the problem – which he did an hour ago by taking out the thermometer and sticking a lighter underneath it to get it working properly – all I know is that must have been working fine as the food is cold and so is the wine and beer – and the ice hasn’t melted yet so the G&T’s are also OK.
Finally the weather got better. Up til now has been horrible, our first night back on board was howling, raining and the boat was swinging and bumpy – so no sleep then, yesterday wasn’t brilliant, but finally today it started to calm down. What does this mean? It means all the nice people we have met in the last week are all heading off this week end further up the coast as they have been here all winter and are desperate to leave, so we may be all on our own next week – which probably means we’ll get much more done, that or the weather has finally changed and we’ll just go and sit on the beach. Either way, we are here for at least another week until all our jobs are done.
March April 2011
…anyway that’s one more thing fixed. The fridge/freezer is still playing up, so we are trying new and varied ways to see if we can sort that out – rearranging the food inside etc. But this morning we discovered more water in the bilges that we had expected, so another thing to sort out, although we think there was some sort of blockage which we may have dislodged and the water was sitting in a pipe further down the boat, or it may be that as the boat has been out of the water for such a long time, she needs a week or two back in the water to get her ‘sea legs’ again. It may be that she needs to get wet and expand to her normal shape – of course I am making this all up as I go along and we will spend the next few days checking the bilges. This is not a problem as the weather is deteriorating over the next couple days and we will be getting 30+ knots of wind howling through the marina, so we won’t be going sailing.
Talking of sailing – we went out into the open sea on Sunday. We spent Saturday visiting the Spanish version of Wicks/B&Q trying to find suitable wood for our passarelle (which we still haven’t made and it takes a great leap of faith to get on and off the boat when the tide is low – yes the Med does have a tide, it may only be about 18”, but that’s a big difference when you only have little legs).
We went out for a nice Chinese on Saturday night and checked the weather would be OK for a ‘shake down’ sail on Sunday. Of course it took a little while to get everything prepared – outboard back on the boat, dinghy back on the boat, family back on the boat…and then we were ready – apart from remembering to slip all the lines… then we were off.
We motored out of the marina (having first told them we were just going out for an hour and were not doing a runner without paying our bill), out into the open Mediterranean sea – which was flat calm and not a breath of wind. David turned the boat into wind and asked me to haul out the mainsail. Unfortunately, not having been on boat for 14 months it took me a little while to remember which line to pull in which order, but finally out came the mainsail followed shortly after by the headsail. We switched off the engine and wallowed around a bit in the non-existent sea and wind. Engine back on and we motored up the coast for a mile or so where we found some wind. Sails out, engine off and we were sailing – speeding along at a massive 3 knots – but we didn’t care, the sun was out the sea was calm and a dark dark blue and there other boats all sailing at 3 miles an hour as well. After we checked everything was OK we headed back into the marina, ready for some lunch.
We motored out of the marina (having first told them we were just going out for an hour and were not doing a runner without paying our bill), out into the open Mediterranean sea – which was flat calm and not a breath of wind. David turned the boat into wind and asked me to haul out the mainsail. Unfortunately, not having been on boat for 14 months it took me a little while to remember which line to pull in which order, but finally out came the mainsail followed shortly after by the headsail. We switched off the engine and wallowed around a bit in the non-existent sea and wind. Engine back on and we motored up the coast for a mile or so where we found some wind. Sails out, engine off and we were sailing – speeding along at a massive 3 knots – but we didn’t care, the sun was out the sea was calm and a dark dark blue and there other boats all sailing at 3 miles an hour as well. After we checked everything was OK we headed back into the marina, ready for some lunch.
Having spent a lovely few days with David’s family they left us on Monday, back to their home up in the Spanish mountains, allowing us to start on some of our jobs again. We have realised that this will mean we are going to be here for at least another week and so are planning to go on the Sunday walk which is organised by a local group of people.
However this morning (Tuesday) I have been to my second session of Tai Chi, a resident English lady runs the twice weekly class – money goes to charity – and I went along last Friday. It’s all very gentle, a bit like the visions of the Chinese doing their morning exercises. Each of the movement is named and resembles an item or action – examples being ‘Painting a rainbow’, ‘separating clouds’, ‘rowing boat in middle of the lake’, ‘scooping up the sea’, ‘pushing waves’, ‘dove spreading wings’, ‘Ferris wheel’, and so on. The following day I ached all over as though I had been to a full blown aerobic session. Anyway, while we are here I will continue to go as it appears to be helping my back pains.
However this morning (Tuesday) I have been to my second session of Tai Chi, a resident English lady runs the twice weekly class – money goes to charity – and I went along last Friday. It’s all very gentle, a bit like the visions of the Chinese doing their morning exercises. Each of the movement is named and resembles an item or action – examples being ‘Painting a rainbow’, ‘separating clouds’, ‘rowing boat in middle of the lake’, ‘scooping up the sea’, ‘pushing waves’, ‘dove spreading wings’, ‘Ferris wheel’, and so on. The following day I ached all over as though I had been to a full blown aerobic session. Anyway, while we are here I will continue to go as it appears to be helping my back pains.
Finally, I thought I would give you a bit of a ‘lo down’ on Almerimar (this is all taken from a web site), but essentially Almerimar is a modern resort town situated 40km west of Almeria city and 160km east of Malaga. It is a purpose-built coastal town boasting 13km of wide, sandy beaches, it also has its own 18-hole golf course, a fishing harbour – the local catch is Tuna.
It is an hour and a half drive from the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, but the climate is typically Mediterranean, warm and dry for most of the year. In fact Almerimar boasts the most hours of sun in Andalucia, on average 3000 hours per year and very little rain. It is also only a couple of hours drive to Granada and the Alhambra, which we plan to visit before we leave – of course I will write about it at that time.
It is an hour and a half drive from the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, but the climate is typically Mediterranean, warm and dry for most of the year. In fact Almerimar boasts the most hours of sun in Andalucia, on average 3000 hours per year and very little rain. It is also only a couple of hours drive to Granada and the Alhambra, which we plan to visit before we leave – of course I will write about it at that time.
Well that’s about it for now, busy as always with something new to fix on the boat – one day I’ll get back on with that book of mine…
April 2011 - Southern Spanish Coast
…we’ve left Almerimar…
On Saturday 23rd April we left the marina with another boat ‘Solent Clipper’ owned by Jenny and Ian, at about 8am for the 65 mile trip up to Garrucha, a small fishing village with a seaside town, well so the book tells us.
The ten hour trip was in our favour, following seas and reasonable winds from behind, but not enough to sail off so we motor sailed the whole way (in order to get there quickly). As we arrived the seas and winds had started to pick up but upon arrival we were told “no room in marina – anchor, anchor!” in no uncertain terms. Fortunately the weather changed for the better and a very calm night at anchor was spent, but we didn’t bother to get off the boat.
In the morning we all agreed to press on for Cartagena, another 50+ miles up the coast.
Again I won’t bore you with the details of how the weather changed on an hourly basis from good to bad to good to bad and we decided that we would stick to one of our new rules – not to keep going if we don’t have to, so we ducked out and headed to Mazarron, another small fishing village (in a rain shower). We arrived around 5pm quite tired from the roughish sea and two long days, Ian and Jenny cracked on for another 20 miles and made it to Cartagena by 8pm that night (through what they later described as “interesting” conditions).
Yesterday we sailed – yes actually sailed, no engine, no motor, pure sail/wind power the whole 3 hours to Cartagena, arriving mid afternoon, having had a leisurely morning in Mazarron.
In the morning we all agreed to press on for Cartagena, another 50+ miles up the coast.
Again I won’t bore you with the details of how the weather changed on an hourly basis from good to bad to good to bad and we decided that we would stick to one of our new rules – not to keep going if we don’t have to, so we ducked out and headed to Mazarron, another small fishing village (in a rain shower). We arrived around 5pm quite tired from the roughish sea and two long days, Ian and Jenny cracked on for another 20 miles and made it to Cartagena by 8pm that night (through what they later described as “interesting” conditions).
And now the touristy bit – Cartagena is a big naval base with a couple of marinas and steeped in history. Developed by Hasdrubal around 243BC it became the centre of Carthaginian influence in Europe.
Hasdrubal’s brother, Hannibal, used it as a base for his expedition across the Alps. The Romans duly destroyed the Carthaginian influence and St James the Great is said to have landed here in AD36 bringing Christianity from Palestine. It subsequently passed into the hands of the Barbarians and then the Moors. Philip II fortified the surrounding hills in the 16th Century and Drake stole its guns in 1585 and took them to Jamaica. Plus a whole lot more, including home of the Peral submarine, the original submarine invented by Isaac Peral, designed in 1884, built in Cadiz (which we visited on our last trip) and launched in 1888.
We may stay another day, as the weather is good (the weather over Easter was rubbish), before we head ‘round the corner’ and up the coast on our way to Denia, which should take about a week or s,o and then over to Ibiza.
So we have finally made it back to being proper ‘cruisers’ visiting places, taking photos and reporting back, perhaps now I can start to get back on with my book… you never know I might even finish it.
Our first stop was San Antonio – home of CafĂ© Del Mar, Eden and numerous other night clubs. We used the government marina, which although much cheaper than normal marinas, means you have to encounter Civil Servants at their worst (sorry Marion) – Civil Servants with a uniform, radio and a signature stamp.
The music was better, the service more friendly and the drinks cheaper (l1.5 litres of sangriaa mere €26 between four of us, and that gave us three drinks each – for those of you who wanted to know).
We rented a car on Saturday as the weather was predicted to be ‘miserable’ and decided to go into Ibiza Town for a Medieval Fayre in the ‘Old Town’ (a UNESCO world heritage site), but before heading there we (that is the girls) insisted on going to ‘Las Dalias’, home of the ‘Hippy Market and home of the artisan’. For this you can read ‘anyone who can put some beads onto a length of leather to make a necklace or tie dye some cloth and turn it into a head scarf’. To be fair it was a well arranged market with some interesting things to buy if you wanted a tie dye headscarf…
However, arriving at Ibiza Old Town and stepping back in history through the medieval fayre was a real experience. All of the streets were decorated and all of the vendors and participants were dressed accordingly. The stall vendors were making traditional goods and treats (peanut brittle hand rolled on a marble work top).
We weren’t sure that the miniature wrought iron singer sewing machine actually existing in Medieval times, but hey, who’s counting the centuries…the top of the Old Town was decked out like a medieval version of a ‘food court’ with all manner of meats and breads being cooked on massive hot plates and essence of sausage stew from huge caldrons wafting by.
As the day wore on, the sky darkened and the rain began so we headed back to San Antonio.
That night we were treated to an almighty electric storm right above our heads, which although stunning, is also quite worrying when you live on a boat – you have this big pointy mast which tends to attract the lightening – luckily both Alhambra and Solent Clipper were fine. However, being wimps we did not head round to CafĂ© Savannah and found out the next day that we missed one of the most amazing sunset skies they had ever seen.
The storm was directly in front of them and the sky was lit up with the lightening and then, as the clouds moved, a red glow appeared low on the sky and the sun dropped beneath the storm – same old story, wrong place, wrong time.
As the day wore on, the sky darkened and the rain began so we headed back to San Antonio.
That night we were treated to an almighty electric storm right above our heads, which although stunning, is also quite worrying when you live on a boat – you have this big pointy mast which tends to attract the lightening – luckily both Alhambra and Solent Clipper were fine. However, being wimps we did not head round to CafĂ© Savannah and found out the next day that we missed one of the most amazing sunset skies they had ever seen.
The storm was directly in front of them and the sky was lit up with the lightening and then, as the clouds moved, a red glow appeared low on the sky and the sun dropped beneath the storm – same old story, wrong place, wrong time.
The next morning we moved on from there and have just spent two nights at anchor in Portinax. This is a lovely, quiet, tourist resort, very small, with pristine beaches and water so clear that we could see the anchor at the bottom, over 15 feet below.
As the weather was calm we got the BBQ out for the first time this season and enjoyed a farewell meal with Solent Clipper who left this morning for Majorca. Today we headed back to the west of the island, spending another night at anchor in Cala Talida, before going back into San Antonio tomorrow as there is some bad weather coming over the weekend. After that we will head down to Formentera for a few days, cover the south coast and then make our way over to Majorca.
So far Ibiza has impressed me. We are here out of season, which probably makes a difference. The bays are empty and there are only a few ‘booze cruises’ to annoy you. But on the whole the island has something for everyone, beautiful calm bays with crystal water, night life to suit every taste and an interior that is pretty, reasonably mountainous and very green.
The main towns are clean and have all the variety of shops you could desire. As always, if you look beyond the publicity and hype of a place, you normally find that there is an interesting place to discover, you just have to delve into the ‘nooks and crannies’ to discover it.
We haven’t managed to catch a fish on our hook yet nor find a restaurant serving sardines on a BBQ – but I’m sure if we wait long enough and search wide enough both of these treats will come to us.
The main towns are clean and have all the variety of shops you could desire. As always, if you look beyond the publicity and hype of a place, you normally find that there is an interesting place to discover, you just have to delve into the ‘nooks and crannies’ to discover it.
We haven’t managed to catch a fish on our hook yet nor find a restaurant serving sardines on a BBQ – but I’m sure if we wait long enough and search wide enough both of these treats will come to us.
As always we are missing you all and hope that you are taking care, and again, please stay in touch, we really like to hear from you.
June 2011 - Ibiza and Majorca
We spent our last week in Ibiza moving from bay to bay and back and forth to San Antonio due to the weather. This time of year can be a little unpredictable and better to be safe than sorry. We managed to fit in a visit with a friend’s sister who has lived on Ibiza for over 20 years and had a lovely day swilling Cava and looking over the southern part of Ibiza from their beautiful house, set up on a hill.
We met an English couple (Wayne and Cha, half Greek apparently) who winter their boat in San Antonio and have an apartment here. We sailed with them around the western end of Ibiza to a deserted cove, deserted apart from us, Wayne and Cha, a few other sail boats and a massive 100ft luxury yacht…
(it has an interesting dinghy platform with a terrace and patio umbrella!) It was an OK place, but David thought it reminded him of a quarry, so the following day we sailed the ten miles to Formentera and we anchored off a deserted private beach called Espalmador. The beach reminded us of the Bahamas and the water was crystal clear, but still not yet warm enough to go in. We took the dinghy for a ‘spin’ and stopped for a beer in a beach bar.
Along the beach it appeared there was some sort of TV or filming going on – not sure what or who was involved, we’ll have to look on the internet. Around 5pm all the other boats left the anchorage – obviously knew something we didn’t - but we were in for the night and had one of the calmest nights at anchor we have ever had. However, the weather the next morning was not looking good for the south of the island – we were planning to go via Ibiza Town, but we decided to err on the side of caution and went back to San Antonio to let the weather pass – it didn’t even reach us, but the ‘marianaro’s’ (port authority guys) told us we’d made the right decision.
(it has an interesting dinghy platform with a terrace and patio umbrella!) It was an OK place, but David thought it reminded him of a quarry, so the following day we sailed the ten miles to Formentera and we anchored off a deserted private beach called Espalmador. The beach reminded us of the Bahamas and the water was crystal clear, but still not yet warm enough to go in. We took the dinghy for a ‘spin’ and stopped for a beer in a beach bar.
Along the beach it appeared there was some sort of TV or filming going on – not sure what or who was involved, we’ll have to look on the internet. Around 5pm all the other boats left the anchorage – obviously knew something we didn’t - but we were in for the night and had one of the calmest nights at anchor we have ever had. However, the weather the next morning was not looking good for the south of the island – we were planning to go via Ibiza Town, but we decided to err on the side of caution and went back to San Antonio to let the weather pass – it didn’t even reach us, but the ‘marianaro’s’ (port authority guys) told us we’d made the right decision.
So I think we can safely say that we are now classed as
‘regulars’ at CafĂ© Savannah.
We stayed for four days. On one of the days we took the bus from Soller into Palma – did all the touristy things, you know the Cathedral, the port, MacDonalds and C&A and took the Victorian train back to Soller which, like the bus, goes up, around and through the mountains – the road has 57 hair pin bends!
We finished our time in Soller with a Summer Fiesta before sailing the rest of the north coast, around the pointy bit and into Pollensa.
I visited Pollensa 30 years ago with my family and my overwhelming memory is of sitting
looking at the marina with my mum as it poured with rain and, for three days we had to sit in the marina as a mistral wind and rain visited me again. As the weather was set for a few days we took the bu into Alcudia, again I last visted 30 years ago.
It is a huge sweeping bay, which when it’s not raining – it was, has a beautiful white beach and clear blue water, we just went to the chandlery instead.
looking at the marina with my mum as it poured with rain and, for three days we had to sit in the marina as a mistral wind and rain visited me again. As the weather was set for a few days we took the bu into Alcudia, again I last visted 30 years ago.
It is a huge sweeping bay, which when it’s not raining – it was, has a beautiful white beach and clear blue water, we just went to the chandlery instead.
The weather has been mainly rubbish the last few days, although we have been able to be at anchor in the bay, which although we have been surrounded by thunderstorms for three days, is very calm.
Looking at today’s forecast the weather should be improving tomorrow (watch this space) and if that is the case we will sail the 35 miles over to Menorca. There are a few placed we want to visit there – David was last there 25 years ago – and then we’ll wait for a weather window to head to Barcelona.
Looking at today’s forecast the weather should be improving tomorrow (watch this space) and if that is the case we will sail the 35 miles over to Menorca. There are a few placed we want to visit there – David was last there 25 years ago – and then we’ll wait for a weather window to head to Barcelona.
For those of you who are interested, with all this bad weather I’ve managed to start writing ‘the book’ again, you never know it might get finished this year…
June/July 2011 - Menorca...then back to Majorca...before heading to Barcelona
Menorca was completely different to Ibiza and Mallorca, but unfortunately for us it was very
very rolly –to the point of ‘I’ve had enough of this boat lark, I want to go to a hotel for the night…’ but David didn’t listen to me, but he did do everything in his power to stop the boat from rolling. There is nothing worse than a rolly anchorage for sleeping, or rather lack of sleeping and giving you a bad back.
While all this was happening we had heard from a friend that she would be visiting Menorca while we were there – she was holiday with a bunch of friends and they were staying in an enormous villa – best shower we’ve had in months…however, as the sea conditions were due to remain the same, and we could no longer stand any more rolling we sailed back to Majorca the next day.
Back in Majorca, Pollensa, we installed our latest bits of equipment – the PPS (some of you will know this to be the Perrett Persecution Syndrome), but in this instance it stands for Pest Prevention System and consists of a large, brightly coloured water pistol for spraying at and scaring off seagulls, and checking the distance at which a French flagged boat has anchored. If the water reaches the boat next to us we complain and tell them to move… We also have a an electrified tennis racquet which, when engaged and aimed carefully at any sort of flying bug or mosquito, produces a crackling noise as the said ‘pest’ is put out of OUR misery. It’s a bit like one of those industrial bug zappers you get in kitchens. This is much more fun, so David thinks as he runs around the boat giggling with an inane grin on his face…
The roads are as breathtaking as the scenery is dramatic, hairpin bend after hairpin bend, sheer drops and only single track in places – an excellent way to end our stay in the Balearics, we had a wonderful time.
We, as all tourists to Barcelona, visited the ‘unfinished’ Cathedral, (Sagrada Familia), the Gothic Quarter (with another cathedral visited), and Park Guell.
We did two hops from Barcelona to the Bay of Roses, where we are now, we spent Sunday on a train ride around the mountains, and are now ready to take another 110 mile overnight sail to Marseille across the Gulf du Lion.
The Gulf is know for the Mistral and Tramontana winds which frequently whip down through the mountains and out the Gulf and across the Med – they can, and do, reach force 10 and bring with them big seas. So the right weather window is all important. So one night in the anchorage, another in the marina to get a good night’s rest and then we’ll be off, right – wrong…
The Gulf is know for the Mistral and Tramontana winds which frequently whip down through the mountains and out the Gulf and across the Med – they can, and do, reach force 10 and bring with them big seas. So the right weather window is all important. So one night in the anchorage, another in the marina to get a good night’s rest and then we’ll be off, right – wrong…
He inspected the engine compartments with me advancing the throttle as instructed, ‘nope, I’m not happy I think we need an engineer to look at this.’ Duly on Tuesday morning a very nice engineer came along, inspected, advanced throttles and said, ‘you need a new gearbox damper, can you come to our marina, over the bay’.
The part should be here tomorrow (Wednesday), which is not a big problem as there is a Mistral going through as we speak and we are safely tucked up in a river marina and wish we could feel a little bit of wind (its 34 degrees in the cockpit as I type). The view one side is of salt marshes and reeds, the other is of a boat yard – in fact it’s a bit like walking around the boat show here, there are more Sunseeker Power boats here than anywhere we’ve seen – we are moored next to a 66ft boat on our starboard side and a couple of slightly smaller ones on our port side.
July 4th 2011
One of the islands, Chateau D’If was built by King Francois in 1531 (not him personally), to protect Marseille I, but it soon became a prison, and its most famous prisoner was the Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas). After two nights on Frioul we went across to Marseille and took a berth in the Old Port.
So we were forced to spend a weekend in Marseille. We went on Le Petit Train around the town, we went to the shopping quarter, we went to the fish market and saw the fish that you need for Bouillabaisse soup (its €35 in the restaurants – for fish soup!), we’ve been to the ‘famous’ Marseille soap shop, we’ve been on the solar powered ferry, practiced French, drunk excellent French Rose wines but most importantly found a DIY shop so David can repair the drawer in the galley!
On Saturday evening, whilst indulging in
Moules et Frits, Marseille put on a ‘show of shows’. There were multiple band stands erected along the north side of the old port and each area showcased one of the many festivals that will be going on during the summer. We enjoyed jazz while we ate, watched flamenco dancing, body popping (?), saw a great little rock band – each member was dressed as an insect in a costume consisting of a large papier mache head and extending tail, they were really good fun. But the best were the two guys dressed as ‘bouncers’. You may need to use your imagination on this one…they were in oversized suites and had false heads (so their own head was inside the suit), but the false head was much smaller in ratio to the oversized suites, and they were wearing sunglasses.
They said nothing, but walked around the restaurants and bars ‘intimidating’ people. They forced smokers to put out their cigarettes and then cordoned them off with red and white danger tape and then just walked off. You had to be there but it was really funny to watch. A great way to end a not so great week.
Moules et Frits, Marseille put on a ‘show of shows’. There were multiple band stands erected along the north side of the old port and each area showcased one of the many festivals that will be going on during the summer. We enjoyed jazz while we ate, watched flamenco dancing, body popping (?), saw a great little rock band – each member was dressed as an insect in a costume consisting of a large papier mache head and extending tail, they were really good fun. But the best were the two guys dressed as ‘bouncers’. You may need to use your imagination on this one…they were in oversized suites and had false heads (so their own head was inside the suit), but the false head was much smaller in ratio to the oversized suites, and they were wearing sunglasses.
They said nothing, but walked around the restaurants and bars ‘intimidating’ people. They forced smokers to put out their cigarettes and then cordoned them off with red and white danger tape and then just walked off. You had to be there but it was really funny to watch. A great way to end a not so great week.
So where are we now, I hear you ask. Yesterday we ‘out run’ a mistral and arrived in La Ciotat. Here’s the history bit…the Lumiere brothers invented cinema in La Ciotat. In 1895 ‘L’Arrivee du Train en Gare de La Ciotat’ was screened here. Also the game of Petanque was invented here by Jules Lenoir in June 1910. As he had very bad rheumatism he would play bowls and not move his feet. The name petanque derives from the Provencal expression ‘pes tancats’ meaning ‘feet anchored’…and now back to us…as the Mistral is set to last for two or three days we are forced to enjoy La Ciotat.
We got up very late today!
So we are now truly ensconced in France and will be making our way along the coast – next stop St Tropez before meeting friends in Cannes, then onto Monaco.
July 20th 2011 - Major Accident...Nice Marina
This will just be a short update to let you know there are photos on the website and to let you know that we will be having an extended stay in Nice. Unfortunately on our arrival we, that is I (Michele) had what one might describe as a bit of an accident. Whilst trying to tie the boat to the cleat on the dock (which is positioned incorrectly one must add), the wind caught the boat and my fingers got trapped between the rope and the cleat as the boat pulled away…
I have broken two fingers and crushed the end of one of them…I am in bandages and plaster (typing one handed, it is my left hand I have damaged). I have to visit the hospital every other day for two weeks. We have decided to explore the area as much as possible while we have this enforced stay.
I have broken two fingers and crushed the end of one of them…I am in bandages and plaster (typing one handed, it is my left hand I have damaged). I have to visit the hospital every other day for two weeks. We have decided to explore the area as much as possible while we have this enforced stay.
I am fine, it has forced me into a diet as I am on antibiotics so I cant drink and I have lost my appetite, so at least I will loose some weight…and David is having to do all the cooking, he is being brilliant, I think he enjoys having control for once.
We met with some friends from our village yesterday and had a wonderful day In Monaco. There is an excellent Irish bar near by that has lots of entertainment on (pub quiz on Thursday), even if a pint is over £5…we stay for one and make it last. Luckily the marina is not expensive and gets cheaper the longer you stay... and watching the mega yachts park is pure entertainment!
The doctor says that my finger should be healed in 15 days, but we need to check for infection which is why I have to back often.
Well, I’ll leave it there, but please do write as I think we may need some light relief over the coming
Aug 2011
Well, we are most definitely now in Italy, Grazie in the La Spezia Bay to be precise, with a plan to sail to Elba tomorrow and meet up with some sailing friends.
We left Nice on 10th August and decided it would be best to only to go a few miles round the coast and ended up having a rolly night in Villefranche anchorage (left), but it was good to finally be out of a marina (even though there couldn’t have been a nicer place to get stuck for three weeks).
The following day we headed for San Remo,
just over the border from France, and passing Monaco along the way…here's what Monaco really looks like from the sea – you don’t get a lot of square footage for your millions of euros, but all the same it is a wonderful place, and some interesting power boats along the way.
The following day we headed for San Remo,
San Remo was a welcome surprise in many ways. Firstly you can tie up alongside in the harbour for three nights for free, yes free.
You don’t get electricity, but we make our own, and the water supply is a little way off, and the fishing fleet wake you up, and everyone goes by on their mopeds at all hours, but its free. And as for the town, particularly the Old Town, that was a delight.
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We have been to many old towns in our travels, but most of them have been turned into touristy attractions, shops, bars, and restaurants, but here in San Remo it is a living breathing old town. A real maze of streets which evolved to stop pirates invading. The people built tunnels under their houses, confusing gateways which give no indication which way to go, it is dark, damp and dingy in places, and bright, light and airy in others. Turn one way and you enter a Square with a beautiful church, centuries old, turn another and a traditional baker greets you.
Everywhere you turn are little groups of tourists with a map that doesn’t lead you anywhere trying to find their way either in, or out of the town – I believe the townsfolk do not produce a proper map on purpose. That evening we went for dinner on the very edge of the old town, it was good food and not over priced as you would expect from a tourist town. That same evening we were entertained along the harbour by live music – accompanied by the two French brothers who had tied their boat alongside us, dancing the night away, bare foot, to the band. Apparently it was a birthday celebration, but the following night we found them singing and dancing on board their own boat…
You don’t get electricity, but we make our own, and the water supply is a little way off, and the fishing fleet wake you up, and everyone goes by on their mopeds at all hours, but its free. And as for the town, particularly the Old Town, that was a delight.
We have been to many old towns in our travels, but most of them have been turned into touristy attractions, shops, bars, and restaurants, but here in San Remo it is a living breathing old town. A real maze of streets which evolved to stop pirates invading. The people built tunnels under their houses, confusing gateways which give no indication which way to go, it is dark, damp and dingy in places, and bright, light and airy in others. Turn one way and you enter a Square with a beautiful church, centuries old, turn another and a traditional baker greets you.
Everywhere you turn are little groups of tourists with a map that doesn’t lead you anywhere trying to find their way either in, or out of the town – I believe the townsfolk do not produce a proper map on purpose. That evening we went for dinner on the very edge of the old town, it was good food and not over priced as you would expect from a tourist town. That same evening we were entertained along the harbour by live music – accompanied by the two French brothers who had tied their boat alongside us, dancing the night away, bare foot, to the band. Apparently it was a birthday celebration, but the following night we found them singing and dancing on board their own boat…
Our original plan had been to make an overnight crossing to Corsica and then over to Elba but we had been told of some lovely anchorages and bays along the Gulf of Genoa and decided to coast hop our way to Elba instead. The first stop was just a beach off which we could anchor in Finale Ligure, unfortunately it was really rolly and at about 11pm David and I were rolled so badly we got up. As it happened we were just in time to see the end of the local town’s firework display – not as big as San Remo’s, but fireworks all the same.
We left early the next day and sailed across the Gulf of Genoa to the Gulf of Marconi (named in honour of Guglielmo Marconi who conducted some of his first radio transmissions from near by), were we anchored in Santa Margherita Bay up from the infamous Portofino bay and marina – very expensive. Santa Margherita is a pretty town, that had the most expensive beer yet (€13 for beer and wine), but it had free wifi and a free buffet, so we decided it wasn’t too bad after all. We left the next day for Grazie, where we have been for three days.
Grazie is in the Gulf of La Spezia, which is the Italian Navy’s principal base, across which they have built a breakwater, which helps keep the anchorages calm. As you enter the bay you pass the very old town of Portovenere, aka Poets Town. Byron swam from here to Lerici, Shelly was known to have been here also…I won’t go into details, that’s what Google is for… As you pass through a channel between Portovenere and Isla Palmaria the scene is dramatic, an ancient church and castle sit precariously on the rocks that you pass, followed by the pastel houses of the town itself. We carried on past the naval base and into Grazie, a beautiful calm anchorage, surrounded by pine covered mountains. We investigated the town and founds a few bars, a couple of supply shops and wifi – everything we needed for a few days, and for once we were going to be in a place when a Fiesta was going on, namely the Fiesta di Madonna Bianca (the white Madonna), on 17th August.
On inspection of the posters we saw that the church on the rocks we passed as we entered the bay would be lit up with candles, worth the effort we thought. So promptly at 8pm, or was it 8.15pm…. we got on a bus and went to Portovenere. We walked by the bars and the pretty pastel town houses and headed in the direction that everyone was going, turned a corner and beheld a sight straight from Disney.
The entire promontory, both bay side and sea side, was covered in paraffin wax torches (like big tea lights). They were everywhere, people were everywhere, and boats were everywhere coming and going in and out of the bay. We walked to the top of the hill where the ‘stripy’ church sits, between what seemed like a thousand lights, up over large boulders and to the medieval castle where you could look through ‘lookout posts’ to the rocks below, all covered in torches. It was beautiful, accentuated even more so by the beautiful sunset beyond, the mountainous terrain all around and the sound of the military band below in the town. And it was all for the procession that followed.
The entire promontory, both bay side and sea side, was covered in paraffin wax torches (like big tea lights). They were everywhere, people were everywhere, and boats were everywhere coming and going in and out of the bay. We walked to the top of the hill where the ‘stripy’ church sits, between what seemed like a thousand lights, up over large boulders and to the medieval castle where you could look through ‘lookout posts’ to the rocks below, all covered in torches. It was beautiful, accentuated even more so by the beautiful sunset beyond, the mountainous terrain all around and the sound of the military band below in the town. And it was all for the procession that followed.
However, that was nothing compared to the bus trip back to Grazie. A massive throng of people filled the road in which the buses arrived and what can only be described as a ‘free for all’ to get on the bus ensued, which is not the best thing when you have a very poorly, sore finger…we got on, David protected me and we got home at midnight. We are very glad we took the effort to go and see this fiesta.
And so tomorrow (Friday 19th Aug) we set off for Elba, from there onto Rome, Naples, Pompeii, through the Messina Straits and over to Corfu. Our plan is to get to a marina in Greece where we can winter (cheaply). So lots to do, but there will be many updates before then…and I can hear you all asking about my injuries. Everything is on the mend, I wear a big, oversized sailing glove when we are on the move, but it will be a couple of months until everything is properly healed and the swelling has gone down… I am of course older and wiser because of the experience
Aug 2011 - Elba (meeting with Ian, Jenny, Fran the Dog on Solent Clipper)
Our trip over to Elba was long, laborious, uneventful, lacking wind and/or sea and took all day, but we arrived safely on the island of Elba in Portoferraio – from hereon in known as Porto of Ferrero Rocher or Chocolate Port – a busy harbour with a big anchorage surrounded by lush green rolling hills with the islands highest point in the distance. Its main downfall is the ‘rush hour’ between 9 and 11 and then at 5 til 7, this is when everyone leaves to go out for the day and then they return, in their massive power boats which churn up the water and send the boat into a spin cycle, but by 8pm all is calm again.
The journey to the top is stunning as the village below disappears before your eyes. As you reach the top you cannot see the alighting point or the woman who is going to open the door, grab your arm and yank you out of the cage, all good fun. You then hike up to the very top (in about 30 degrees heat) but are greeted with a stunning view of the whole of Elba, Corsica and many other little islands all around, shielded by the low level cloud below. The descent is a similar experience, unless you are Fran and cannot understand why your owners are trying to put you into a cage and throw you over a cliff edge, but she was fine in the end – a very brave dog.
A few days later we left the Chocolate Port and headed around the corner to Porto Azzuro, the second largest town on the island. We had a lovely week here doing not very much, resting my fingers and meeting other boaters. Although we did not do much on Elba, what we did do was wonderful, the island is about the size Jersey (for those of you who are from the UK) with the attitude of Alderney – relaxed, friendly, and personable. I would recommend Elba as a holiday destination to anyone.
We left Elba on Monday 28 August and coast hopped for two stops along the mainland and then finally on 31st August we sailed, yes sailed the whole 22 miles to Fiumicino, no engine just wind power, it was fabulous. We were aiming for the Fiumicino Canal where Solent Clipper is moored. You have to wait for two bridges to open in order to get up the canal, which only open at 06:30am and 08:00pm, so we didn’t need to get there too early, and at 3mph we would take all day anyway, we arrived around 5:30pm and tied up alongside a huge fishing boat waiting for the bridge to open. And that’s where we are now, rafted up to Solent Clipper and will be here for a few days yet.
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I will not even begin to start with what, where when we saw, but everything was just breathtaking, at every turn another sight awaits, from all ages, in all states of repair.
We spent 6 hours and took in as much as we could in that first day, which is why we are staying longer. Monday we are going back so that we can visit the Vatican.
I can honestly say I have never been so awestruck by any place as much as I was by Rome.
I am sure there are other places with as much to offer, but Rome blew me away (as they say).
I will report back on the Vatican later in the week.
Aug 2011
We have now spent two full days in Rome’s city centre and can fully understand the saying ‘Rome wasn’t’ built in a day’.
Rome was built over a number centuries, and all of its inhabitants have firmly placed their mark and insignia on is buildings, facades, statues and parks.
Two days is not enough to see everything, but its enough to get the ‘gist’ of what its about, a whole day could be devoted to the Vatican City alone, never mind the unimaginable amount of relatively unknown works of art hidden in side street churches and museums.
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Rome was built over a number centuries, and all of its inhabitants have firmly placed their mark and insignia on is buildings, facades, statues and parks.
However St Peter’s Basilica is enough for one day, and we didn’t see it all. We were advised to go at lunchtime, when everyone else is having lunch – a good move as we practically walked into the Basilica without having to wait.
For the remainder of our time in Rome we have been busy on the boat, fixing things, writing my book and all the other stuff we do when we are not being tourists. We are staying here until Saturday –midweek the bridge only opens at 6:30 am or 8pm – on Saturday it opens at 8am – when we will head down the coast for Naples area, from there we can visit Pompeii.
We have just under a 1000 miles to get to where we want to put the boat for winter (Greece) and that should take us to the end of October (allowing for weather etc). Each day my fingers are getting better, I am now doing ‘desensitization’ exercises, the nerves all have to learn to be a bit harder – at the moment everything I touch makes me jump with a sharp tingling feeling – very odd. Apparently people who study Karate do his, so by the time I’ve finished I will be able to break a brick in half with my bare hands
We have just under a 1000 miles to get to where we want to put the boat for winter (Greece) and that should take us to the end of October (allowing for weather etc). Each day my fingers are getting better, I am now doing ‘desensitization’ exercises, the nerves all have to learn to be a bit harder – at the moment everything I touch makes me jump with a sharp tingling feeling – very odd. Apparently people who study Karate do his, so by the time I’ve finished I will be able to break a brick in half with my bare hands
Sept 2011
I know it has only been a couple of weeks since I last wrote, but we have seen so many beautiful and astounding things in the last couple of weeks that I couldn’t help but write again.
We left Rome on 10th September and headed for the Isle of Ponza one of five islands that makes up the Pontine Islands, 25 miles away. I thought that Rome was stunning, seeing what man can do in a few centuries was outstanding; well man has nothing on Mother Nature.
Ponza was inhabited from the Palaeolithic times (so the book tells me), and in 313BC the Romans colonised the island (they seemed to get everywhere). After the Romans left, it was ravaged by pirates (again the pirates got everywhere and left a chain of restaurants, as there is a ‘Pirate’ restaurant everywhere we go!). Then the Bourbons took hold until tourism took over in the 20 Century. (I could do a joke about biscuits but that would be a bit obvious!)
However, the rock formations on this island are something to behold, they are like nothing I have ever seen. I will quote from the guide because it sums it up perfectly. ‘a geological feast of metamorphosed rock twisted and compressed every which way and then eroded by the wind and sea to further the effect’.
White, yellow, grey and black rock faces stand side by side, the rock strata are vertical, not horizontal and one particular formation looks like a mermaid carved out of white marble, until you get close and realise it is just a strange formation in the rock. Needless to say we stayed to explore.
However, the rock formations on this island are something to behold, they are like nothing I have ever seen. I will quote from the guide because it sums it up perfectly. ‘a geological feast of metamorphosed rock twisted and compressed every which way and then eroded by the wind and sea to further the effect’.
White, yellow, grey and black rock faces stand side by side, the rock strata are vertical, not horizontal and one particular formation looks like a mermaid carved out of white marble, until you get close and realise it is just a strange formation in the rock. Needless to say we stayed to explore.
From here we ‘hopped’ over to the island of Ischia, believed to be the dwelling place of Typhoeus, a hundred headed monster who is said to be the father of the Chimaeras and the Hydra. He was vanquished by Zeus, with some other giants, which upset him a bit so he got his own back by causing earthquakes and eruptions.
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The island is covered in sub-tropical vegetation and is has natural hot springs, for which you need special permission to drink or bath in. We didn’t have permission so we just bathed in the sea! Then it was just a quick 16 miles over to the island of Capri.
The island is covered in sub-tropical vegetation and is has natural hot springs, for which you need special permission to drink or bath in. We didn’t have permission so we just bathed in the sea! Then it was just a quick 16 miles over to the island of Capri.
‘Capri’, I hear you all shout, ‘the infamous, beautiful Capri’. Well, if you stay in the only marina on the island they charge €205 per night for the pleasure, yes in September, not even July or August, and on top of that they charge you to use the showers.
We umm’d and err’ed about how many nights we should stay…then went south of the island and anchored. This side of the island is where Gracie Fields had a villa built, among with a few other famous people – Emil von Behring, (discoverer of the tetanus inoculation), Friedrich Krupp the German arms manufacturer (?) and an eccentric Swedish doctor, Axel Munthe. Ashore it is a bit like going back in time to the 1960s.The buildings are all square, a bit run down, and painted in reds and blues, the beach is typical Italian pebbles and it looks a bit sorry for itself.
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However the rock formations where we were anchored were again astounding, not as interesting as Ponza, but huge, great sea stacks rising out of the sea, hundreds of feet high, with caverns and hollows worn away by centuries of sea erosion.
Unfortunately there is one particular ‘hole’ in Isola Farmaglioni, which the Italians in their power boats feel it is necessary to go through at ‘warp’ speed. We read that every Italian destroyer in the navy has a photo of itself steaming through at 30 knots, and every Italian wishes to emulate the navy!
We umm’d and err’ed about how many nights we should stay…then went south of the island and anchored. This side of the island is where Gracie Fields had a villa built, among with a few other famous people – Emil von Behring, (discoverer of the tetanus inoculation), Friedrich Krupp the German arms manufacturer (?) and an eccentric Swedish doctor, Axel Munthe. Ashore it is a bit like going back in time to the 1960s.The buildings are all square, a bit run down, and painted in reds and blues, the beach is typical Italian pebbles and it looks a bit sorry for itself.
However the rock formations where we were anchored were again astounding, not as interesting as Ponza, but huge, great sea stacks rising out of the sea, hundreds of feet high, with caverns and hollows worn away by centuries of sea erosion.
Unfortunately there is one particular ‘hole’ in Isola Farmaglioni, which the Italians in their power boats feel it is necessary to go through at ‘warp’ speed. We read that every Italian destroyer in the navy has a photo of itself steaming through at 30 knots, and every Italian wishes to emulate the navy!
And then we went to Pompeii
The whole site is in different states of excavation, the western side being the most preserved and uncovered. Whole streets or houses, shops and gardens exist. The pavements and roads are all in tact, with what look like the first examples of a zebra crossing.
The pavements are higher than the road (as we have today) and every 50 meters or so there are crossing stones to get from one side to the other, presumably so that people would not have to walk in the roads which would have been covered in dirt, sewage water and horse manure. There are gaps between the stones so that the horse carriages could go through. We wondered if this is why our modern day crossing are black and white, as there is a distinct change of colour caused by the shadow between the stones.
The pavements are higher than the road (as we have today) and every 50 meters or so there are crossing stones to get from one side to the other, presumably so that people would not have to walk in the roads which would have been covered in dirt, sewage water and horse manure. There are gaps between the stones so that the horse carriages could go through. We wondered if this is why our modern day crossing are black and white, as there is a distinct change of colour caused by the shadow between the stones.
Most of the houses have frescos on the walls, or mosaics on the floor, in near perfect condition. The different array of brickwork from building to building shows how ingenious the Romans were and you can see how one man would try to out do his neighbour by having ‘prettier’ brickwork.
Then you come to the brothel, of which 24 were discovered. Above each room is a painting (still in tact) depicting what service you can chose, I would say from the ladies of the house, but the first picture shows a ‘man on man’ service, so I leave the rest to your imagination. Brothels were apparently providing a service so that the men of the city were allowed to express their urges in the brothels rather than the ‘ladies’ of Pompeii.
The Forum (yes a funny thing happened on the way there…you probably have to be a certain age to remember Frankie Howard), is a large, expansive area where the city’s town hall, administrative buildings and basilica are found.
Along the side of the forum the phenomenal amount of artefacts that have been found are stored in what looks like a Roman version of a DIY store or garden centre. There are rows and rows of Greek urns, (what’s a Greek urn…about £5 a week….Morecom and Wise joke circa 1970), and marble tables, statues and wall ornaments. In among them are three ‘bodies’. I believe that when the excavators found where a body had been buried they made a plaster cast of the shape that was left in the ash and I think it is these ‘casts’ that we were looking at.
In any case it is when you see a ‘person’ for the first time you suddenly get a sense of the tragic scene at which you are looking at. All the while walking around the preserved city you are astounded by the building skills of the Romans, it is not until you come across a person that you remember what happened here and how awful it must have been. Apparently many people suffocated to death rather than being burned or buried.
As you walk away from this storage area and look up beyond the Forum, Mount Vesuvius rises 4,000 ft above you in the not too distant landscape, and you realise the people of Pompeii would have had no-where to run, and didn’t.
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Pompeii leaves you with a sense of the magnificence of the Romans, the power of nature in Vesuvius and the tragedy that happened here that allows us, centuries later, to explore a way of life in all its habitats.
In any case it is when you see a ‘person’ for the first time you suddenly get a sense of the tragic scene at which you are looking at. All the while walking around the preserved city you are astounded by the building skills of the Romans, it is not until you come across a person that you remember what happened here and how awful it must have been. Apparently many people suffocated to death rather than being burned or buried.
As you walk away from this storage area and look up beyond the Forum, Mount Vesuvius rises 4,000 ft above you in the not too distant landscape, and you realise the people of Pompeii would have had no-where to run, and didn’t.
Pompeii leaves you with a sense of the magnificence of the Romans, the power of nature in Vesuvius and the tragedy that happened here that allows us, centuries later, to explore a way of life in all its habitats.
So where are we now – currently sitting out a huge thunderstorm that started at 4am this morning and is planned to go on all day.
Luckily we are tucked up safe in Agropoli harbour (free for three nights). From here we will continue south to the Aeolian Islands, these include the island of Stromboli which is an active volcano which we plan to sail past over night (apparently the best way to see it). Then we will negotiate the Messina Strait, then it just another couple hundred of miles to Greece. We should be there in time for tea and cakes…
Luckily we are tucked up safe in Agropoli harbour (free for three nights). From here we will continue south to the Aeolian Islands, these include the island of Stromboli which is an active volcano which we plan to sail past over night (apparently the best way to see it). Then we will negotiate the Messina Strait, then it just another couple hundred of miles to Greece. We should be there in time for tea and cakes…
Sept/Oct 2011
When I last wrote we were waiting out a thunderstorm in Agropoli; we stayed four days to let the weather pass. We had one final stop on the western side of mainland Italy and then made a night passage to the Aeolion Islands (aka Lipari Islands) which are made up of seven islands.
My guide book tells me that "they take their name from Aeoleus, the god of the winds. It was Aeoleus who gave Odysseus the contrary winds tied up in a bag, but near to Ithaca his sailors opened up the bag believing there was treasure inside and yet again they we blown away from their homeland." This is probably why the wind is still so contrary, either a full blown gale or none at all.
That said, we sailed by Stomboli in the early hours of the morning. Stromboli, dubbed ‘the lighthouse’ of the Mediterranean from ancient times to present. It is a conical volcano rising over 3,000ft (nearly 1000m) and is in an almost continuous state of activity. However, unlike other volcanos is releases pressure day by day, bit by bit, so that you can see an ‘eruption’ about every twenty minutes, burning bright red fire up into the sky followed by a red flow of lava down its northwest slopes. It is one of those rare sights that makes you go ‘wow’ and use that teenage statement ‘awesome!’, it truly is a sight to behold, taking your breath away every time it erupts. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to take a photograph of the eruptions, not from five miles away, on a moving boat, swaying on the sea swell and wind, but a night passage worth waiting for.
These mud pools attract all sorts of people, all shapes and sizes to sit in a bubbling mud pool breathing in the ever present smell of sulphur, they then walk, or rather waddle like a toddler whose had an ‘accident’ in their pants, off to the sea to wash the dried, cracked mudpack off their entire bodies.
We stayed on Vulcano for five days, waiting out further thunderstorms, but this gave us the opportunity to climb to the top of Gran Cratere, a hike which took us an hour and an half to the top. You follow a ‘path’ which double backs on itself three times, on a variety of surfaces; firstly black ash and rubble, followed by compacted mud or clay and then finally on what can only be described as my impression of a luna landscape, grey rubble and boulders, covered here there with streaks of yellow from the fumaroles, from which toxic fumes escape from the centre of the earth. At the very top you can walk the entire rim of the crater, which is just over half a mile wide, and peer down into the crater itself, now filled with mud and rocks.
Our next adventure was to be the Straits of Messina – renowned strong tides, whirlpools and eddies (known as bastardi in Italian!) – you have to get your timing right when you enter the Straits, certainly don’t go through with any wind against you, preferably with the tide behind you. Well, we didn’t have any wind, but we brilliantly planned to arrive just as the tide turned, against us. It is some of the strangest water I have seen, one side of the boat was oily, flat calm, the other was like looking into a washing machine; it wasn’t difficult, just strange.
Luckily there was very little commercial traffic to negotiate and we continued down to Reggio di Calabria, the only ‘marina’ on the mainland side of the Straits. Here they charged us handsomely for a berth, shower and toilet facilities in a porto-cabin and no fuel dock (we had to walk into town with a jerry can). Fortunately we met four English guys and got ‘dragged, kicking and screaming’ out to dinner to a very local restaurant – probably the best meal we’ve had in Italy. We had every type of anti-pasti conceivable, followed by the best mushroom pasta and then five different types of fish, followed by fresh fruit, cinnamon brownies dipped in some sort of sweet spirit. After drinks back on board finally we left the others at 3am – they were leaving at 4am to go across to Greece…rather them than us, we stayed in bed.
Finally, having monitored the weather, knowing there was bad weather coming, we decided to miss a final stop off and just make our way directly to Greece. This meant a 25 hour sail, in lumpy seas, with not very much wind, arriving in the dark, anchoring in an unknown bay, which was also rolly and just one mile off the coast of Albania.
Finally, yesterday morning (Thursday 6th October) we sailed (OK motored because there was no wind) down the Corfu Channel and into Guovia Marina, past beautiful mountains, flat calm seas, other boats (we haven’t seen anyone at sea for days). Yesterday we lay by the pool, cold beer in hand, last night we slept like we’ve not slept in months, finally at our last country. Not quite our last destination, that’s about a hundred miles down the coast, but each day will be a 5-10 mile sail, and yes we mean sail, even if it takes all day. We are going to spend a few days recouping, enjoying the facilities of the marina, learning a knew language, and then take three weeks to get to our winter marina…but now I’m off to sit by the pool, glass of wine in hand and send this e-mail.
October 2011
Our final few days were spent dodging thunderstorms and torrential rain, trying to find towns and villages with the last knockings of the summer season still going on and finally realising that the cold nights had set in and we needed to be in a marina with mains power so that we can plug the heater in (bbbbrrrrrrrr). However, in the Ionian we managed to visit Guovia on Corfu, the little town of Patarias on the mainland, then on to Preveza (a very nice town quay with some of the best tapas, or meze, we’ve had). We then negotiated the Lefkas Canal, tied up to the town quay for a night before running off to hide from the thunderstorms in the Lefkas marina. We had a final meal out in Sivota (on lefkas) and a final night in Varthi on Ithaca.
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On our first night here we found our way to the local cafĂ©/bar…all of 100 yards from the end of our pier. It appears that Wednesdays are ‘BYOGOOIASAN’ bring your own guitar or other instrument and sing along night. We stayed out too late, drank too much, and embarrassed myself by singing along and getting roped into a whole host of other things.
By Thursday morning, not having been here 24 hours I had my first hangover, was signed up to do the ‘Net’ on Tuesday (a radio broadcast on the VHF radio which gives information to other boaters/cruisers/livaboards etc) and will be running the Friday night quiz night (the first was last night, and very well attended, even got the owner, Dimitri, to put up a bottle of wine as a prize), but did you really expect anything less from me!
So now we have just over three weeks to get some of the jobs done and winterise the boat before we leave and head back to the UK for a couple of months.
This year, since leaving Almerimar on 23rd April, we have sailed, or rather travelled 2,057 miles, cruising along the coast of southern Spain, over to and around the Balearics (Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca), back over to Spain to Barcelona, along to the south of France (where we had an imposed extended stay in Nice), past Monaco and into Italy. We travelled down the west coast of Italy and went to many of its islands (Elba, Ponza, Capri, Vulcano to name a few).
Finally we travelled along the ‘sole of Italy’ before making the longest sail of the season over to Greece (Corfu). We sailed on 66 days out of 180, we did 4 night sails, anchored out 64 nights, were on town quays 13 nights and spent 98 nights in marinas (a month forced).
We have visited many places that were beautiful, awe inspiring and amazing, both naturally and by man’s own hands. We have met, as always, many new friends along the way, and parted with others who have gone in different directions. We have climbed, walked and swam, and sailed by an active, firing volcano, spitting red, molten lava down its sides, and we have climbed up and looked into an active crater, as it billowed yellow sulphur into clear blue sky. All in all a very active and fulfilling season, one with very fond memories, and some not so fond.
But with all good things, they come to an end and the 2011 cruising season is coming to its close. We will prepare Alhambra for her winter here in Greece and hope that the ‘mildew monster’ does not find its way inside, so that we can return next year to a clean boat, ready for a year of short, hopefully, sailing hops around the intricate islands of the Ionian. For those of you who we will see on our return to the UK, we look forwarded to catching up, for those who live in far off remote places around the world, we look forward to staying in touch by e-mail over the winter.
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