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| Santa Maria del Isola - Tropea |
We arrived at Tropea quite early in the day having left Cetraro just after 2 am having successfully managed to dodge a couple of thunderstorms in the Tyrrhenian sea along the way. I have a thing about lightning and do whatever I can to avoid it, evidenced by any amount of apps I have that pinpoint strikes. As we bobbed about for a while deciding whether to anchor out or go into the marina we were buzzed by the
Guardia di Finanza in a menacing speedboat. They chose the wrong moment and person (not me) as they were told to back off and follow us in if they wanted to see any paperwork. They duly obeyed and hovered around us for ages before they got our documents and then took the best part of an hour to decipher the difference between our surnames and first names. If it were not for the fact that they can cause untold grief one may have made an attempt at more humour.
Tropea held many pleasant memories for us after our last visit almost exactly a year ago and we enjoyed revisiting its picturesque cobbled alleyways at the top of a ridiculous number of steps. I really wanted to go back to the fishing tackle shop and notify the owner that his recommendation of a particular lure, after having ridiculed me for what I had been using, had been useless, as in almost 1800 nautical miles I had caught nothing. Nothing. Ok, so I hadn't put the line out for most of the time, but still, there was no need to poke fun at me. His shop was closed though, probably went out of business, poetic justice I thought to myself.
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| Scilla |
Our next stop a few days later was Scilla, which we had tried to visit last year, but were unable to find a spot. We called in advance this time and got just about the last buoy as things were winding down for the end of the season. We were really glad we were able to stop here as it is a beautiful place. We stayed for a few days avoiding the bad weather that was ahead of us and tried to get the timing right for the Messina Strait this time around. It can go 5.5 knots for or against you if you don't pay attention and last year we had not paid attention.
We then made our way south towards Taormina, but the swell was so huge that we gave up on the idea of anchoring or being on a buoy there and headed on to Riposto which we reached after an eight hour day of rolling seas. The harbour is a combination of derelict pontoons and a quite well organised marina, the former being signs of an ownership dispute and the complexities of local politics about which one tends not to speak too openly in Sicily. This fronting a relatively tourist-free working town with buzzing fish markets, all under Etna's slopes. Etna was quite active last year even causing flights to be cancelled, but it was dormant and barely visible under a table cloth of cloud when we were there. Whereas we turn to the hose to clean our decks after a sandy desert rainfall, the winter
liveaboards in Riposto reach for their vacuum cleaners when Etna's ash regularly creates a sooty layer on their boats.
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| Serious music in Siracusa |
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| The bohemian quarter |
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| Tuna man in Cossack gear |
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Our luck with the weather persisted and we left for Siracusa, arriving after they had had a week of rain, the very wet kind. The historical centre of Siracusa is on the small island of Ortygia, which is connected to the modern city by two bridges across a narrow canal. It has a very rich history dating back some 2700 years to Greek times and was a powerful city state then as well as the birthplace of Archimedes. It is a beautiful bustling city today with a lively market and lots of tourists. We have visited the market before and made a beeline for our favourite deli to stock up on all sorts of tasty delights. A deli in which you are sure to lose your heart if not your wallet as well. The gradual migration back to winter moorings meant we saw more and more friends along the way and in the Porto Grande in Siracusa. When we arrived Peter from
Paikea welcomed us. We were also anchored near Susan and Tom of
Sirena as well as Luda and Dave of
Bobcat and we met up for a great evening together at a pizzeria under the entrance of the Duomo.
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| The old and the very old |
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| Our favourite deli |
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| End of season clouds |
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With only 60 or so nautical miles left to sail back to Marina di Ragusa now, we took our time and stopped off halfway in Portopalo at the south eastern tip of Sicily, and enjoyed a lovely sunset and meal as the sailing season drew to a close. We had a calm last night at anchor nestled in the small harbour in the company of
Dakini who had just sailed a long stretch and
What's the Rush who we had been sailing alongside more or less since Amalfi. Next day we tried our best to sail in very light winds and, having time on our side, kept the engine off to enjoy the silence of a gentle, albeit slow sail. The calm conditions made mooring up a relaxed affair and it was lovely to be greeted by familiar faces on the dock as we came in to our winter mooring on L dock.
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| Back in time for olive picking |
Although the days are shorter now there is still no shortage of sunshine and the beach and outdoors still beckon. We had a relaxed week of preparing the boat for some of the winter tasks ahead interspersed with violin practice (for an upcoming project), olive picking at Giles', as well, of course, catching up with friends and swapping summer stories. I intentionally left our sails on before heading to Menton for two weeks, hoping the weather would be good enough for some extra sailing when we got back, either for a lunch at anchor somewhere along the coast or an excursion to Malta perhaps, conditions permitting. Someone forgot to warn us that this is addictive.
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| Next destination, Menton |
