Our first few nights in the country were spent in Porto Montenegro, a modern marina where we feel like a little tiddler compared to our superyacht neighbours. The facilities are good here, there's a few restaurants around and the town is within easy walking distance. We didn't want to do anything much to start with, and were both quite happy to stay in port doing chores on Zaffina, visiting the nearby beach and wandering into town for provisions. Shopping in the supermarket involves loads of guesswork, as I really can't understand a word on the labels and it's easy to muddle something like mustard with mayonnaise when it's in a pot with a picture of yellowy sauce on the label! Still, so far so good (pretty much!) Local taste seems to run to very smoky cold meat and I haven't yet managed to find anywhere selling plain old unsmoked ham or even a light parma ham, but it means there's a lot of trial and error going on in the galley. Oh, and they seem to like liquid yoghurt rather than milk.
When eventually we set out to explore, we moved deeper into the fjord, which is utterly stunning. If you've seen adverts for Montenegro, you'll have an idea of what it's like, especially as the first landmark we came across was the tiny island used in all their tourist campaigns, dominated by a large church which is in turn dominated by a sky blue cupola. We dropped the anchor in a bay within spitting distance of this iconic isle and settled down for a glorious afternoon and evening on the hook. The water was as still as glass as the sun went down and as the lights in the nearby towns came on, they were reflected at great length on the motionless sea. We dined by candlelight, hardly believing our good fortune, and a good bottle of wine helped us sleep that night. Just as well really, as the wind came up with a vengeance in the early hours, and the peaceful image of the night before was well and truly shattered by dawn!
By 7am we were on the move, searching for shelter, but it seemed that wherever we went, the wind changed direction and followed us. Our anometer recorded blasts of around 40mph. Eventually we opted for the far corner of the fjord, which seemed less blustery than elsewhere and again put down the anchor. The wind ebbed and flowed throughout the day, sometimes simply not there at all, other times blowing a hooley, rising and falling with no warning whatsoever. By early evening we had had enough, and this time our search for shelter took us into the town of Kotor, where we tied up with relief.
Kotor is a World Heritage Site and you can see why - it's a picturesque, walled town, with tiny winding alleys too narrow for cars, leading to sunlit squares full of restaurants and cafes. We dined well in surroundings which probably hadn't changed in centuries, calamari stuffed with prawns for me, and common sole - although it didn't look that common to us - for Frank, and an ice cream on the way back to the boat.
There was a little market set up in an arcade near the port and the following morning I spent a ridiculous amount on beautiful fresh fruit and veg, discovering later in the day that most of it could be bought for half the price in a nearby supermarket! Still, part of the pleasure was in the selection and purchase...I'm always a sucker for ripe cherries and soft, velvet peaches! We dined out again in the evening, and had the best meal we've had so far in Montenegro at a beautiful restaurant on the quayside opposite the town, looking across at the floodlit walls and castle above.
After two nights in port, we were determined to get back out on the water, and on Monday we again took ourselves off into the fjord, and again found the wind was all over the place. We anchored in the same position as we had previously and this time the wind was dying away rather than coming up, leading to a lovely (and only slightly blowy) night. Things were dead calm when the sun rose, and Frank and I lay on the bow, pouring over the crossword and watching a tiny fishing boat dropping its net nearby. At this point, alarm bells perhaps should have been going off...a few minutes later, as the fishing boat drifted off, so the net drifted towards us, and with a sudden gust of wind, Zaffina and the fishing net were as one. Not a good combination. A furious fisherman returned and started yelling at us - pretty rich as he was the one who had laid the net in such close proximity - and by tugging at the rope, he managed to completely entangle it. We dived beneath the stern to try to release it but to no avail; net and prop were united and no amount of tugging was going to clear the problem. To cut a long story short, a diver was eventually called for, who managed to release the net within minutes, and then, surprise surprise, we were given the bill for his services! Not a good start to the day - we agreed to pay a proportion of the charge and, with a crowd now watching from the quayside, pulled up the anchor and went on our way.
More wind.
Someone said that Montenegro would be the perfect cruising ground if it wasn't for this wind which comes and goes without warning, and I think they were right. We'd hoped to go to Perast, another small and pretty town, but we gave it a miss when we saw the swell nearby, and instead headed into the outer part of this inland sea where we found a fairly sheltered anchorage behind a private island, and here we settled for the rest of the day. A nearby boat was flying the St Helier Yacht Club pennant and turned out to be Lady A, belonging to Tony & Vesna Able whom we had been told were down here (thanks Peter G!)- they left shortly afterwards, but briefly came alongside to say hello en route - they are in Porto Montenegro so we'll meet up soon.
Another near drama later in the evening, when a small yacht chose to drop its anchor in close proximity to Zaffina. We were sure that, at some point, we would drift too close to one another, and sure enough, as the evening drew on and dark descended, we realised that their bow was remarkably near to our stern. They immediately decided that it was our problem (a bit rich as we'd been in position well before they arrived) but they eventually agreed to move and at last we could relax and enjoy what was left of the evening. And finally we had a perfectly still night at sea, which was followed by an early morning skinny dip and a return into Porto Montenegro for work to be done on the outboard.
Just as well, cause that wind's come up, yet again, and it's blowing a gale out there. Anyone would think we had visitors due to arrive tomorrow!
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
TUESDAY 21ST JUNE 2011
Ok, where were we? Oh yes, back in Riposto - that seems like such a long time ago! We left Zaffina there and went back home to Jersey for a week and when we got back to Sicily it seemed as if summer had really set in. When we arrived, Etna was puffing gently and it was a great feeling to get back on board, under the shadow of the great volcano. Forecast checked and rechecked, fridge restocked, fresh flowers bought and we were ready for the off on Friday. First stop was the refuelling pontoon - the price has gone up and up since we started our long trip from the UK three years ago and now we just gulp and hand over the credit cards once it's all totted up. Once we were refuelled, we struck out across the channel towards Italy, sad to be leaving Sicily behind but excited at the prospect of new ports and new places.
We set our sights on a tiny port called Roccello Ionica and had a lovely trip across, passing the southernmost tip of Italy, the extreme toe of the boot, en route. We covered around 70 miles before we turned into the marina, although to call it a marina is a bit of an exaggeration - it is just a tiny port, no staff to help us in so we went side-to against a wall, and no facilities which was a bit of a pain as our generator refused to work. We had a cold dinner on board then popped along to the nearby pizza restaurant for pudding and coffee, and just let the warm evening wrap itself around us as we watched people tucking into the most enormous, rectangular pizzas!
In the morning I popped back on shore to get some coffee from the restaurant, which was open at 7.30am, and we were back at sea by 8. Our first encounter with dolphins was a brief one, a couple just put in an appearance and then disappeared, but a short while later we were surrounded by them and what a performace they gave us; it must have been a whole school of teenage show offs! We lingered a bit to watch the show, then reluctantly set off again, as we had around 120 miles to cover. Frank sat on the bow for a while, just enjoying the view, and saw three turtles in the water, diving for cover as Zaffina approached. At one point, a whole shoal of tiny flying fish erupted into our bow wake and flew alongside us for a while. Again the sea conditions were great so it was an easy trip and by the time we put into Santa Maria di Leucca - on the heel of Italy - the temperature was up into the 30s.
This is the place where Mussolini decided to build a ceremonial entrance into Italy, so there is an enormous double stone staircase reaching from the marina high onto the cliff above where a towering lighthouse stands sentinel over the coast. Originally, the two flights of steps must have had a huge water feature - waterfalls and fountains probably - cascading down between them but now there's barely a trickle, although it doesn't take much imagination to conjur up a picture of it in its heyday. We walked (slowly) to the top, where a bridal party was just emerging into the sunshine from an elegant church, and we watched for a while as the bride and groom posed for dozens and dozens of photographs, whilst their guests wandered off to a nearby cafe, obviously knowing they had a long wait before the reception!
Sadly we were only able to spend one night in Santa Maria as the wind was due to rise and if we didn't move on the following morning, things would be tricky in the Adriatic.
So...at 6am (yes, really) we were on our way again. The wind had already risen but it was behind us which meant that although the water was churning and there was quite a swell, Zaffina took it all easily and gave us a comfortable ride. It was a long and not particularly enjoyable trip - Frank descibed it was long, lonely and lumpy and I think that about sums it up. We were at sea for the best part of eight hours and for about half of the journey we couldn't see another boat. The wind was stronger than forecast and as we finally turned towards Montenegro, we were battling against the swell and about 2 miles out we got a good soaking. By then there was also a certain amount of cloud cover, so it wasn't the glorious arrival we had anticipated, but as we turned into the fjord, the water calmed and the clouds receded, and our jaws dropped - it is simply gorgeous here!
We hadn't booked and had a moments worry when we called up Porto Montenegro to ask for a berth and they said they'd come back to us. Fortunately, there was room and it was with delight and relief that we tied up, both pretty exhausted but elated that the long trip was behind us. In three days we did over 350 miles which is quite a journey, but it was worth every moment.
We spent yesterday giving Zaffina a thorough clean both inside and out, then pottered along to the nearby beach for a couple of hours of sunshine and swimming. It's a fraction cooler here than it was in Santa Maria, which means you don't break out in a sweat the moment you get into the sun; instead it takes about 5 minutes!
It's strange being in a country where we really don't speak any of the language - oh, not quite true, I've learnt to say thank you in Montenegran! We can't wait to explore but we'll have another night or two here in port whilst we get the generator looked at and also the outboard on the dinghy which has been playing up, before we venturefurther up the fjord and into picture postcard-land.
We set our sights on a tiny port called Roccello Ionica and had a lovely trip across, passing the southernmost tip of Italy, the extreme toe of the boot, en route. We covered around 70 miles before we turned into the marina, although to call it a marina is a bit of an exaggeration - it is just a tiny port, no staff to help us in so we went side-to against a wall, and no facilities which was a bit of a pain as our generator refused to work. We had a cold dinner on board then popped along to the nearby pizza restaurant for pudding and coffee, and just let the warm evening wrap itself around us as we watched people tucking into the most enormous, rectangular pizzas!
In the morning I popped back on shore to get some coffee from the restaurant, which was open at 7.30am, and we were back at sea by 8. Our first encounter with dolphins was a brief one, a couple just put in an appearance and then disappeared, but a short while later we were surrounded by them and what a performace they gave us; it must have been a whole school of teenage show offs! We lingered a bit to watch the show, then reluctantly set off again, as we had around 120 miles to cover. Frank sat on the bow for a while, just enjoying the view, and saw three turtles in the water, diving for cover as Zaffina approached. At one point, a whole shoal of tiny flying fish erupted into our bow wake and flew alongside us for a while. Again the sea conditions were great so it was an easy trip and by the time we put into Santa Maria di Leucca - on the heel of Italy - the temperature was up into the 30s.
This is the place where Mussolini decided to build a ceremonial entrance into Italy, so there is an enormous double stone staircase reaching from the marina high onto the cliff above where a towering lighthouse stands sentinel over the coast. Originally, the two flights of steps must have had a huge water feature - waterfalls and fountains probably - cascading down between them but now there's barely a trickle, although it doesn't take much imagination to conjur up a picture of it in its heyday. We walked (slowly) to the top, where a bridal party was just emerging into the sunshine from an elegant church, and we watched for a while as the bride and groom posed for dozens and dozens of photographs, whilst their guests wandered off to a nearby cafe, obviously knowing they had a long wait before the reception!
Sadly we were only able to spend one night in Santa Maria as the wind was due to rise and if we didn't move on the following morning, things would be tricky in the Adriatic.
So...at 6am (yes, really) we were on our way again. The wind had already risen but it was behind us which meant that although the water was churning and there was quite a swell, Zaffina took it all easily and gave us a comfortable ride. It was a long and not particularly enjoyable trip - Frank descibed it was long, lonely and lumpy and I think that about sums it up. We were at sea for the best part of eight hours and for about half of the journey we couldn't see another boat. The wind was stronger than forecast and as we finally turned towards Montenegro, we were battling against the swell and about 2 miles out we got a good soaking. By then there was also a certain amount of cloud cover, so it wasn't the glorious arrival we had anticipated, but as we turned into the fjord, the water calmed and the clouds receded, and our jaws dropped - it is simply gorgeous here!
We hadn't booked and had a moments worry when we called up Porto Montenegro to ask for a berth and they said they'd come back to us. Fortunately, there was room and it was with delight and relief that we tied up, both pretty exhausted but elated that the long trip was behind us. In three days we did over 350 miles which is quite a journey, but it was worth every moment.
We spent yesterday giving Zaffina a thorough clean both inside and out, then pottered along to the nearby beach for a couple of hours of sunshine and swimming. It's a fraction cooler here than it was in Santa Maria, which means you don't break out in a sweat the moment you get into the sun; instead it takes about 5 minutes!
It's strange being in a country where we really don't speak any of the language - oh, not quite true, I've learnt to say thank you in Montenegran! We can't wait to explore but we'll have another night or two here in port whilst we get the generator looked at and also the outboard on the dinghy which has been playing up, before we venturefurther up the fjord and into picture postcard-land.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Saturday 4 June 2011
Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?
We ended up spending two nights in Portarosa cause the weather was very iffy. Rather than sitting round on board, we hired a car for a day and set off to explore the area, but we got stuck on a back road through small and not very attractive towns and it wasn't until we got to Milazzo that we hit the coast and things improved - mainly because that was the point at which we found a very good restaurant for lunch!
Whilst in port we also took the opportunity to get an engineer on board to have a look at a few things including the grey water pump which had been playing up. Arturo spoke perfect english, which made things so much easier, and worked into the early evening to make sure everything was fixed properly. Brilliant!
The forecast for Thursday was a bit iffy, with the possibility of thunderstorms around but with gentle winds, we decided to make a move anyhow. We could only just make out the Aeolian Islands as we came out of port and there was a lot of dark cloud over mainland Sicily but the sea was calm, which was the main thing, and remained that way as we glided along the north coast of the island.
The Messina Straits are the stuff of legend - literally! Think Scylla and Charybdis and this is where it all happened. Scylla was, apparently, a multi-headed sea monster who would reach from the cliffs to the water to pluck unlucky seamen from their boats and eat them, whilst Charybdis was (or were?) the whirlpools on the opposite side of the Straits, waiting for boats sailing too close to avoid the monster. Fortunately Scylla was having a bad hair day as we went through and didn't put in an appearance with any of the multiple heads, but we did sea many a whirlpool on the surface of the water towards the Sicilian side of the Straits, and apparently things settled down considerably after an earthquake in the region in 1793 so goodness knows what it was like before that!
We had also read about some unusual fishing craft, the swordfish boats, and we lucky enough to see one in action. They have a high mast sticking up from the centre of the boat and another one sticking forward at the bow. The skipper sits high up in the gantry and spots swordfish, which apparently like to have a little doze on the water round here. Once sighted, he approaches the fish and the harpoonist, whose place is at the end of the horizontal mast, does the messy business and hooks the fish. We saw the whole procedure as we passed one of these boats, and at the end, the fishermen proudly held up their catch for me to take a photo!
The west coast of Sicily is utterly gorgeous - villages trailing along the seafront in the traditional faded pastel hues of this part of the world, and small towns clinging impossibly to the sides of towering hills. We slowed as we went past Taormina and immediately vowed to get a hire car and explore from the land. The sea conditions remained terrific for the whole trip, although through the Straits it was fascinating to sea how the wind whipped up whitecaps in tiny, isolated areas.
Our first night around here was spent in Riposto, in the shadow of Mount Etna which put on quite a display for us, the spumes of smoke illuminated in shades of pink and gold by the dying sun as it slid below the horizon.
Yesterday we went up to the fish market, where I'm sure we saw "our" swordfish, to stock up with fresh fruit and veg. The stallholder insisted on singing at the top of his voice as he served us, until other customers told him in no uncertain terms to shut up! (Maybe they were scared that we'd join in...) Once back on board, we were quick to move out of port and onto the calmest sea imaginable. We pottered across the bay at a lazy 10 knots and dropped the anchor beneath Taormina, where we enjoyed an idyllic day in the sunshine. We had promised ourselves a night there as well, but the generator decided not to work, which meant the batteries wouldn't be recharged, so in the end we came back into port and enjoyed a roast dinner in the cockpit, savouring the warm evening along with the red wine!
And today it's warm but overcast, so we're hoping to find an engineer to take a look at the generator before we pick up a hire car and go off for a spot of exploring!
We ended up spending two nights in Portarosa cause the weather was very iffy. Rather than sitting round on board, we hired a car for a day and set off to explore the area, but we got stuck on a back road through small and not very attractive towns and it wasn't until we got to Milazzo that we hit the coast and things improved - mainly because that was the point at which we found a very good restaurant for lunch!
Whilst in port we also took the opportunity to get an engineer on board to have a look at a few things including the grey water pump which had been playing up. Arturo spoke perfect english, which made things so much easier, and worked into the early evening to make sure everything was fixed properly. Brilliant!
The forecast for Thursday was a bit iffy, with the possibility of thunderstorms around but with gentle winds, we decided to make a move anyhow. We could only just make out the Aeolian Islands as we came out of port and there was a lot of dark cloud over mainland Sicily but the sea was calm, which was the main thing, and remained that way as we glided along the north coast of the island.
The Messina Straits are the stuff of legend - literally! Think Scylla and Charybdis and this is where it all happened. Scylla was, apparently, a multi-headed sea monster who would reach from the cliffs to the water to pluck unlucky seamen from their boats and eat them, whilst Charybdis was (or were?) the whirlpools on the opposite side of the Straits, waiting for boats sailing too close to avoid the monster. Fortunately Scylla was having a bad hair day as we went through and didn't put in an appearance with any of the multiple heads, but we did sea many a whirlpool on the surface of the water towards the Sicilian side of the Straits, and apparently things settled down considerably after an earthquake in the region in 1793 so goodness knows what it was like before that!
We had also read about some unusual fishing craft, the swordfish boats, and we lucky enough to see one in action. They have a high mast sticking up from the centre of the boat and another one sticking forward at the bow. The skipper sits high up in the gantry and spots swordfish, which apparently like to have a little doze on the water round here. Once sighted, he approaches the fish and the harpoonist, whose place is at the end of the horizontal mast, does the messy business and hooks the fish. We saw the whole procedure as we passed one of these boats, and at the end, the fishermen proudly held up their catch for me to take a photo!
The west coast of Sicily is utterly gorgeous - villages trailing along the seafront in the traditional faded pastel hues of this part of the world, and small towns clinging impossibly to the sides of towering hills. We slowed as we went past Taormina and immediately vowed to get a hire car and explore from the land. The sea conditions remained terrific for the whole trip, although through the Straits it was fascinating to sea how the wind whipped up whitecaps in tiny, isolated areas.
Our first night around here was spent in Riposto, in the shadow of Mount Etna which put on quite a display for us, the spumes of smoke illuminated in shades of pink and gold by the dying sun as it slid below the horizon.
Yesterday we went up to the fish market, where I'm sure we saw "our" swordfish, to stock up with fresh fruit and veg. The stallholder insisted on singing at the top of his voice as he served us, until other customers told him in no uncertain terms to shut up! (Maybe they were scared that we'd join in...) Once back on board, we were quick to move out of port and onto the calmest sea imaginable. We pottered across the bay at a lazy 10 knots and dropped the anchor beneath Taormina, where we enjoyed an idyllic day in the sunshine. We had promised ourselves a night there as well, but the generator decided not to work, which meant the batteries wouldn't be recharged, so in the end we came back into port and enjoyed a roast dinner in the cockpit, savouring the warm evening along with the red wine!
And today it's warm but overcast, so we're hoping to find an engineer to take a look at the generator before we pick up a hire car and go off for a spot of exploring!
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Frank flew down to Sardinia last week and I followed at the weekend, just in time to see the closing ceremony for the Jeux des Iles which had taken place in Sicily. Jersey achieved eighth place, an amazing result considering the size of the teams entered by islands that are closer, geographically, to this one. I think half of the population of Sardinia had entered, together with most Corsicans so Jersey’s comparatively small number put on a fantastic competition.
On Sunday morning we were ready to head off into the bright blue yonder; as usual, we intended to get under way at about 9am but by the time we had pottered around and refuelled, it was nearer to midday before we were finally out at sea, but that really didn’t matter in the slightest as conditions were excellent for our crossing to the Aeolian Islands. The first three hours or so were pretty boring, with just the occasional fish jumping from the water to entertain us until we saw the outline of the first island, Alicuda, appearing out of the mist. When we got close, we saw it was little more than a large rock with a few homes scattered about; a pretty inhospitable place to live and no sign of any roads so those whose houses are high up the hillside must be very fit! With a light wind springing up and increasing cloud cover, we turned to the east and skirted the south coast of Filicuda, which had little more to recommend it than its smaller neighbour, and then decided to pass between the islands of Salina and Lipara in search of some shelter. So far we weren’t overly impressed with the Aeolians – the volcanic sand makes the beaches look less than welcoming, and we hadn’t seen anywhere that looked particularly attractive. Fortunately things were about to change! Lipari Town promised the best shelter and as we approached the coast, we could tell that we had hit gold! In fact, the only thing we didn’t really enjoy during our two night stay was the mooring – on a pontoon which was constantly rocked by wake from the many ferries and hydrofoils heading in and out of port, whenever possible at breakneck speed!
Lipari is sensational! We instantly fell in love with the place, and seeing it before the season was properly under way was just perfect; it was buzzing, but not overcrowded. The town is a maze of narrow streets, coloured by gift shops, cafes and food stalls. Perched high in the centre, dividing the stretch of seafront, is a castle and church, whilst the harbour area (commercial and fishing craft only, so on the opposite side to our mooring) is an idyllic postcard scene come to life. The weather also played its part, the encroaching clouds of our arrival having dispersed and been replaced with a wide arc of blue sky and it would have been hard to improve upon our brief stay.
Yesterday we meandered north, to Panarea, from where we could see Stromboli gently puffing in the background, and found one of those perfect anchorages in which to drop the hook. What can I say? The Mediterranean is already warm the sea is clear, ripe melon and parma ham compliment one another beautifully, rose wine slips down so very easily when the sun is shining…all the ingredients for a memorable afternoon. Sadly the various weather forecasts we checked all suggested that the conditions would not be favourable for a night at anchor, so late in the afternoon we started making our way back to mainland Sicily, passing close to the island of Volcanoe en route – as the name suggests, another volcanic outcrop, also with wisps of smoke constantly rising from its caldera.
We thought that Portarosa was going to be something special, but it’s not! It has turned out to be a pretty soulless marina and worse still, the wind that was forecast never materialised, so last night would have been just perfect at anchor.
Still, you can’t win them all, and life is pretty good!
On Sunday morning we were ready to head off into the bright blue yonder; as usual, we intended to get under way at about 9am but by the time we had pottered around and refuelled, it was nearer to midday before we were finally out at sea, but that really didn’t matter in the slightest as conditions were excellent for our crossing to the Aeolian Islands. The first three hours or so were pretty boring, with just the occasional fish jumping from the water to entertain us until we saw the outline of the first island, Alicuda, appearing out of the mist. When we got close, we saw it was little more than a large rock with a few homes scattered about; a pretty inhospitable place to live and no sign of any roads so those whose houses are high up the hillside must be very fit! With a light wind springing up and increasing cloud cover, we turned to the east and skirted the south coast of Filicuda, which had little more to recommend it than its smaller neighbour, and then decided to pass between the islands of Salina and Lipara in search of some shelter. So far we weren’t overly impressed with the Aeolians – the volcanic sand makes the beaches look less than welcoming, and we hadn’t seen anywhere that looked particularly attractive. Fortunately things were about to change! Lipari Town promised the best shelter and as we approached the coast, we could tell that we had hit gold! In fact, the only thing we didn’t really enjoy during our two night stay was the mooring – on a pontoon which was constantly rocked by wake from the many ferries and hydrofoils heading in and out of port, whenever possible at breakneck speed!
Lipari is sensational! We instantly fell in love with the place, and seeing it before the season was properly under way was just perfect; it was buzzing, but not overcrowded. The town is a maze of narrow streets, coloured by gift shops, cafes and food stalls. Perched high in the centre, dividing the stretch of seafront, is a castle and church, whilst the harbour area (commercial and fishing craft only, so on the opposite side to our mooring) is an idyllic postcard scene come to life. The weather also played its part, the encroaching clouds of our arrival having dispersed and been replaced with a wide arc of blue sky and it would have been hard to improve upon our brief stay.
Yesterday we meandered north, to Panarea, from where we could see Stromboli gently puffing in the background, and found one of those perfect anchorages in which to drop the hook. What can I say? The Mediterranean is already warm the sea is clear, ripe melon and parma ham compliment one another beautifully, rose wine slips down so very easily when the sun is shining…all the ingredients for a memorable afternoon. Sadly the various weather forecasts we checked all suggested that the conditions would not be favourable for a night at anchor, so late in the afternoon we started making our way back to mainland Sicily, passing close to the island of Volcanoe en route – as the name suggests, another volcanic outcrop, also with wisps of smoke constantly rising from its caldera.
We thought that Portarosa was going to be something special, but it’s not! It has turned out to be a pretty soulless marina and worse still, the wind that was forecast never materialised, so last night would have been just perfect at anchor.
Still, you can’t win them all, and life is pretty good!
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