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.
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