5/5/2024 Marina Piccolo, Sorrento, Italy
A very quiet night, up early to sunshine and activity in the
marina. We walked up to the Hertz place and took possession of a Fiat Cabriolet.
We set off to the west end of the island to find the castle that Suzette stayed
in when she was backpacking across Europe as a young woman. We negotiated the
winding road and eventually found her castle. Next stop was Positano, but we
found ourselves in a little town where a young man accosted us and convinced us
that we needed to go to his grandmother’s restaurant and enjoy her lemon
granita and her fresh mozzarella caprices salad. We bit and went to the
restaurant and everything was fabulous. They were salesmen and wanted us to get
this and that, but we resisted.
From here we navigated to and through Positano. There was nowhere to park and no way to stop
as we slowly meandered through the town dodging motorcycles and people. We
found ourselves in a little town that was not so crowded and found a seaside
restaurant for more food and drinks. The next town was Amalfi that was similar
to Positano, quaint, but crowded. We passed through and headed on to Salerno.
On the way Suzette saw a sign for Vietri, the place where our dishes at home
are from. This precipitated a back track and a stop in Vietri. The town is
chocked full of ceramic shops, but no purchases.
We continued on our big loop around the Amalfi peninsula and realized that it was Cinco di Mayo! Bill searched google and found a Mexican restaurant in Sorrento, near the boat. Bill called to be sure they served Mexican food and to see if they were celebrating Cinco di Mayo. They did not understand his questions, but we proceeded anyway. Arriving at the restaurant we found a few tables full patrons, but plenty of room for us. They definitely had no idea about Cinco di Mayo, but they did have great Mexican food, beer and margaritas. This made our day complete.
We parked on the quay right at the end of our dock knowing it was probably not legal, but it was after midnight, who will know.
5/6/2024 Marina Piccolo, Sorrento, Italy
Up with the sun, but a slow morning as we needed to return
the car, but not until 0930. On the way out the Marinaros stopped us and said
we could not park on the quay. I apologized and told him I was returning the
car now. In my mind I am think; I did park on the quay. After returning the car
Suzette went shopping, Bill and I went to a café for breakfast. Suzette found
us and we made our way back to the boat where Owen was lounging. The racers
were getting their boats ready for a day of practice. At 1100 we slipped the
lines and headed to Capri to anchor off the city of Capri. It was a short motor
boat ride to the Island and a couple passes to pick an anchorage. A boat was
pulling out and we were going to slip into his spot, but we were snaked by a
local power boat. We picked another spot and it took us a couple tries to get
the anchor to set as we were in 14 meters of water.
It was a busy little anchorage full of day boats and lots of traffic; tour boats, ferries, row boats headed to the Blue Grotto and vacationers being shuttled around. The town was beautiful as it rose up on the hills around us. We launched the dinghy and headed into town. We found a spot in the far corner of the marina and locked the dinghy to a dock. The town was bustling with people. We stopped at a restaurant on the quay and had Gelato and spritzers. Satisfied we headed back to the boat for dinner and cocktails. The anchorage had emptied of boats and we were alone and it was calm.
In the evening Owen and Bill taught us a new game, Uno. It
required just enough brain power to keep us engaged and we had some good
laughs.
5/7/2024 Capri Anchorage, Isola di
Capri, Italy
It was a lazy morning on board. The day was overcast with a
chance of light rain. We went into town on the Dinghy and boarded the Funicular
for a ride to the upper part of the town. The line for the Funicular was quite
long, but each train carried 80 people and left every 15 minutes so we were
quickly on board. The train was built to be on a steep incline so the floor is
level and the car is angled. It was attached to a cable and one train is ascending
as another is descending on the same cable. At the top the view was
spectacular. We could see Raffaellesco below and other boats that had since
anchored. We wondered through the very classy shops and many views north and
south off the island.
Suzette packed a picnic for us and Owen bought a bottle of
champagne and we enjoyed our meal. We could find a park to sit in so we settled
for the patio at the hospital. Fortunately here was no activity. Back down the Funicular
to sea level and back to the boat ahead of the rain. Owen and Suzette made a
fabulous Paella and we settled in for a night of Uno.
5/8/2024 Capri Anchorage, Isola di Capri, Italy
A quiet night in the anchorage, up with the sun and ready to
sail to Amalfi. We motored around the west end of Capri and along the south
coast. The Faraglioni di Capri rocks were prominent as we cleared the east end
of the Island and crossed to the mainland. The wind did not materialize and we
could see the predicted rain heading our way. We made a pass outside of
Positano and cleared into Amalfi by about 1300.
Faraglioni di Capri 
Both towns are very picturesque from the water. The Marinaros came out to greet us in his rib and lead us into our mooring. No wind so it was an easy landing with good help on the bow and stern. We settled the boat quickly. Suzette was already showered and dressed and ready to hit the town for some shopping. Bill and I put on a clean shirt and followed along. Crowded, but not crazy crowded. Once Suzette was satisfied with the shopping we stopped at the bakery for lemon almond cookies, cannoli and a gelato. This was a very fine bakery and the gelato was superb. The cannoli made it back to the boat for desert and the cookies made it to breakfast the next morning.
We received a note from Boma to say that the generator would be ready soon, but we would need to go to back to Porto Santos Stefanos for the installation! This was contrary to our understanding so I reached out to say we could not go all the way back to their shop, what will it cost to have the work done closer to us. She said she would get back to me, but did not respond for the rest of the day.
Owen made a fabulous dinner; pasta with chicken, pesto and sundried
tomatoes. The rain did arrive and we were happy playing cards below. We
introduced Bill and Owen to Pinochle, a bit of a frustrating game to learn, but
they caught on quickly.
5/9/2024 Marina Piccola, Amalfi, Italy
The sun was out and we were resigning ourselves to going at
least a little NW to be closer to Boma. Suzette went off to get fresh bread and
some vegis. We got underway about 1100 and headed west along the Amalfi
Peninsula then NW toward Isola di Procida. The wind came up and we sailed for a
while, then the wind died. As we got closer to our destination the came up and
went to about 18 knots on our nose. We put up the sails and tacked into it for
a while, but finally gave up and motored into an anchorage on the mainland,
Miseno, at the very NW corner of Naples Bay. It turned out to be a great
anchorage with interesting rock formations and caves. We anchored in about 7m
of water and hooked up quickly. Suzette had been making soup and a carrot top
pesto while underway. We had our sundowners and enjoyed Suzette’s fresh humus.
I grilled carrots and we had grilled carrots and fresh carrot top pesto for our
next course. The wind shifted and rain was imminent so we headed below and
enjoyed soup and fresh bread for our main course. We were too full for a cannoli
encore. More pinochle and a quiet night in the anchorage.
We needed to do some serious thinking about how we were going get our generator and make it to our final destination in the next 2 weeks. Lots of hand ringing and discussion, but little resolution so I decided to sleep on it.
5/10/2024 Miseno, Italy
Suzette had decided that we would continue north and go back
to Porto Santos for the generator install, about 180 miles NW! We sent another
note to Boma demanding some answers, but did not get the answer we wanted or
expected. They have discovered a new issue and have ordered more parts that are
expected Monday! More exchanges by email for a commitment from Boma to get us
out of Porto Santos by 5/16, if the parts arrive Monday from Belgium. We
decided to proceed.
The day was as calm and clear as we have seen making for a
motor boat ride to Isola di Ponza and a gorgeous anchorage. Ponza is a part of
the Ponziane Archipelago, a series of small islands. We saw some dolphin along
the way and lots of jelly fish in the anchorage. We launched the dinghy and
explored the rocky shores and shallows. The sign on the beach warned of rock
slides and forbid access to the beach. Champagne, cheese and bread for aperitivo.
Dinner on board cleaned up the left overs and lead to more pinochle. It was a very still night with two more boats arriving at dusk to anchor.
5/11/2024 Scaglio del Parroco – Spaccapolpi, Isola di Ponza,
Italy
A glorious sunny morning for a 0800 departure. The weather
was expected to be calm making it a 60-mile motor to Porto Touristico di Roma. Everyone
was busy along the way planning the balance of our respective trips. Bill and
Owen would be leaving the ship tomorrow and heading to Rome. Suzette and I
would continue to backtrack NW to Porto Santos.
We had a few dolphin sightings, otherwise flat calm seas and
no wind. Arriving at the marina the Marinaros we very helpful and we were
quickly settled. Bill and I were jonesing for a chandlery fix and they have a
very nice one here. We were happy to find it open on a Saturday afternoon. We
managed to find some hardware for a couple boat improvements we had dreamed up.
Bill found a really nice Musto vest. He tried it on and found change in the
pocket. The proprietor had gone quiet and we realized that the vest was his
personal vest. We all had a laugh and went on our way.
Back on the boat the girls were getting dolled up for dinner at a seafood restaurant on shore, Fish & Love. We enjoyed dinner alfresco, lots of delicious seafood. To full for dessert, we headed back to the boat for night caps and a last round of pinochle. We talked until midnight and lamented that Bill and Owen were leaving the boat. They were great guests!
Comments
Post a Comment