Dan and Robyn's Adventures

As I am sure you’ve noticed, I’ve really let things slide as far as keeping up with our blog.  Since the last post, we have sold Zoe to a wonderful Australian couple so we can be closer to home and our six grandkids. Stay tuned as we have plans for a return to the sea, but in the meantime we wanted to post some catchup posts for those curious about what sailing the Mediterranean on your own sailboat looks like. Thanks for following along!

When I last left you, we were pulling into a marina outside of Naples to wait out some weather, get Zoe cleaned up, and re-provisioned for the next part of our journey.  We were also waiting for some parts to be delivered to the marina as we discovered our fresh water maker was no longer working.  Why is it when you go to sell something, things start breaking that have been working great for years?!?  Luckily our parts arrived while we were still in the marina, and Dan and I began the process of rebuilding the motor and reinstalling everything.  When we fired her back up, she was running better and stronger than ever before!  Success! 

We left Naples for the Amalfi Coast via a quick cruise around the famous Isle of Capri.  It was a very pretty island (and quite busy and perhaps “overloved”), but we had no desire to linger there.  Our first stop was a small bay called Nurano where we grabbed a mooring ball at a seaside restaurant.  The views were great, but the area itself was not overly remarkable.  The next day we headed around the corner to a bay in Positano.  The views here were incredible (both from land and from sea).  We grabbed a mooring ball here as well.  While the water was a spectacular blue and crystal clear, it was also very rolly with chop due to the incredible amount of boats zooming back and forth. at high speed.  It happened to be my birthday, so Dan made a reservation at a lovely restaurant up on the hillside.  The crowds here were insane.  It was wall to wall people along tiny little alleyways winding up the cliff side.  This was so not my idea of fun!  Dan and I quickly decided that we were over the chaos of the Amalfi Coast.  We much preferred the small, lesser known towns along the coast of Italy.

At this point, we had about 2 1/2 weeks left to get Zoe to a marina that we had booked in order to come home for the birth of our 4th grandbaby and birthdays for 2 other grandkids.  We were booked to head home the end of May and would not return to Zoe until mid July.  We had a lot of miles to make in a short amount of time.We left behind the crazier part of the Amalfi Coast and dropped anchor in a very large bay outside of Salerno.  There were very few boats here, and we felt peacefully alone.  The town was like most others without the complete chaos of crowds.  We enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets, wandering the many little shops, and found some fun treats for the grandkids in a shop that had a very “Willy Wonka” vibe. 

After a couple of very enjoyable days, it was time to get moving again.  The challenging part of the west coast of mainland Italy is that there are really not many protected anchorages from the prevailing winds, so weather is very important while making your way down the vast coastline.  We made a quick overnight stop in an anchorage that was not overly remarkable, and then continued down the coast to the Bay of Good Sleep.  Yep, that is really what it is called.  It was a small, beautiful bay surrounded by towering cliffs.  There were a few day trip boats with swimmers anchored there, which would leave at sunset, leaving us and one other boat anchored for the night.  This is one of the few bays that is well protected from the prevailing winds, so we had a very restful night under the towering cliffs……until morning arrived.  The wind had switched direction to the absolute worst direction for the bay (go figure), and we awoke to Zoe pitching wildly side to side on large, rolling swells entering the bay.  Time to go!  It was anchor up, and we were quickly on our way before the sun was barely over the horizon.

With the change in the weather, and things not looking so good, we made a reservation at a marina in a town called Cetraro.  Fortunately for us, we arrived early enough to get tied up and secured before things went completely sideways.  We watched as the waves and swell began to build and come roaring into the marina.  We began running around securing anything and everything that wasn’t nailed down to keep it from blowing off of our boat.  We watched as boat after boat battled to come in and get tied up in the howling winds (feeling very grateful that we arrived ahead of it). We watched the Coast Guard go out to help several boats that ran into trouble trying to come in.  It was quite a wild night, but we were safe and sound tucked into our spot.  We spent several days here exploring the quiet little town and waiting for the seas to calm down.  At this point, we didn’t have much distance left to go before arriving at our marina in Vibo Valentia where we would leave Zoe for the next month and a half.  Vibo is at the top part of the foot of the boot close to Tropea (another tourist hotspot).

After several days in Cetraro, we began our journey to Vibo.  It was an uneventful sail as we pulled into the very protected harbor of Vibo Valentia.  After filling up our fuel tanks, we headed to the marina and got tied up.  Since we would be leaving the boat in the water for 6 weeks, we made sure to have multiple lines tied to the boat to keep her secure should bad weather blow through.  We had about a week before our scheduled flight home so decided to get a car in order to explore the area.  We booked train tickets to the airport and headed out on foot to the train station.  Wouldn’t you know, the train was cancelled.  Europe is notorious for transportation strikes on a regular basis.  It took us a bit of time (and numerous cancelled drivers) before we finally found a driver to pick us up and take us to the airport to pick up our rental car.  Now we had the freedom to roam the region.

We also made the decision to start the process of bringing home our belongings from the boat.  Since we didn’t know how long it would take to sell Zoe (or if it would even happen this year).  We carefully selected as much as we could while still making sure we had enough things to get us through the rest of this year and possibly next season as well.  This resulted in six 60 pound bags to fly home with….ugh!  This was NOT going to be fun.  Every day, we took a break to walk along the beach, exploring this cute little town.  We also took a few days to venture out with the car to check out the surrounding towns and countryside.

With Zoe well squared away, we spent some time each day exploring the region of Calabria Italy (one of our favorite regions of Italy).  We headed to the very tip of the boot to the town of Tropea.  This is a beautiful town perched on the cliffs above the sea before the Straits of Messina.  Unfortunately, it is also a tourist hotspot which meant it was very crowded.  We wandered the alleyways, wandered the center square overlooking the sea, and stopped for some lunch.  We didn’t spend much time here as it was just too crowded.  We have come to love the quiet, hidden gems that are off the beaten path.

Another day of adventure found us in a wine region known for their white wine varietals.  The winery was pleasantly quiet, so Dan and I had it basically all to ourselves.  We tried out many of their wines and decided this was a great place to restock Zoe (and bring some home of course).  We were getting close to closing time, so we made our selections.  We bought a case of several of our favorite ones, along with some plastic jugs filled right from their vats (great for cruising).  As they were closing up, the winemaker came in and visited with us a bit.  After seeing how much we bought (come on….it wasn’t THAT much!), he generously threw in a bottle of his special, limited production white with a gorgeous label.  The bottle sold for 50 euro (not in my budget), so we felt very grateful for this special treatment.  This bottle was definitely coming home.  Of course, my conundrum with having such a unique and special bottle is that I don’t want to drink it!  Haha….guess I’ll have to find a way to get over that.

On two separate occasions, we headed to the town of Pizzo (very close to the marina).  This was another cliffside town but lesser known, so a lot less crowded.  We had learned that Pizzo was famous for a dessert known as Pizzo.  While you could get this treat in other towns, if it was not made in Pizzo, then it was not legit (the creator of Pizzo was from the town thereby giving it its name).  I’m sure you are wondering, “what is this deliciousness you speak of?”  Pizzo is a handmade gelato that contains a molten core and is rolled in a sweetened cocoa powder (they also have a few other varieties, but this style is the original).  Of course, we had to try it out.  Yep, it was amazing!  We tried 2 different places over the two days and both were outstanding.  We paired this with a lovely digestivo known as Amaro.  This was quite a yummy combo.  Needless to say, we stopped into a local shop and bought a couple of bottles of Amaro.  Yep, those were coming home as well (our duffles to come home are getting heavier and heavier)!

It was finally time to shut Zoe down and make our way home.  It was not going to be a fun adventure home with all these bags.  We flew from Lamezia Terme in Italy to Munich and schlepped our bags to the hotel at the airport.  We had a day and a half in Munich before our flight home, so we decided to explore some of the local countryside.  Since we had already been to the heart of Munich before, we took the train to a couple of cute and quiet little towns on the outskirts.  Our first stop was the town of Freising.  It was a cold and rainy Sunday, so most things were shut up tight.  Unlike a lot of the cities in Europe, we quickly discovered that Germany shuts down hard on Sundays.  We pretty much had the streets to ourselves admiring the architecture and decor.  We headed to Germany’s oldest brewery which had been recommended to us by friends.  We enjoyed a delicious meal and of course some very yummy beers.  The next day we headed to the town of Andechs.  It was another cold and rainy day as we hiked through lush, green landscape on our way to the Kloster Andechs (a mountaintop monastery known for their crafted beer) where people make a pilgrimage to have their beer.  You are suppose to take the walking journey there (hence the pilgrimage) and  not drive there.  Needless to say, we encountered only one other couple along our pilgrimage (yet the place was full when we arrived).  Once again, we enjoyed amazing food and beer while taking in breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape.

It was time to make our way home.  After a long flight from Germany, we arrived in Charlotte and collected our bags.  For the first time ever, we got stopped and questioned by customs when they saw us come through with two carts each loaded with 3 huge bags.  We explained our situation, they scanned our bags, turned us loose, and we rechecked our bags for our flight to Phoenix.  It was a very long journey home, but all our bags made it safe and sound.  Over the next 6 weeks, we would await the arrival of our newest granddaughter and the second birthdays of two of our other grandkids before returning to Zoe and continuing our journey around the boot to the east side of Italy.  Stay tuned for Zoe’s final adventures with us!

We are back to Zoe once again after a fun filled “off season.”  We did some incredible hikes with new friends, hit the Christmas markets in 3 European countries (reconnecting with some old friends), spent a week exploring the beauty of Japan, and spent time with friends in Vancouver, Canada on their beautiful boat.  If all that wasn’t enough, we also learned that we have 3 new grand-babies and a grand-niece all arriving between June and September.  While I can’t tell you how beyond excited we are, the writing on the wall has now become very clear.  Spending 3-6 months living in the Med. is no longer in the cards for us, and we have made the very heartbreaking decision to sell Zoe. With that in mind, we decided to come back to Zoe much earlier than we ever have to test out spring sailing.

We arrived in Rome on March 26th and got checked into our Airbnb  before heading to the yard where Zoe spent her winter.  It is always a very sad moment to see just how dirty she has gotten sitting on land for 6 months.  The amount of work ahead of us always feels a bit overwhelming.  We spent the next week getting Zoe cleaned up and put back together for living, sailing and selling.  When we got a break in the weather, we got her launched and tied up to the yard’s wall on the Tiber River.  At least now, we could move on board.  We quickly discovered that March and April are quite windy, rainy and COLD.  We made the most of being stranded in the Rome area by exploring the local town of Ostia, frequently walking the Lungomare along the water, and going to explore Ostia Antica.  Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman city and port of Rome on the Tiber River.  These ancient ruins are very well preserved and provide a fascinating glimpse into life in Ancient Rome.  Among the ruins, you can also see some very well preserved mosaics and frescoes.  We have seen many archeological sites in numerous countries, and Ostia Antica is definitely one of the best.  We also had the pleasure of meeting another American couple with a catamaran in the same yard and quickly became friends.

As I said, spring has been very cold and wet, so we have used our heater more during this time than we have in all the years of owning Zoe.  The good news is it worked amazing.  The bad news is we spent almost 3 weeks tied to the wall because we could not catch a break in the weather to head south.  We were starting to go stir crazy, so we decided to get off the boat and head inland for some adventure.  Our next adventure was the hilltop town of Tivoli.  After a 1 1/2 hour drive, we hoofed it up the hill and through the narrow alleyways to our cute little apartment in the heart of the town.  We spent the next 2 days wandering the narrow streets and following a trail system down to Hadrian’s Villa.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the ruins and archaeological remains of a villa built around 120 AD by emperor Hadrian.  The grounds cover more than a square kilometer which is larger than the city of Pompeii.  The site is considered the most imposing and complex Roman villa known and much of it is still unexcavated.  The following day we visited another UNESCO World Heritage Site called Villa d’Este.  This was a 16th century villa famous for its terraced hillside garden.  Each room inside the villa contained ornately painted walls and incredible sculpted ceilings.  The grounds were spectacular with rich and exotic plants, statues, and an endless number of fountains and water features.  You could definitely while away hours wandering the grounds.

We returned to Zoe after our relaxing adventure and reconnected with our American friends.  We were more than ready to get underway, but the nasty winds we had escaped from on our road trip meant the seas outside the river were running 6-8 feet (almost 3 meters).  It would take a couple more days for the seas to die down, and we would finally be on our way!

It was finally time to go.  We had spent almost a month trapped in the town of Ostia.  It took us over 30 minutes to free our lines from the dock due to the strain from the very strong winds.  Our lines had literally worn deep grooves into the wood poles they were tied too.  At one point, we were afraid we might just have to cut them and leave them behind.  Dan eventually got them worked free and off we went.  Our plan was about a 5 hour sail south to the town of Anzio, but the direction of the winds was not quite what was forecasted which meant the anchorage would not be a great stop for us.  We quickly made the decision to get to the island of Ponza.  We had anchored there before and knew the anchorage was a wide open area of sand and well protected.  However, this did mean our first sail would go from 5 hours to 11 hours and a nighttime arrival.  Eesh…..talk about baptism by fire.  Of course the wind and seas were higher than forecasted, but the seas were behind us and the wind was a good direction, so we had a great sail for the majority of our journey.  Things got a little hairy when darkness fell and we were passing between the two islands.  All of a sudden, we were playing frogger with fish traps in the dark…..Dan driving and me perched high on the helm telling him which way to steer (or put the engines in neutral) to avoid the traps that did not become visible until you were right on top of them.  Before long we rounded the end of Ponza, and the wind came howling down the hillside at 20+ knots.  Then came the fun of dropping the anchor in the pitch black of night and windy conditions.  Lucky for us, there were only 2 other boats in the entire anchorage.  Gotta love early season.

We spent 3 days on the island enjoying some clifftop hikes and wandering the cute little town.  We were watching another weather system coming in and decided to head back to the mainland and into a marina in a town called Gaeta.  We had read lots of great things about the area and were excited to explore the town.  We tried the local specialty known as Tiella.  It is basically a stuffed pizza (top and bottom crust), served lukewarm, and the fillings are not remotely related to the pizza we know.  The most popular one was the one filled with octopus (yes, we tried it).  We also tried some other odd ones like salted cod.  In the end, we both decided we did not care for Tiella.  Our first adventure in Gaeta had us walking to an amazing grotto cut in the cliffs.  From there, we went down into the stone cliffs to a small, old chapel.  In the smooth stone of the wall coming down the stairs was a deep handprint left by a pirate back in the day.  We came out of the chapel to an incredible viewpoint that surrounded the dome of the small chapel.  We continued on our trek through wooded areas that took us to ancient weapons bunkers, what looked like the remains of castle walls and alleyways, and up to the high point where a mausoleum stood.  Unfortunately, it was being restored so we were not able to go inside.  We continued our way down a country road which eventually spit us out back in town overlooking a castle and a beautiful cathedral.  We had such a great time (and it was such a beautiful hike), we decided to do it again the next day but in reverse direction.  We quickly discovered that our exploration the day before had been brilliant.  It was rainy and a Friday, so there were very few people around.  When we went the next day, the trails were packed, and there were huge lines to get into all the sights that we had to ourselves the day before….yikes.  On our last night in Gaeta, we left the marina and anchored in the bay under the castle and cathedral.  It was a spectacular view.

We sadly said goodbye to Gaeta and made our way to the island of Ischia.  We were looking forward to meeting up with our friends once again.  Unfortunately, there was no sailing this time.  It was 6 1/2 hours of motoring.  We struggled to find a good spot to anchor due to rocks, restricted areas, and sea grass.  Our first night, we unknowingly anchored on rock.  Since we were renting scooters the next day with our friends, we decided to take a look at our anchor with the dinghy to make sure it was well set before leaving.  That’s how we discovered our anchor lying on a rock….crap!  We took the dinghy around the anchorage looking for patches of sand and finally settling on a small patch that we found.  We pulled up the anchor, had a moment of worry when it refused to come up, but adjusted the position of the boat and up it came.  We headed to the spot we had chosen, dropped the anchor, made sure she was well dug in, and then checked it with the dinghy.  It was perfect.  We picked up our friends from their boat and headed to town to get some scooters.  Off we headed to explore the island of Ischia.  We stopped in several cute little towns as we circumnavigated the island.  We then explored Giardini la Mortella, a magnificent privately owned botanical garden on the island.  The garden was terraced along the side of the hill and has around 3000 different species of exotic plants and flowers.  Parts of the gardens were surrounded by ponds, greenhouses, streams and fountains.  In the end, we spent 7 hours cruising and exploring the island.

On our last day in Ischia, we climbed up the hill to explore the Aragon Castle.  We started in the torture and weapons room.  Once again, we were stunned by the horrific ways humans come up with to torture others.  We wandered into the various rooms and hallways taking in the sights.  We wandered into one room that housed what looked like a bunch of stone toilets all in a row.  They were high backed with a cross carved into the stone, stone armrests, and what looked like wax residue from candles.  Boy, were we way off!  Turns out it was a nuns’ cementary (I won’t mention the sign outside the door said “cimitario”).  It gets worse.  Those stone structures were not toilets.  They were called draining seats!  They would take the lifeless bodies of the nuns and put them on the seats.  Their flesh slowly decomposed and then the fluids would be gathered and placed in special vases.  Their dried up skeletons would then be heaped up in a special place.  This was done because they saw the body as useless other than housing the spirit.  To make matters worse, every day the nuns would congregate in prayer at this site.  They would spend several hours in prayer and meditation in this unhealthy environment and often fall victim to horrible and deadly diseases.  The castle grounds also housed numerous small churches and cathedrals, a prison, a convent, wine cellars, and a crypt.  The crypt contained beautiful artwork and frescoes (but it was kind of stinky).  I really enjoyed Ischia quite a bit.

After 4 days in Ischia, we headed to the island of Procida (a short 45 minute hop from Ischia).  It was a nice big anchorage with lots of sand, so we picked our spot and got settled in.  Procida was another cute little town, but we found it very difficult to find a place to park our dinghy which made going to town less than desirable.  We did sneak it into a spot among the fishing boats and explored the area on foot.  The next day was Labor Day for Europe which meant that morning, boat after boat came screaming into the anchorage.  Big power boats roared in and out making the whole anchorage a churning mess of swell.  By the afternoon, there were probably 100 boats anchored in the bay having a party.  The wind had also switched direction, so a continuous swell was coming into the bay as well.  Luckily most of the boats left in the evening leaving just 4 of us anchored in the bay for the night.  The wind and swell continued to grow, and we decided we had enough.  The next morning we lifted anchor and headed to the mainland where we anchored in a small bay outside of Naples.  We will be heading in to a marina in a couple of days to do a reset and deep clean of the boat to be ready to continue our journey south.  Stay tuned as we resume our adventure down the Amalfi Coast next week!

First, I would like to apologize for leaving you all hanging.  I know I dropped the ball in wrapping up our 2024 sailing season, and who likes an unfinished story.  So as the saying goes…..better late than never. 

Sadly, September of 2024 was not shaping up to be a great month for sailing.  We were constantly being hammered with thunderstorms, high winds and big seas.  We were so excited to show my sister and her husband all the treasures of some of the islands and Italy by sailboat.  Apparently, Mother Nature had other plans.  Once we found a quick break in the weather, we headed to the town of Rossignano Solvay, on mainland Italy, where we parked Zoe in a marina and headed out for some fun on land. 

Our first land outing was renting a car and heading to Siena.  We had booked a cooking class in the countryside where we picked farm fresh produce and herbs to be used in our cooking class.  During our class, we learned to make gnocchi, tagliatelle, and several different bruschettas.  Of course, we got to eat all of these delicious dishes while enjoying lots of wine from their vineyards.  Our luncheon was topped off with some great accordion music played by our chef/owner.  It was truly an awesome experience. 

From there we made our way to the heart of Siena where we had a room booked for the night.  We explored some of the night life that evening before digging into more of the sights in the morning.  We started at the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta as we knew this would get very crowded, and we had more places to go see.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage site and definitely worth the visit.  It was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263.  What made our visit even more special was discovering that the incredibly decorative floors were only uncovered in the month of September which was when we were there.  All the other months of the year, these beautiful floors are covered up for their protection. 

After visiting this heavenly place, we decided to take our adventures to the bowels of hell.  Just kidding.  Well, sort of.  We decided to tour the Museum of Torture.  The exhibit contains unique and gruesome instruments of torture.  It shows the worst side of humans throughout history and the unspeakable ways they found to punish one another from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Age.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story.  It’s more fun that way.  You know you are curious.  We’ve included a few pictures here, but we will include a link to many more for those of you with a morbid curiosity (like me)!

http://www.torturemuseum.it/en/permanent-museums/siena/

After Siena, we headed to the next hilltop town of San Gimignano.  This beautiful town is encircled by 13th century walls and lined with medieval houses.  We wandered the cobblestone streets taking in the sights and many medieval towers that create the skyline of this lovely town.  Unfortunately, the rain and wind had begun, so our time here was cut a little short. 

It was time to make our way back to the marina.  As we pulled into the entrance, our mouths dropped in shock.  The beach just outside the marina was no longer visible.  Huge waves were battering the shoreline and washing over the boardwalk.  They were very short period and relentless.  As we looked toward the marina, the sea was crashing over the very large sea wall built around the marina.  I felt bad for the boats that were tied to that outer pier as they were getting doused in the waves crashing against the outside of the wall.  Boy were we grateful to be tucked in so deeply in the marina.  As we made our way to Zoe, we had a tight grip on all our things.  The wind was howling and the dock swaying.  Dan tried to get our passerelle (the gangway that runs from the dock to the boat) down in all of this chaos, but it slipped and hit the dock knocking the wheels off which now meant the slats that are walked on started to fall off.  Oh no!  This was bad!  This was our way back onto our boat!  Luckily there was a spare wooden passerelle laying on the dock, so we used it to get us all back on board.  Fortunately, we still had our old wooden passerelle on board, so we were able to use that until we could get our nice metal one fixed. 

We rode out the worst of the storm before deciding to head out once again.  This time, our destination was La Spezia and Cinque Terre (5 towns).  Cinque Terre consists of 5 different towns perched high on the cliffs in the  northern part of Italy.  We had originally planned to sail the boat to La Spezia, but the seas were still rough and the marinas that were in the heart of town were outrageously expensive.  The four of us hopped two different trains, rode through the beautiful countryside of Tuscany into Liguria, and soon arrived in the town of La Spezia.  This part of our adventure would involve trains and walking….no rental cars.  We checked into our hotel and hit the ground running (not literally…haha).  Our first stop was the Naval Technical Museum of La Spezia.  The focus of this museum is the specialty equipment of the Italian Navy special forces which is still stationed in La Spezia.  Within the museum, you could see the history and evolution of ships, gear, and weapons.  On higher ground outside of the museum, you were able to see the modern day military ships nestled in the harbor. 

The following day, we took the train up into the mountains of Cinque Terre.  We spent the day exploring 4 of the 5 towns, each with their own charm and style.  The one thing they all had in common, lots of hilltop climbs and gorgeous views.  It was a long, full day logging many, many steps.  We enjoyed specialized cocktails, delicious food, and of course gelato.  We were all worn out when it was time to hop the train and head back to our hotel in La Spezia.

We returned to Zoe where the weather was still looking rather ugly.  The skies were heavy with storm clouds, and the seas were still nasty.  We even saw several waterspouts out on the water.  I was super glad we weren’t out on the water!  We were down to our last day with my sister and her husband, so we made the most of it enjoying delicious food and cocktails at a few beachfront bars and restaurants.  In the middle of the night, my sister received a call telling us that our mom had passed away.  She had been in a care facility for a number of years due to Dementia, so we knew this would come at some point.  However, she had been stable for so long that this was completely unexpected.  The next day we walked my sister and her husband to the train to get them to Rome for their flights home.  It was a very sad ending to what had been an amazing few weeks of cruising with them.  What made things worse was that the weather was still bad, we needed to get Zoe to her winter storage location (no where near us), and the marina could not keep us more than a few more days.  That evening, the rain came in.  As I sat inside feeling very sad at the loss of my mom and the departure of my sister, I heard bagpipes playing.  As I listened closer, I realized someone was playing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes outside on a boat.  I jumped up and ran to the bow of our boat in the pouring rain.  A few boats down, on the bow, stood a man in a kilt playing this haunting song.  This was one of my mom’s favorite songs.  I stood there in the rain with tears streaming down my face.  I felt like it was a sign from my mom.

The weather finally cleared a couple of days later, and we got Zoe underway.  Dan and I sailed 24 hours straight to get to our final destination.  We pulled up the Tiber River outside of Rome and spent the next couple of very long days getting Zoe shut down for winter.  Once Zoe was safely on land and ready for our extended absence, we headed to the airport and began our long journey home.

I’ve tried to keep this somewhat short and sweet with words but loaded with pictures.  At this point, Dan and I are planning to head back to Zoe toward the end of March.  We have never gone out quite this early in the year, so this could be very interesting in terms of weather.  So, I hope you will rejoin our Zoe adventures coming your way very soon!

As we bid a sad farewell to our son and daughter-in-law, it was time to start making our way north for the arrival of my sister and brother-in-law.  They were not due to join us for a few more days, and our goal was to get to a marina just outside the Rome airport (which was still quite far from where we currently were).  We left the town of Cetara on the Amalfi Coast and headed 7 hours north to the island of Procida, outside of the Naples area.  It was a cloudy and overcast day, and by the time we selected our spot in the busy anchorage, it was pretty late in the day.  The surrounding town was very nice, but the anchorage was very rolly with local boat traffic.  It had been a long day, and we were both feeling kind of blah, so neither of us felt like taking the dinghy into town to explore.  This, of course, would be a decision we would kind of regret later.  Oh well, we can always go back later or next year.  Little did we know, our plans in the sand were about to begin their slow erosion.

The following day was going to be a really long one, so we were underway by 7:00 a.m.  We were headed to the island of Ponza.  It took us nearly 9 hours to arrive at our next destination.  This island had a great looking town on one end and sheer rock cliffs on the other.  Thankfully it was a much bigger anchorage than the one we were in the night before, and we quickly selected our spot.  For those of you that know me well, I like a respectable amount of space between me and my neighbors and usually choose the most remote area (which also means we get some really amazing backdrops….in this case, the towering cliffs behind us).  Once again, there was a lot of powerboat traffic making for a very rolly anchorage.  Sadly, we really had no desire to head into town after our long day.  I guess after a few weeks of milling through very crowded towns bustling with tourists, we really needed some quiet downtime and solitude.  So, another island has been added to our “must return to” and explore list.  Darn!  Another island we have to make our way back to….haha.

On the third day, we made the decision to get all the way to Fiumicino, Rome.  We had a reservation in a marina the following night, so we put in a request for an additional night tonight.  This was going to be a very long passage, and we would be racing sunset.  Once again, we got underway early in the morning.  About half way through our nearly 12 hour passage, we heard back from the marina….there was no room at the inn tonight.  Uh oh.  That was a serious miscalculation!  We were along the coast of mainland Italy, in an area where marinas and safe anchorages were few and far between.  Dan searched incessantly for options as we continued our way north.  No luck.  Finally he found a possibility.  About a half hour north of our intended destination, Ostia Marina, was an area where a breakwater had been constructed for a new marina that was never completed.  Never completed, as in the only thing there was a very nice breakwater with great holding in mud….that’s it.  The sun was very low on the horizon, and the race was on to get in before it completely set.  There was only one other boat in the anchorage as we rounded the corner.  The bay was surrounded by these very interesting “houses” on stilts which gave the whole place a bit of a creepy vibe.  We were soon greeted by a resident swan looking for handouts.  I threw him some toasted bread.  He was obviously well trained as he would tap his bill on our swim step to ask for more.

The next day we headed into the marina to get the boat ready for Kim and Don’s arrival.  Once we had Kim and Don on board, we got them settled in for the day before our departure the following day.  The weather the next day was cool and cloudy with very little wind.  We got underway fairly early for our 4 1/2 hour journey.  Unfortunately, the winds were calm which meant no sailing.  We anchored off the town of Santa Marinella.  We enjoyed some swimming before heading in to explore the small town.  Since it was now September, we carefully watching the weather multiple times a day.  It was becoming very evident that transition season had arrived early, and it did not look pretty.  We were carefully plotting our destinations to try and show our guests as much as possible.  Our plan….make our way up the western side of Italy, cross over to the island of Elba, and then head over to the eastern side of Corsica.

Our next destination was 6 1/2 hours away, so we got an early start once again.  Today was sunny and hot with very little wind….no sailing again.  We arrived in Porto Ercole.  We secured an awesome spot below some towering rock cliffs, very close to the town.  No one really felt like swimming, so we took the dinghy into town to walk the waterfront and surrounding town.  It wasn’t long before we had seen all there was to see.  This would be an early night since we were headed to the island of Elba the next day, and this would be close to a 10 hour passage.  Our guests were awesome troopers given the very long passages we were making each day.  As I said, transition season was upon us, and the weather was getting more and more questionable.  We still felt that we had our window to get to Elba, wait out some strong winds, and then head to Corsica.  The west side of Corsica was looking uglier and uglier with high winds and seas (not overly unusual), but the east side still showed some pockets of fair weather (notice I did not say great weather!).  Our plan was to leave the anchorage at 6 a.m.  At 2 a.m., Dan and I woke to the boat pitching around violently as large swell came rolling into our little nook.  To make matters worse, we were on a lee shore close to the rocks (if the anchor let loose, we would crash into the rocks).  Did I mention there was thunder and lightning as well?  At 3 a.m., I attempted to lift the anchor in 3 foot swells and white caps.  It was pitch black, so I had to try and use a flashlight in order to keep track of the position on our anchor chain and anchor.

The seas were choppy with 3 foot swell but no wind once we rounded the peninsula from the bay.  We enjoyed the sunrise and some much  needed coffee.  The afternoon winds made their arrival allowing us to actually sail the back half of our journey to Elba.  As we approached the harbor of Portoferraio, we entered the freeway of very large ferries and cruise ships coming and going.  Before long, we were tied up on the city quay right in front of the old town and all the hustle and bustle of a busy tourist town.  Our first adventure was to rent a car and go explore the area, including Napoleon Bonaparte’s villa where he had been exiled.  Tourist season was in full bloom and everything was very busy.  We decided to head up into a mountaintop town.  Heavy, dark clouds were rolling in which were limiting what we could do and see.  Unfortunately, we did have an “exciting” moment as we rounded a corner, in the heart of town, where it narrowed to one lane of traffic for cars going in both directions.  While Dan tried to avoid the concrete planters on one side, a young guy came around the corner (not really hugging his side) and we scraped down each other’s side.  Well, that put a huge damper on everyone’s mood.  We also wandered a huge fortress with great views overlooking the island and sea.  After exploring the area for a couple of days, we were ready to get underway.  Our plan was to head over to an anchorage about an hour away on Elba.  The seas were calm, but the skies were threatening with thunderstorms.  Our plan was to stage at the anchorage before crossing over to the island of Corsica.  More wicked weather was coming, so we were keeping a close eye on things.  Best laid plans…..

We found a nice spot in the anchorage and got settled in.  There was enough wind to keep the water moving at a pretty good clip.  We dropped the dinghy to go over to the beach bars and some cool looking hikes.  As Dan was motoring about checking the engine, it quit.  There was no getting it started.  He ended up rowing back to Zoe where he and Don set about trying to fix it.  No such luck….it was a goner.  This now meant we were trapped on the boat.  Trying to row 4 people on our dinghy (we were not close to shore or town) in windy conditions was not going to end well.  Without a dinghy, this also meant we were stuck going to marinas unless we fixed it.  We made arrangements to go back to Portoferraio where there was a marina with trades to work on boats.  The following morning we made sure they had room for us to come in early.  They told us they did.  The wind was now picking up and clouds were rumbling with thunder and lightning.  Once again, we navigated the gauntlet of cruise ships and ferries.  We hovered outside the marina trying to reach them.  The winds were already 18 knots.  That’s going to making docking an adventure.  When we finally reached someone at the marina, they said they had no room for us!  What?!?  Dan quickly scrambled and managed to get us a spot back on the wall we had just left the day before.  OMG….we were trapped on Elba!  Long story short….no one could fix the dinghy.  The weather around Corsica got worse, so we wouldn’t be going there, and the seas to get back to mainland Italy were not pretty.  We settled into our new home for a few days to wait out the weather.  Apparently this weather hell was going to be our new norm for the remainder of our time.  Our plans in the sand were now eroding more quickly.

We finally got our weather window to make our way to mainland Italy (Corsica continued to look worse and worst).  It was a very cloudy, cold, and long day.  After a 7 hour passage, we rode the swells into a marina in Rosignano, Italy.  Since we were tracking yet another weather system, we made the decision to come in to a marina and use it as our base to explore on land for a bit.  Our best laid sailing plans were being blown up left and right with weather systems.  So, when life hands you lemons…

The marina was amazing.  We were safely tucked up deep in the marina where there were numerous shops and restaurants.  The surrounding area had many beach bars, restaurants and a nice long boardwalk along the sea.  I could definitely enjoy hanging here for a while….which we did.  I will close this here since it’s getting rather long.  Our next episode will take you on our land adventures in Tuscany, so I hope you will stay tuned!

We arrived in Trapani, Sicily on Saturday, August 17th.  We pulled into the marina where we were tied up next to a 90 foot sailboat and two even bigger boats on the other side of him.  Another 90 foot sailboat soon came in and tied up on the other side of us.  Here we were sandwiched in between 2 mega yachts.  We were literally the littlest guy in the marina! The nasty weather was due to arrive on Monday, and the kids would arrive on Tuesday.  Since we had decided to drive to Palermo to pick them up and show them around, Dan and I rented a car for a couple of days to do some exploring of our own and take care of some necessary errands.  He put out 10 requests to various local rental car places, and one got back to him with availability.  This was actually quite lucky since August in Italy IS their holiday time.  This also means everywhere is overrun with people….lots and lots of people.

We picked up the car on Monday and headed for the town of Marsala.  This is the region known for the Marsala wines.  After bumbling around, we stumbled on a winery and popped in for a tasting. The winery welcomed us in with open arms despite us not having a reservation, and a big group of people already well into their tour.  They had a huge table laid out with nibbles, and a multitude of bottles of every variety of Marsala.  The owner pulled aside a young woman who spoke very good English, and she quickly brought us up to speed.  When they cut people loose for the tasting, it was like a free for all.  It was a pour your own tasting and taste as many things, as much as you want.  Everyone bellied up to the banquet tables where they proceeded to park themselves and strap on the food and drink bag.  I stood off to the side, quite overwhelmed by the whole scene.  Our young hostess kept telling me to get in there and try some things.  I told her it was too crowded for me.  I am accustomed to people going in and putting some food on their plate, filling their glass and then stepping aside for others.  Nope!  Not here!  They parked two deep all around the tables like the goodies might run out.  I did eventually get in there and taste some things that were quite yummy.  She then took us outside to see a truckload of grapes coming in and being dumped into the hopper for crushing (only some of us opted to leave the “trough” to see the sight).  We were told that due to the very hot and dry conditions this year, the grapes had to be harvested now instead of in September, or they risked losing them.  After we had more than enough samplings of Marsala, we got a private tour (the part we missed with the group) of their facilities.  It was quite fascinating.  Then we ended our experience in the wine shop where of course we purchased a lot of goodies.  It must’ve been a lot since they kept giving us free stuff!

The rest of our day was spent running around doing errands (not fun).  We hit a sporting goods store to buy a new SUP (ours blew up in the heat a few weeks earlier) and a new pump (also blew up).  The salt water and salt air environment are definitely hard on everything.  We went to a hardware store for some materials for the boat, a home goods store for some new pillows, and the grocery store to get provisions before the kids arrived.  Definitely not the most fun part of our day, but the winery closed at 3:00 for the day, so we had to get that in early.  Trapani is a very lovely town.  At night, the streets come alive with people and music.  Beautiful lighted decorations arched from one side of the pedestrian area to the other creating a very magical atmosphere.  Of all the places to hunker down for 5 days, we truly enjoyed both our marina and the town.

The following day, we had an hour drive to the Palermo airport to pick up Richard and Denise.  They had left Phoenix, Arizona the day before….flew to Atlanta then Rome then Palermo.  It was a very long journey for them, but they planned to hit the ground running until they could go no more.  We headed into the city center of Palermo, Sicily where we wandered the streets taking in all the sights.  As is everywhere here, tourist season was in full swing, and the streets were mobbed with people.  We wandered the sights for a couple of hours and then headed out in the direction of the boat.  We made a stop at a sight called Segesta which housed a beautiful archeological park.  Here we explored one of the most amazing ruins complexes in Sicily.  The temple itself is remarkably well preserved and has sat unfinished for over 2500 years.  It was built in the 5th century.

Once we had our fill of the ruins, it was time to head to the boat.  We got the kids settled in, and after a much desired shower, they were perked up and ready to go again.  Since we would be leaving the following morning, we wanted to show them Trapani and the hilltop town of Erice.  At the base of the mountain is a gondola which takes you to the top of the mountain.  The views were incredible looking out over vineyards, farmlands, city, and sea.  We had a reservation for dinner at a panoramic restaurant with similar views.  We enjoyed a very nice dinner overlooking Trapani and the sea while very ominous, storm clouds rolled their way over top of us.  By now the kids were running on fumes, so we headed back down the mountain and back to the boat.

The next morning we explored a little bit of Trapani, took care of formalities for the boat and our crew and were off once again.  We had about a 4 hour day down the west coast of Sicily to San Capo Lo Vito.  Fortunately the winds had died down, but the forecasted seas were not as slight as they were suppose to be.  Before long, we were rolling around in 6 foot seas hoping the kids didn’t want to jump ship as soon as we hit solid ground.  We opted for a marina again since the anchorage is known to be quite rolly, and we wanted them to be comfortable as they adjusted to boat life.  This was a popular beach town, and it was quite adorable as well.  All the streets and alleys were strung with lights; shops and restaurants were bustling; and music was playing all around the town.  We had some dinner and wandered the streets enjoying the night life.  Before long, we headed back to the boat for an early morning start.

Our next leg was going to be a long one for our new crew.  They had agreed to do an overnight passage with us.  It didn’t require them to do anything, but it would mean being trapped on the boat for an 8 hour run followed by 24 hours.  We decided to break it up the best we could which meant an  8 hour journey to the island of Ustica.  Dan had reached out to see about reserving a mooring ball, and they said yes.  Nothing else.  That should’ve been our first sign.  The sea swell had also not died down like the forecast said (and we told the kids).  So, we spent 8 long hours trudging through 3-6 foot swells.  When we finally arrived, we saw no open mooring balls.  There was no room for us to anchor given the depths surrounding the island.  We also buzzed by the tiny harbor.  Nope, no way we were fitting in there.  Dan finally reached someone by phone, and we were promptly told there were no mooring balls to fit us (biggest one we saw said 5 ton limit….we are 16 tons).  Our crew looked very crushed when we told them we were unable to stay here and had to press on.  This meant a 24 hour passage after already doing 8 and the excitement of being finished for the day.

We rolled into Minori on the Amalfi Coast late in the afternoon the following day.  The marinero’s came out and helped tie us up to forward and stern mooring balls, and we were finally settled in.  This was a very popular spot for locals on speed boats and other motorized watercraft which meant it was incredibly rolly. We bounced around in 2-3 foot swells which was NOT fun.  The day hot so we tried to make the most of it and swim anyways.  At night time, everyone in the area left and the water was calm and quiet.  We had amazing views of the town and coastline.  The next day, Dan’s niece and her boyfriend came out to the boat to spend the day with us swimming, jumping off the boat and a nearby cliff, and having a great time.  That evening, we wandered the town of Minori taking in the sights and enjoying drinks and dinner on shore.

We were all in this particular location (and why we were covering so many miles at break neck speed) to attend Dan’s nephew’s wedding in the hilltop town of Ravello overlooking the Amalfi Coast.  We arrived Thursday evening, and when Sunday rolled around, we were all meeting in Amalfi for a 4 hour boat tour of the coastline along with swimming.  We took the ferry to Amalfi where we met up with the group (60 people!).  We were loaded on to several different boats, and off we went.  This turned out to be a very rough, 4 hour adventure.  We made 3-4 different swim spot stops, and each one got worse in terms of the sea.  Ironically, this had nothing to do with weather conditions.  It was all caused by the massive amount of power boats and ferries transiting all these hot spots and kicking up 3 foot swell and waves.  Unfortunately, this meant a lot of people were not feeling well and some became very seasick.  Many powered through and enjoyed swimming, exploring sea caves, jumping off the larger boat’s roof, and even a cliff (much to the horror of the mother of the groom and mother of the best man).  Luckily all was fine.  We returned from the boat trip in the late afternoon and then needed to move Zoe about an hour away in order to put her in a marina.  We would be heading up to Ravello for a few days and were not comfortable leaving her on a mooring ball in case weather came up.

We were tied up in a very small marina Sunday evening in a town called Cetara.  Once again, we headed out into the town to check out the scene.  The next morning, our crew headed to Naples to go explore Pompeii while Dan and I did boat chores.  Ahhhh, the joys of owning a boat.  We would meet them in Ravello in the late afternoon at our B & B.  Getting to Ravello from where we were turned out to be a very painful experience…..especially late afternoon.  We took a 45 minute ferry back to Amalfi and then hoped on 45 minute, very crowded bus to Ravello.  This entailed some one lane parts of the road and switchbacks the whole way up.  Once we arrived, we had to lug our bag up the hill some more before finally arriving at our room, a hot sweaty mess.  Tonight would be another wedding event…..a welcome party.  We wandered up to a pizzeria set on beautiful gardened grounds.  At midnight, Dan and I wandered back to the room while some of the others looked for places to after party.

The following day was wedding day.  We wandered the town with Rich and Denise exploring the views; all the beautiful, little shops with their handmade wares; and a stunning villa perched on the side of the hill.  We found a spot offering limoncello tasting and tried a variety of flavors before purchasing a few of our favorites.  We enjoyed a nice lunch, where we paid way too much for way too little, but the views were incredible.  It was time to go back, cool off and rest, and then get ready for the main event.  This was a black tie optional affair, so we were all decked out to the nines.  All the guests convened in one location until we were given the signal to make our way up to the venue.  Once again, the venue grounds and views were stunning.  The wedding was quite special as it was tailored very specifically to the couple.  We then enjoyed a cocktails and small bites reception before being escorted into the main tents for the dinner portion of the event.  Yep, you guessed it….it was breathtaking as well.  The dinner was multi course, very yummy, and beyond what a normal person could consume in one meal.  There was of course dancing afterwards, and at midnight, Dan and I said our goodbyes while everyone else went inside for the after party that lasted until 2 a.m.  We would have liked to have joined, but we had a 7:30 a.m. bus, followed by a 45 minute ferry, and a 10:15 departure from the marina for a 6 hour passage north.  Ughhhh.  I am worn out!

I have taken you on a rather long journey this go around, so I will leave you here for now.  The day after the wedding, Richard and Denise left us to go explore Rome and then head home to the U.S. the following day.  Dan and I are headed north up the coast of Italy toward Rome where we will meet my sister and brother-in-law in a few days.  Stay tuned for more adventures along west coast of Italy and various islands along the way.