Days 45-62

July 18th – August 4th Italy

Night sailing isn’t stressful but it is exhausting so we were all happy and excited to be arriving in another new country, Italy, on the morning of July 18th. I can’t deny that I wasn’t feeling slightly nervous about getting to grips with how the Italian system works so when our first contact with the marina in Otranto was pretty disastrous, we were left feeling a bit deflated.

Croatia was super organised, everyone spoke English making it very easy for us but now we were in Italy, things weren’t so straight forward. We called the marina to see whether they had space for us to spend a few days and straight away we were facing a language barrier and let’s call it a more laid back approach. We were told (we think) to call back in 10mins when someone who spoke English could help us. An hour later and we were starting to get a bit peed off!

After numerous hang-ups and ignored calls, we finally managed to get into the marina and could relax.

Otranto didn’t look like much from the outskirts but once we entered the old town, it was beautiful. There was a 15th century castle, 11th century cathedral, a Torre Matte lookout tower overlooking the harbour, cobbled streets, a lovely promenade and fabulous shops!

As we’d been travelling non-stop in Croatia and had heard from some lovely friends that they were close by, we decided to stay in Otranto for several days which was very much needed. We’re loving all the places we’re seeing but the travel is pretty exhausting so a few days chilling was great…not forgetting the chores that needed doing!

Meeting up with the Dutta’s gave us a real boost which I don’t think we realised we needed. We took the boat to a little beach nearby for a swim, snorkel and lots of chinwagging (of course!) It was fab. Mia and Seb were over the moon to see Mimi and Rocky and before dinner, the girls got themselves glammed up whilst the boys played on the PS4… nothing changes!

We said goodbye to the Dutta’s and left the following day to make our way to Sicily. We made a couple of stops along the way, one was called Roccella Ionica. It was a slightly odd place, it felt like we were at the end of the earth and the people were just a bit weird. We hired some bikes, explored the area and left the following evening for Sicily.

We made it to Taormina on the east coast of Sicily on the 25th July after a very calm night sail. I saw 7 shooting stars, a dolphin came super close to the boat scaring the life out of me and numerous fishing boats along the way. The distances in Italy are a lot longer than anywhere else we’ve been to so unfortunately we’ve had to night sail several times over the last few weeks but at least they’ve all been uneventful.

The bay of Naxos where we anchored was really beautiful but so rolly! There wasn’t any bad weather, the sea was calm but the boat didn’t stop rolling from side to side the entire time we were there. Jars, cups, plates..anything you put down would go flying! Sleeping wasn’t great as you’re constantly tensing your muscles trying to stop yourself rolling from side to side. As for sitting on the loo….

We hired a car and drove the short distance to Mount Etna which made it all worth while. We took the cable car up, then a 4×4 even hire and then a guide gave us a tour around the craters which was awesome. It felt like we were on a movie set of a sci-fi film. The kids weren’t as impressed as us but hopefully a fact or two will have lodged in their memories somewhere!

Apparently the following day there was a huge ash eruption which disrupted flights and I imagine stopped any further tours from happening. This photo was taken by a tourist who happened to be there when it happened…I’m rather pleased it didn’t happen during our trip!

We left Taormina and headed for the Aeolian Islands which are just north of Sicily. The weather was getting worse and strong winds had been forecast for the following few days. We decided that a marina would be a good option both for comfort and safety so made our way to Vulcano Island Marina. Due to the fact the winds had been easterly all day, the floating pontoons in the marina were going mental and the kids refused to get off the boat that first evening. It was like running the gauntlet and I didn’t blame them one bit! Thankfully the swell calmed down over night and things were a lot calmer the following morning.

We climbed the volcano on the island which took about an hour and which the kids only did with the promise of an ice-cream at the end of it. However, when we reached the top, we were all overwhelmed with how stunning the view was, how there were smoking craters at our feet, how strong the smell of sulphur was and just how incredible it was to be so close to it all. The kids found it much more interesting than Mount Etna and I can understand why.

The island had a cool, relaxed feel to it and that afternoon we decided to see what all the fuss what about with the sulphuric mud baths. I wish we hadn’t. The kids weren’t allowed in (lucky them!) so Matt and I shuffled into the hot, thick muddy water, trying to avoid the actual boiling spots. As we covered ourselves in mud, I totally regretted not listening to Matt when he had tried to argue against the idea. It stank. It felt disgusting. I burnt my foot…I didn’t feel big or clever. We did, however, see a random mini tornado rip through the baths, literally before our eyes. It was so odd, the winds had started to pick up and I can only describe it as a spinning gust of wind whipping it’s way through the water and out the other side. Crazy! We left pretty sharpish after that, went for a swim and had a lovely meal in a fish restaurant that evening.

The next island we visited was called Lipari. We needed to find a doctor and one thing about the relaxed haphazardness of the Italians, is that it was easy to walk into a hospital, meet a doctor within 5mins and walk out with a prescription without paying anything or showing any ID. The doctor didn’t speak a word of English but as it was a skin condition and easy to see, we got by one way or another (as seems to be the format for us here in Italy!)

We left Lipari and went to the next island along, Panarea. Now this is where the jet setters hang out. Lots of super yachts, rich Italian kids burning around in speedboats to die for. Very glam in an Ibiza kind of way. It was fun to people watch, we had a delicious meal and ice-creams delivered by the Italian version of an ice-cream van.

The following evening we headed to Stromboli which is a volcano that has been super active over recent months. We had seen craters, smoke, volcanic rock but we were after the piece di resistance. The best time to view the eruptions was at dusk so we motored the short distance (whilst I cooked tinned chilli con carne…nice) and we weren’t disappointed. It was absolutely incredible. Actual Liquid Hot Magma (said in Dr Evil’s voice). Unbelievable. The kids were amazed, as were we!

We sailed overnight to reach mainland Italy and made our way to Marina Di Camerota. It was a nice little marina with friendly staff, the town was a bit rundown but everyone was friendly, having a good time and enjoying themselves. We really liked it. We had our most delicious meal yet in a fish restaurant called Ammore ‘e Mare Taverna Marinara. One of the good things about being away is how the kids are now eating so much more fish (although meals out are now a lot more expensive!) We had tuna, swordfish, prawns, squid, mussels, clams and octopus (with a plate of chips on the side of course!) The kids tried it all and ate most of it which is brilliant.

I had some work to do and the kids had some PS4 action to crack on with and we enjoyed some pedallo fun at the beach too.

This morning we were woken up at 6am with the loudest bang I’ve ever heard. Seb thought the mast had fallen down, I thought our engine had exploded but after a few minutes, a series of the loudest bangers you’ve ever heard went off right above our boat. Lasted about 10mins. What the hell was going on. After realising they were actually fireworks (well bangers only) I googled and found that it was the start of a festival commemorating a battle that had taken place hundreds of years ago. Almost gave us a heart attack!

We left there earlier today and are making our way up to Amalfi. We stopped at a beautiful spot which was empty when we arrived. We had a lovely swim and paddle board to the beach and are now anchored slightly further up the coast for the night. As it’s a Sunday, the Italians are all rafted up together, music blaring, having the best time and it’s wonderful to see.