We coughed and wheezed for a few days in Chiaiolella befire finally setting sail again, into the teeth of a blustery Sirrocco gusting 20-30 knots (40 - 55 km/h for the landlubbers.) Well: Sailing in a Sirrocco - another tick vehemently applied to the bucket list - Errol was with us as we bore away to run with the near gale. It was only a short haul over to the Island of Ischia but a long way from the gentle nor westers of late summer. Wet weather gear was the order of the day - we are decidedly in the "low" cruising season now.
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| Sailing in the Sirrocco |
We arrived in Porto D' Ischia and battened the hatches as the forecast was for more to come: the next day saw winds that must have reached 40+kts and an electrical storm and downpour to match. Our agenda was lunch and a bushwalk on the mountain. We got the rabbit cacciatore down in the moutainside restaurant, but the wind was extreme, so heading back to the boat looked like a better option than being blown off a cliff. By then, the gale had forced the seas into the harbour, raising the ocean level and threatening the quayside establishments: the water was ankle deep on the quay heading back to the boat.
The next day was more moderate so we headed for the Castello Aragonese, located on an island that first saw a fortified settlement in 474 BC.
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| Cathe on the Terazzo Delgi Ulivi, Castello Aragonese, Isola D' Ischia |
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| The causeway to the castle |
The views were breathtaking, but so too were some of the macabre historic details. The Nun's cemetery is a dungeon with what appear to be stone toilets around the walls. If only. In fact they were the repositories for the dead bodies of the Nuns while the flesh rotted and the juices flowed into vases located beneath the chairs. The best detail? The other Nuns would spend many hours in this room meditating on the transitory nature of the flesh of their sisters, often contacting diseases in doing so. Later the skeletons would be buried in mass graves. The torture museum surpassed this though. Suffice to say we left without taking photos of that particular display.
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| Dead Nuns in the Cimitero Delle Monache Clarisse |
We are enjoying the low season vibe, the locked hotels, the empty streets.We are also looking forward to some of the sleepier fishing villages further south on the way to Sicily.
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| Soaking up the last of the sun - relaxing after homework, on route to Capri |
Familia is now rocking in the deserted marina at Capri. The ferries come and go but there is not another cruising yacht to be seen, despite the fact that the prices have plummeted. It is dark at 5.15pm. Whether we hoof it up the hill or do a BBQ on the boat remains to be seen.
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| Familia - lonely on the dock at Capri |
Ciao.
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