Make me an offer..

Well: when it’s not pouring with rain, when the kids or parents aren’t punishing each other; and when we get enough exercise, winter cruising can be fun. It can be tough to get the planets to line up though, so there’s been plenty of squabbling.



Walking to Christ:
Maratea from above



The shin of Italy featured a series of near deserted, rain swept ports: Agripoli, Camerota, Maratea. Tumbleweeds seemed to be the main inhabitants, although at certain moments the populace would emerge for a spot of shopping or the odd café latte. Mondays and Tuesdays are the most barren as the shopkeepers tend to remain closed on these days. A swathe of zombie movie film sets in the offing, opines Master Finbar. To be fair there have been a few breaks in the clouds and these have been great: bushwalks in the hinterland at Camerota through the olive groves; a hike through the town and (almost) to the massive Christ Statue on the peak above Maratea; and here and there the odd great lunch when we find an open Restaurant (Fridays through to Sundays.)



Dusk on an oily sea



Stromboli... OK you had to be there



The night motor to Lipari was something different: a cloudless and windless day saw us motoring across an oily sea into the sunset. As we passed Stromboli the gouts of lava, whilst distant, were (in my view…) spectacular, blasting up to 100 m in the air, blazing a path through the black night. Lipari itself was something of a disappointment: the weather was good but so much was closed it couldn’t shake the zombie town feeling.



The Chinese Landry: Lipari



Helming in the Levanter

The poor forecast meant that exploring the island by sea wasn’t really an option, so we broad reached in a 25 kt Levanter for Sicily and a few days of respite off the boat.  



Typical Sicilian town



After negotiating the hire of a zippy little Peugeot we headed for Taormina, a resort town. The North Sicilian terrain is volcanic mountains, forested in places but rocky in others, with impossibly scenic little towns perched on ridges, and the ubiquitous castles dotted above or near the towns. A great drive up and over the range, with Mt Etna (3300 m or thereabouts) fuming quitely but ominously just further down the coast.



The Belvedere and the The Homey



Like Amalfi, Taormina was pure James Bond – cliffs, crazy switchbacks, and old world charm. We lucked in to the Hotel Belvedere, a classic old establishment perched on the cliffs, complete with manicured grounds, a pool, an amazing view down to the sea….And they had a suite with a separate room for the kids. The staff effortlessly made the words “Senor” and “Senora” seem friendly, and respectful; but with such style that one felt instantly elevated to the position of minor European Royalty, or perhaps a film star. One night wasn’t nearly enough: walks were left unexplored, wine undrunk, and restaurants unexperienced. Worth another look.



The famous ceramic stairway of Caltigirone



We had a disturbed night in a house built in 1300 AD which, though charming in its architecture and internal antiquities, proved near impossible to find: we got lost in a very depressing nearby grey forboding town that emitted a sinister air.

We then headed for Agrigento. Like Delphi, this is the site of a series of ancient Greek Temples, dating circa 600 BC. The kids enjoyed practicing their “assassin training” amongst the piles of stones, while we slowly walked from one edifice to another. The sunset lent an ochre hue to the site, enhancing the golden sandstone and sense of an ancient presence. Alas, the hotel was expensive and soulless. 



The Temple of Concordia, Agrigento 



Our final stop was the ancient town of Cefalu. The new high rises on the approach were a bit off putting, but once we were into the old town it all made sense. We found a tiny hotel with a small two room suite (hooray) on the cliff looking over the sea. A second night was immediately negotiated. The classic rabbit warren streets were lovely, as was the walk to the ruined castle on the headland followed by perfect Sunday lunch in a humming trattoria: the locals were out in force but waiting for a table was worth it.

Gelato on the steps of the Duomo, Cefalu

Back on the boat and back into the kid’s squabbling. It is disappointing how rapid and how total can be the failure of two intelligent and well educated adults to manage simple tasks like room cleaning and schoolwork. The excitement of some 50 knot gusts (90km/h for the lubbers) howling through the marina gave us a few minutes respite; but ultimately it was back to the reality of life below decks with under-stimulated homesick kids.

We are weathering this storm in Milazzo, which is surprisingly picturesque given that the skyline is dominated by an oil refinery. From here we will head down the east coast to Syracuse before a passage to Malta and (hopefully) some warmer, more clement weather: and a date with some English books and movies.