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Monday, June 18th, Isola di Ponza,
Italy
Elba, Giglio, Porto Santo Stefano, Palmarola and Ponza
all within the past week. We have been making
tracks through the Tyrrhenian Sea, meeting friends, new
and old, along the way. Cruising Italy was always
a big goal when we started talking about this adventure
and it is as wonderful as we had hoped. I spent
three of my high school years and one year of college
living in Italy and am in love with most everything
about it. Luckily, Joe shares my enthusiasm and is
partaking enthusiastically of the Italian food and
culture. Of course, a little bit of inside
knowledge goes a long way and we've been taking full
advantage of any and all of those special opportunities.
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The capital city of Elba, Porto Ferraio, is a wonderful
place full of historic and aesthetic interest. Of
course, the real reason we loved it was for the 6 euro a
day internet connection on the boat! We have been
weaning ourselves off of easy internet access since
arriving in Italy and are always thrilled to find a
connection that works on the boat. Trying to make
phone calls and catch up with all the goings on at home
is a very important part of our lives and we cherish
every opportunity to be in touch.
As
if we needed another excuse to hang in Porto Ferraio.
The town is a beautiful old village built on a hillside,
including an old walled section and defensive fort.
The configuration is pretty typical and makes for a
wonderful day of discovery walking through the old
narrow cobblestone streets, wondering if this isn't
exactly the same wall that we passed twelve turns ago!
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We
took a good tour of Napoleon's residence, which was
apparently granted him, along with possession of the
entire island of Elba, as a condition of his "exile." I
have to say the guy had a wonderful view (above).
Cenou shared the large, well protected anchorage with us
as well as a couple dozen other boats, big and small.
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With a little help from Alex's inside knowledge, we
hatched a plan to spend a few days exploring the island
of Giglio. We anchored on the west side of the
island in the town of Campese. There was a lively
beach community, just gearing up for the summer season.
Every day the refrigerated truck hauling the morning's
catch would drive down the hill into town announcing
over the loud speaker "E arrivato il pesce fesco!"
"The fresh fish has arrived!" It reminded me a
little of Block Island with Aldo and his morning call of
"Andiamo, andiamo, andiamo!" as he toured the anchorage
peddling his fresh cinnamon buns.
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The fifteen minute bus ride up to the town of Castello
was one of the highlights of our stay. Perched on
the highest peak of the island, it offered a 360 degree
view of the surrounding seas as you walked around the
old walled city. A maze of staircases and alleys,
with wonderful little restaurants tucked into the most
unlikely spots, it was hardly touristy at all. We
wondered at the local population, climbing these
impossible looking staircases into their homes within
the old city.
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The other highlight was
finding a little alimentari
in Campese selling all
sorts of Italian delicacies. Alex was key here,
suggesting the best sausages, prosciutto, mozzarella and
antipasti. The mom and pop owners were wonderfully
friendly and full of culinary wisdom.
Heading to Porto Santo Stefano was particularly exciting
since I spent some time there with a great friend from
high school, Kirsten Bedini, whose family has extensive
connections in the area. Her mom lives between
there and Rome and we spent many wonderful weekends
enjoying her hospitality in the day.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with any of her
family there, but it was a nostalgic stop all the same.
A Classic Yacht Regatta was in town for the weekend and
we enjoyed touring the harbor and checking out all the
amazing boats.
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In
fact, Dennis Conner was in town, skippering his classic wooden
yacht in the race.
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Typical of the Italians, we saw the boats heading out
for the races around 11am as opposed to the more
frenetic pace of races back home when the starting gun
is fired off closer to 8am.
We
sadly said goodbye to Alex and welcomed
the Martin family onboard on Friday afternoon. It
warmed my hearts to see them up and in the water before
9am the next morning, making the most of being back on a boat after
selling their catamaran "Jamie" and moving back to
Annapolis a year ago.
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Their two girls, Jamie (11) and Skylar (8), were loaded
down with all sorts of presents for our girls, who were
thrilled to see them, with or without presents!
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The sleeping arrangements are a little challenging in
our three cabin boat, but everyone is being wonderfully
flexible and the girls are having fun sleeping in the
salon or the tent on the trampoline.
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Johnny and Po were itching to go sailing so we did the
shopping and ate lunch onboard before taking off for an
overnighter to Ponza. We were happy to have a
chance to sail for about a third of the time, since
we've had a big high sitting over us that shows no signs
of moving any time soon. Of course, this makes for
nice warm, sunny days and wonderfully refreshing swims
in the still cool sea. We decided to make landfall
at the little island of Palmarola as it was Sunday and
the hordes were likely to be out in force. In
fact, they didn't spare Palmarola either, but we arrived
early enough to get a nice anchor spot so we could enjoy
the afternoon swimming and beach combing.
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The kids never tire of hunting for sea glass or cool
shells on the beach, or building a fort in any available
little nook or corner. Of course it is 10 times
more fun doing this with friends. Of course, Joe
and I are also thrilled to have friends to play with,
talking, eating, drinking, swimming and exploring both
on land and on sea.
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Moving over to the
larger and populated island of Ponza, we sought out a
restaurant that Alex had recommended "Da Gennaro la
Bestia." When I inquired at the nearby beach bar,
Gennaro introduced himself and indicated that "the
Beast" was inside washing dishes. We promptly made
a reservation, left the girls with a movie on the boat,
and had an adult night out complete with a delicious
lobster pasta.
Zia is currently in the
city of Ponza, which began celebrating the festival day
of the islands' patron saint last night. I haven't
gotten the whole scoop yet, but we were treated to a
loud performance from a local band playing Italian
versions of songs we all know and love like "I Will
Survive." We have six more days with the Martin
family so check back next week for more photos and
stories.
Next Entry
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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