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Monday, August 6th, Otranto, Italy
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We've enjoyed some relief from the stifling
heat over the past few days. After sweating our way through Taormina, we
took off across the Ionian Sea, hoping to make it into the Adriatic as far as
Brindisi. Mother Nature had different plans for us. As soon as we
turned the corner around the heel, strong northwesterly winds hit us right on
the nose. The same winds have kept us holed up here in Otranto since we
arrived on Saturday. On the bright side, we've been graced with cooler
temperatures and plenty of time to check out this cool little town.
Wrapping up our visit to Sicily in Taormina
proved a wonderful end to a fantastic three weeks. My family had spent a few
weeks in a rented apartment on the beach in Taormina in 1982.
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Of course I was sixteen, and my memories are
clouded by my interests at that stage of my life. My sisters and I spent
all of our time laying on the beach, water skiing and learning to windsurf.
I remember being really pissed when my parents made us spend one of our precious
days touring Mount Etna, for crying out loud! They might have even made us
visit Agrigento, I don't remember. I think I blocked the horror out of my
memory. What I do remember is Carmello, the cute 25 year old who ran the
water sports activities on the beach. I spent a lot of time trying to
learn how to windsurf.
My visit to Taormina in 2007 leaves me with a
whole different set of memories. The city, perched high on the
mountainside overlooking the sea, defines picturesque. A tourist mecca for
years, the well maintained cobblestone streets are lined with restaurants and
shops selling high end clothing as well as the standard tourist souvenirs.
Although crowded, the excellent people watching compensates for the hassle of
weaving your way through the throngs. Cassie and Juliana demonstrate a
real talent for sticking with us and I thank heaven that they are old enough for
me not to have to worry constantly about them wandering off or getting lost.
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The star attraction as
far as touring goes is, of course, the ancient Greek
theater. With excellent views of the sea as well
as Mount Etna looming in the background, the venue has
hosted live performances for the past twenty-three
hundred years.
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When we saw a classical
concert advertised for Thursday night, we jumped on the
chance to buy tickets. We had planned to take off
that evening anyway. We delayed our departure by a
few hours in order to see the concert. We enjoyed
the music and atmosphere tremendously, although keeping
the girls awake listening to classical music for the
entire repertoire proved too great a task, and we left
at intermission.
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Finding a cab to take
us back down the hill after the show, we traipsed across
the stone beach to the dinghy, hauled it back into the
water, hopped in and ferried ourselves a few hundred
yards to where Zia was waiting. As the girls
climbed into bed, Joe and I hauled up the dinghy, raised
the anchor and headed east.
Thirty hours later
(light wind on the stern with motors running the whole
time and one fish that escaped) we were rounding the
heel of Italy, right into a twenty knot breeze hitting
us square on the nose. We beat into it for a few
hours until we were able to make it into Otranto where
we found an empty spot along the public seawall.
Our timing was perfect as the Guardia Costiera
had just asked four other boats who were tied up further
back on the wall to move, making room for a big ferry
scheduled to dock in a few hours.
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Rafted up on the
section available, we quickly met our new neighbors.
All are here mostly by accident, waiting for the winds
to calm down and allow them to continue on their
travels. Some are bound for Greece, some Croatia,
and others will remain in Italy. Just by chance
our paths cross here in Otranto.
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The wind continues to
howl. Throughout the weekend Zia bounced around
alongside the dock, noisy and a little uncomfortable,
but safe. The anchorage here is completely exposed
to the wind and the waves so we were happy to be where
we were, able to get off the boat without soaking
ourselves in a wet dinghy ride to shore. The wind
mellowed enough for us to get a good night's sleep last
night but it is back up into the mid-twenties again.
If the forecast holds true, we'll get the break we need
to leave tomorrow.
In the meantime, we
have found the best restaurant in Otranto. It is a
fairly touristy town, although filled mostly with
Italian tourists. Trying to find a good restaurant
on Saturday after strolling around the old city, we
found nothing that inspired us. We remembered a
few spots on the walk back to the boat and decided to
head that way. Outside the walled city, just as we
started down the hill towards the port, we passed
Le Botte. It was
already getting crowded at quarter to eight and they
asked if we had reservations when we inquired about a
table. We figured that was an excellent sign and
took a free table on the patio outside. Not very
picturesque, with only a view of the street, the pizzas
make up for the lack of scenery. Watching the
pizza man work a ball of dough into a perfectly round,
thin circle just with his hands, spread just the right
amount of tomato sauce and mozzarella over it, and then
distribute the appropriate toppings was like watching an
artist at work: a very prolific artist. He must
craft hundreds of pizzas in one night, each and every
one appreciated down to the last bite. We went
back again last night.
The history of Otranto,
surprise, surprise, goes back millennium.
Republican Rome used it as a main port for trade with
Greece and Asia Minor. One of the most famous
episodes in the history of the town took place in 1480
when it was attacked by the Turks. All but 800 of
its inhabitants were slaughtered. The survivors
were promised their lives if they renounced
Christianity. All refused. The bones of the
martyrs are in the Norman cathedral. There is also
an Aragonese castle that overlooks the port.
Factor in Le Botte
and top it all off with a nice beach exposed to the
north, wide open to the waves rolling in off the
Adriatic, and you have a pretty nice spot to hole up for
three or four days. The girls had a ball playing
in the waves for a few hours yesterday. We even
found another show to go to. This one a
musical/dance production about the life of Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II (1194 - 1250). The kids did
better at this show, but as the intermission bell rang
around 11pm, we opted to hightail it back to Zia for the
night.
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They are threatening to
move us off the wall today to make room for a freighter
that is coming in and taking on a load of what looks
like cement. The Guardia Costiera
came by and asked us to either have one person on the
boat at all times today or to leave a phone number at
the port security office in case they need to get in
touch with us to move. Docking at the wall is
free, so we aren't complaining. It just adds a
little excitement to the day.
Next Entry>>>>>>>
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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