187 nautical miles in 31.5 hours

 

Teulada, Sardinia

I will not lie - we are sometimes lazy sailors.  When the wind is not right: either not enough or from the wrong direction we will turn on our engine and "assist" the sails somewhat.  Especially, when we have a long way to go.  We got a late start from Trapani, as we had to wait on the fishing boat to move away from the fuel dock, which meant we would get in late the next day after an all night sail.  We raised our sails as soon as we got away from the harbour but the wind was light and variable.  On went the engine as we wanted to maintain at least five knots of SOG (speed over ground).  If not, we might have two nights out and not one, or we may be trying to identify an unfamiliar harbour at night.  We did not want to do either of those things.  

 

Sardinia Coast

 Sailing in the Med is different from sailing in the Atlantic.  For one, in the Med, there are numerous big ships and smaller boats as well.  When you get way offshore in the Atlantic there is no-one and nothing around - just ocean from horizon to horizon.  Which sounds scary but in many ways there is less danger.  The water is very deep so you won't run aground, you won't run into the lee shore in a storm, you don't have to dodge huge tankers and cargo ships, there are no fishing buoys to watch out for and no fisherman dragging huge nets.  Providing the weather is okay, you can just relax and enjoy the ride.  If the weather is not good, you just deal with it or try to avoid it. Since there is no "safe harbour" to get to - there is also no time pressure.  Ditto for time pressure getting to a harbour before dark, as again, there is no harbour at all.  So time is not so much an issue... you set your sails and go and deal with what Mother Nature throws your way.  If you are well prepared and are sailing at the right time for where you are, everything should be fine.  Of course, there are occasional tragedies, however many, many sailboats cross oceans and have uneventful passages.

The water coming into Carloforte, Sardinia

It is hard to describe the brilliant, teal blue color of the water in Sardinia.  It is so perfect, you can't keep your eyes off of it.  Sailors are adept at watching the water anyway, they are drawn to the water like a lover.  The depth of color gives a sailor clues to the actual depth of the water - the lighter color is deeper and the darker is shallower.  Very useful information for all sailors, but definitely for sailors of old who did not have all the fancy gadgets we have today.  

Sardinia Coast

We sailed from Trapani, Sicily to Teulada, Sardinia in a bit over 31 hours.  It was around 1630 when we arrived and we were tired.  I try to take a couple pictures wherever we are, but I failed to do so here.  Just too tired.  We got all tied up and checked in and then we ate something and went to sleep.  Or at least thats what I imagine we did ... I honestly cannot remember the marina or what we did for dinner.  That is how tired we were... and I have no photos to jog my memory.  I remember the discussion we had when trying to find the harbour hidden behind a rock but thats about it.  It was just a stopover for the night - nothing more.  Next day we are heading to Carloforte, that is where we will go to check out of Italy before heading to Spain.
 

Trapani and Erice (air- ree- che)

 

Castle in Erice

The weather improved and we sailed on to Trapani, which will now be our last stop in Sicily.  We are bypassing both the Egadi and Aeolian Islands, which is a crying shame 😢😢.  I keep telling myself that it gives us good reason to return, but I am still sad that we will not be spending some time in the islands.  Schengen rules (only three months in the EU) really put a damper on enjoying what Europe has to offer - which is a lot!

Rob and Sue (and Michael)

One of the best things about traveling around the world is the people you meet.  We met Rob and Sue when we arrived at the marina in Trapani.  By the end of the day we were making plans to visit the ancient town of Erice - just outside of Trapani.  As with most of these medieval towns it is positioned way, way up the mountain.  We rode in a cable car to reach the town.  As we were walking around, Rob was saying "we need to go just a bit further... just around this corner... you will see... it will be beautiful".  We rounded the corner, following Rob's direction and were just blown away by the magnificent views.  You can see all of the countryside and the sea from way up there.  We were all cheering Rob!!

Narrow streets of Erice

Such an amazingly beautiful place... I loved it.  By far one of the prettiest little villages we have seen in Sicily, but I am sure there are more gems out there.  Everywhere we looked it was just so pretty.  I was thrilled when we found this little church that was open.  Just one fellow was sitting inside.  So, so pretty.

Erice Cathedral

 We spent a couple of hours just walking around and then found some lunch.  It was such a nice day, we were wishing we had more time to linger in Trapani.  As it is we spent the day in Erice, but have really not seen much of Trapani.  Thats what happens when you start wandering around the world... you just want to keep wandering and there is never enough time.  Our planet is vast, diverse and delights the senses in so many ways.  

City of Trapani seen from Erice

 We will be doing yet another long passage from Sicily to Sardinia.  Sardinia is another place I would like to just linger for a while, but we cannot, as I also have many places in Spain on my list of "places I want to visit".  My bucket list keeps getting longer and longer :)).

Rob and Sue on their s/v Kered

The next morning we had to wait for the fuel dock to open before we could depart.  We were ready and had planned to tie up at the fuel dock and wait for the "fuel man" to arrive.  But... as it turned out the fishing boats had just come in and one of them was tied to the fuel dock, unloading his fish onto a truck.  So... we had to wait for him too.  We just did circles out in the harbour, waiting our turn.  Rob and Sue came out of their beautiful Southerly sailboat to say goodbye.

 

Trapani fishing boats

We finally got fuel and headed out - on our way to Sardinia.  From there we will go to the Balearic Islands of Spain.

 

 

Making Tracks

 There is not too much to say about Pisa - the big attraction is the tower that leans.  It is actually the bell tower for the Pisa Cathedral.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Although you know that the tower leans, it is still odd to see.  Apparently, it started to lean fairly quickly due to a soft and unstable foundation that was unable to support the weight of the tower.  Over the years attempts have been made to reduce the lean.  And they have indeed reduced the lean to about 4 %.  

 

Pisa Cathedral

Of course, they cannot completely correct the tilt or they would have no "tourist attraction".  Italy has struck a compromise it seems - a little tilt so the masses come to see it, but not enough that it falls over.

Pisa

We walked around the town a bit, but really that bell tower is about it.  Other than that oddity, it is just a sleepy town.  Now that the winds have died down we will be making tracks to Trapani.  Sadly, because of the weather delay and our dawdling we will now have to miss some highlights.  I knew I had our itinerary too jam packed, with no days built in for weather.  I was just hoping that it would all work out.  There is so much to see and we like to roam around at a leisurely pace- so it doesn't always work out.  It is also a very long way from Montenegro to Gibraltar.  Someone from Montenegro shared this image of a map showing the Mediterranean Sea within the US.  It is great visual for understanding the size of the Med - its a large body of water!

Mediterranean in the US

 Later this year we are crossing the Atlantic again.  The time for crossing to the Caribbean is the winter, we are planning to leave Talaria in La Linea, Spain while we go home for our three month exile.  In October, we will return and prepare for the crossing.  However, the reality is that you start preparing months in advance for a big ocean crossing.  One of the items on our list is having our liferaft serviced.  The liferaft has to be serviced every five years, so we are due.  It has been difficult to get that arranged as there are not many places that service our brand of liferaft.  After much searching we found a place in Gibraltar that services our brand.  That was good news!  Unfortunately, it is difficult to reserve a berth in Gibraltar to get the work done.  And due to Brexit moving things and workers back and forth from the Spanish side to the British side is next to impossible.  Finally, after a couple attempts we were able to secure a spot in Gibraltar for one week.  Phew... just enough time to get a few things done over on the British side.  

 

Church is Pisa

 

Anytime we have had work completed by British folks we have always been happy.  They do quality work and often tend to perfectionism.  So in addition to the liferaft, we wanted to have the engine serviced and the rigging inspected.  In particular, we wanted an actual trained rigger to inspect our rigging and tune it.  Its a sad fact, that many people who have become dismasted or had some sort of rigging failure, had just had their rigging replaced!!  You think "how in the world can that happen", but we have heard and spoken with folks who have had that happen more than once.  The riggers make mistakes or aren't completely qualified or the rigging is not tuned properly... Regardless, the reason - we do not want to experience a catastrophic rigging failure in the middle of the Atantic Ocean!   Securing the berth in Gibraltar for the work was a stroke of good luck, but it also took away another week from our travel time.  No more dawdling - we will be on our way to Trapani soon and then off to Sardinia.

Florence

The Duomo

 Florence is "The Duomo" and "The David".  The Renaissance.  Whats more, the Duomo and the David, are actually very intertwined.  There is a story there that we only learned on our visit to this great city.  We thought that Venice was overrun with humans, if possible, Florence is even more saturated.  Naturally, they are two of the most visited cities in Italy, outside of Rome.  Once you see the Duomo you can easily understand why everyone wants to see it up close.  Not a picture, but the real thing.  That is definitely how I felt about Michelangelo's David.  The lines to see inside the Duomo were far too long for our liking ... but I did manage to get tickets for a guided tour to see the statue of David.  Needless to say, I was pretty happy that we managed to get tickets on such short notice.

David

Initially, I thought " who needs a guide to see a statue"??  However, that was the only way to get tickets that "skip the line".  Again not wanting to spend the short amount of time we had standing in a line, we went for the guided tour.  Were we ever glad we did!!  The guide was actually a teacher (special education) and so knowledgeable.  It was immediately apparent that he loved sharing the story of Michelangelo and the David...we were engrossed.  

David

What we did not know before going to see the David was that Michelangelo actually had his sights on the Duomo.  He wanted to be The Artist to finish the exterior of the Duomo, but he was considered far too young and inexperienced for such a project.  He was told that he would have to prove himself first, before even being considered for such an important job.  So he said "alright then I will do a statue of David, but unlike any that has been done before".  And with that he chose his piece of marble and then built an enclosure around it.  For the entire time he worked on David he never came out of that enclosure.  He sweltered in the heat of summer and suffered the cold in winter.  He ate, slept and carved his masterpiece in that enclosure.  No one saw the sculpture until it was completed.  Folks brought him food and he had a little cot to sleep on - that was about it for comfort.  It was him and David.

Prigone

Now I ask you - do you know of any human today that has committed themselves to a project in that way?  No-one - there is no-one that displays that sort of dedication.  Remarkable does not even begin to describe it.  The attention to detail and the degree to which he studied the human body is incredible.  He carved the veins in the arms and hands!  Now why did he make David naked?  There are many answers to that question; the most obvious being we are all naked before God.  But there was some vanity there as well, it is much, much harder to carve a naked David than a clothed one.  And after all - he was auditioning for the big job!

Gates of Paradise

 There has only been one Renaissance, and from that one period in time the world has been gifted all this beauty.  Seeing Michelangelo's David was a seminal moment in my life.  And maybe, partly, it was being enlightened as to the character of the man that did it for me.  Alas, we Ioved the visit.  In addition, to the David there were other statues that we also loved.  They are called "Prigone" or prisoner.  They are said to be "prisoners of the stone" until Michelangelo "freed them" by carving them out of the stone. And then there are the Gates of Paradise - the doors of the Baptistry that took 27 years to carve.  Made of bronze with gold covering, they depict scenes from the bible.  The detail and perfection is stunning.  There are many folks wanting to glance at the doors and take pictures in front of them.  But if left alone with the doors you could stare at them for hours and hours and still not take it all in.

Florence piazza

  Sadly, the visit came to a poor end however.  As we were getting on the tram to go back to the hotel Michael was pick pocketed.  Now, he did a foolish thing by putting his wallet in his back pocket, he was rushing and just not thinking.  That has now made our lives a bit more complicated.  Thank goodness I was able to cancel the cards before the thief was able to get money.  And thank goodness I had taken the credit card and had it separate from other cards - otherwise we would have really been in a bind.  Lesson learned:  Wallet goes in front pocket only.  Never, ever in the back pocket!!  We cannot fly back to Mazzaro del Vallo from Florence so we are taking a shuttle to Pisa and will fly back from there.

 

Venizia

Venice

 Venice is, of course, iconic and unique.  Not another city in the world like it.  And everyone should visit, if possible.  Just not at the same time😉!!  Crowded doesn't even begin to describe the city.  Is it possible to be loved too much??  From our conversation with one native of Venice (born and raised) we gathered that there are problems.  He says that the locals are being slowly "relocated".  The government has no interest in helping the locals ... as a result they are being priced out of the housing market.  Much too profitable to rent all the property to tourists.  

Venice - old and wet

Of course, that is an issue in many places including the United States.  But maybe not to the extreme that is seen in Venice.  Put bluntly, Venice is a cash cow for Italy.  How many visitors is enough?  Are there too many for the city to accommodate?

Beautiful architecture and flowers

We spent two days just walking and walking.  The city is not really that large, you could walk it in a day.  It rained most of the time, the whole area around Venice was experiencing unprecedented amounts of rainfall at that time.  So we walked in the rain.
 

Feeling the effect of the water

 

Venice is, of course, a very old city surrounded by water.  It seems odd that a city built on a lagoon, which is actually 118 small islands all connected by bridges, would be such a powerful force throughout history.  But there you have it, Venice has not only been very powerful but also very wealthy. Eventually, Venice lost some of its prominence and now is more tourist destination than commercial or financial titan.

Rialto Bridge

Sadly, Venice like everywhere is feeling the effect of the changing climate.  The water rises with the tide and floods the city.  It that were not bad enough the city is also sinking.  Efforts are underway to address all the issues, hopefully they will be successful.  In the meantime, their lives are surrounded by and linked to the water.  

DHL delivery guy

 The canals are their roads.  Packages are delivered by boat, groceries and everything else imaginable.  Even trash pickup is by boat.  The only roads are for walking.  Needless to say the water on the canals gets pretty churned up.

Out for a gondola ride

Amazingly, the gondoliers do not get tossed off their gondolas by all the other boats whizzing by.  The smarter ones take the side canals where they don't have as much traffic to contend with.  Regardless, of the route they all have Popeye arms!  

 It was a great visit but now we move on to Florence.  And no doubt more crowds of tourists.  We really hate being tourists preferring to settle in to a place for awhile.  But for a week we are tourists- like it or not.  

 

 

 

Safely tucked in as the bad weather catches up...

 

We knew the weather was coming but we needed to get as far as possible as we have lingered too long in Sicily.  After a brief stop in Porto Empedocle, we made it to Mazara del Vallo and prepped the boat for some high winds.  When the wind arrived our wind instruments clocked it as high as 50 knots, this was while to weather stations were showing 25 knot winds.  Oops... wrong again!  We were reassured though as the marina workers were busy as can be walking the docks and making sure all boats were secure.  At one point, they knocked on our boat and gave us an extra lazy line to attach.  So... in all, we had six lines for the bow of the boat and three for the stern.  It was bouncy, but we were secure.

 

Porto Empedocle

 Porto Empedocle is just a fishing port... yet holds an important place in history.  In July of 1943, Porto Empedocle was the site of the landing of Allied forces in Sicily (one of the sites).  The Axis troops were taken by surprise as the landing took place in horrible weather, but the Allied forces pulled it off.  Two months later the Allied troops had control of all of Sicily.  It was the beginning of the fall of Mussolini.  And now in 2023, for the good folks of Porto Empedocle seeing an American sailboat show up in their harbour was quite surprising.  One person asked us, "how did you get here"?  We replied, "well, we sailed here, of course".  Needless to say there were lots of stares and picture taking by the locals.  

Interesting bench in Porto Empedocle

 

Its a very nice little town which we enjoyed, even though it was just a short stopover.  I had a chance to practice my Italian and get yelled at by crazy Sicilian men who had a hard time understanding my Italian😳.  More practice required!!

 

Pup is ready to get off the fishing boat after a long day

Once we had Talaria secured in Mazara del Vallo and it was clear that the weather was not going to allow us to sail for a few days we made the decision to take a road trip.  The fact that we lingered too long in southern Sicily combined with the weather delay forces us to adjust our sailing plans.  Sadly, you are only allowed to stay in the EU for 90 out of 180 days.  From day one in the EU it is a race against the "Schengen" clock.  And it is a long way from Montenegro to Gibraltar!  

Mazara del Vallo

 

We put together some plans for a few days in Venice, Pisa and Florence as it was now clear that we would not make it up the western coast of Italy as far as Rome.  Initially, that was to be our staging ground for visiting that part of Italy.  Instead, we will make the trip by train and plane. 

Mazara del Vallo

The very good folks at Mazara del Vallo agreed to keep a close eye on Talaria for us.  Being a very small marina we felt completely comfortable that they would indeed watch things closely.  The fellow on the boat across spoke good English and was nice enough to give us a ride to the bus stop.  First a bus to Palermo and then a short flight to Venice to start our little excursion.

 

Mazara del Vallo

 

The weather has kept us from sailing and also from spending much time looking around Mazara del Vallo.  We plan to spend a bit of time in the town when we return from our road trip.  And then its on to Trapani and likely on to Sardinia from there.  Plans are still evolving!

One of the many churches in Mazara del Vallo

 

Valle dei Templi

Temple of Concordia

 Imagine driving down the road, just looking around and suddenly you see this magnificent Greek temple up on a hill.  Just driving down the road and there it is bigger than life.  Amazing! 

Temple of Concordia

 

We took the bus from Licata to go see the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.  Our intent was to do that the first day we were in Licata, but we missed the bus because we could not find the bus station!!  As it turned out it rained all day, so we were glad we didn't find the bus station.  However, once it quit raining we set out walking to make sure we knew where the bus station was for the next day.  We did not want to miss the bus two days in a row.  Don't you know we still could not find the darn place.  Fortunately, for us when we stopped to ask someone, this Italian fellow decided it was easier to just show us where to go.  So he kindly took us by the hand and led us to the bus stop.  We were very grateful because we definitely would have missed that bus a second time!

Temple of Heracles (Hercules)

The Valley of the Temples is just outside the city of Agrigento, which was in the 6th century BC a Greek town called Akragas.  They were fairly prosperous due to good farm land so the town went about building temples to their Gods.  The fact that even portions of those temples remain after all this time is amazing.  Even more astonishing is the preservation of the Temple of Concordia.  This temple received some special care as it was later consecrated as a Christian Basilica in the 6th century AD.  Fortunately, that gave this temple some "protected" status. 

Southern walls of Akragas

The entire city was fortified by man made walls that were incorporated with the natural stone.  It had a naturally defensible position, nestled on the hill in between valleys.  The temples are spread out over a large area with the most impressive being at the top of the hill.  We made a decision fairly quickly to take a taxi to the top and walk down.  The other choice is to walk up and then back down - so starting at the top was a no brainer for us.  

 
 

Agrigento

The area around Agrigento is beautiful and the city is quite large.  We did not visit the city but spent the day instead visiting the temples... next time.  So we finally saw what we wanted to see and now will move on from Licata.  Bad weather is coming so we want to make it as far as we can up the coast before we get stuck.