Siracusa to Taormina

A good sail north from Siracusa

Serenity in full sail

After leaving Siracusa our first stop was Brucoli where we anchored in the bay and went ashore for supplies. A quiet, non-touristy spot.



Serenity and Pruveda anchored in the bay with Mount Etna in the background (honestly!) except it was always in the cloud while we were here.

Next stop was Acitrezza. 

A small harbour behind huge basalt pillars rising out of the sea. 

These are known as the Ciclopi and are said to be the rocks that the blinded Cyclpos Polyphemus threw at Odysseus fleeing with his crew. When Odysseus landed on Sicily the one-eyed monster took him and twelve of his crew prisoner. He ate six and then Odysseus blinded him with a burning stake and escaped with the rest of his crew by clinging underneath the Cyclop's sheep when they went out to graze.

Taormina

Revisiting another favourite spot we had been to last year.

Anchored in the bay with the town of Taormina up on the hillside.

We were sharing the bay with Sea Cloud 2.
If you look carefully or zoom in you can see two people hanging on rope ladders off the bow painting the hull - what a job!

Not a good picture but in the distance you can just see fire at the top of Mount Etna.

Walking down the main street of Taormina. 
While we were there we couldn't understand why there were so many armed police and soldiers walking around. Also in the bay we were watched by four police boats, two coastguard launches and a helicopter constantly circling overhead. We later heard that it was in preparation for the G7 summit being held here in a weeks time.

 David at the top of town with Mount Etna to the right and our anchorage to the left.

The main church at the top of town.

Walking down one of the many small lanes off the main street with Wolfgang and Ursula 

Ursula & Wolfgang (Swiss couple from their boat, Pruveda), David and Dave.

From the top looking down with Pruveda and Serenity bottom centre. 

A few examples of the beautiful balconies in the town. 

The start of the walk back down to the shore which Wolfgang assured us was fine as he had walked up to meet us off the bus.

The two Captains (having their picture taken by the two Admirals!)

The point at which we wondered if we should have believed Wolfgang! 

Beautiful wildflowers!

A rest stop to take photos.

We made it!!

Dave and I went back the next day to see the Greek Theatre and discovered a lot of work being done to set up the stage for the G7 Summit. Amazing backdrop for a theatre!

Wolfgang and Ursula sailing round the bay in their collapsible dinghy.

Setting Sail May 2017

Leaving Marina di Ragusa

When we returned to Sicily on May 1st, Dave Stanley came with us for the first two weeks of our 2017 sailing season.

We left the marina on May 3rd and headed east to Porto Palo on the south eastern corner of the island. We anchored in the bay here and went ashore to explore.

From there we went north up to Siracusa where we spent several days at anchor and on the quay so we had time to revisit and show Dave around this beautiful old city.

On the quay in Siracusa. Nice to be alongside for a while but later told to move stern-to to allow more boats to moor.

The remarkable Banyan trees by Arethusa's fountain in the city.

Bird of Paradise flowers in the gardens.

Views around Castello Maniace on the promontory off Ortygia (the old city of Siracusa)

Two of the four rams that were positioned on each corner of the castle. Each had small holes in it and people could tell the direction of the wind according to which ram was "whistling" 

Time for a refreshment stop after walking out and round the castle.
Homemade Greek yoghurt ice cream and granitas.

The huge table very elegantly set to seat at least 200 people in the main square outside the cathedral. By chance, the Saturday night we were there was an evening of culture. There were several long tables like this, although this was the longest, all round the city. 

Anyone could pay to eat here.

The same scene that evening.

As part of the evening there were several music groups around the streets varying from folk groups, classical orchestra, blues group and, as seen in this picture, opera from the balcony overlooking the square.

It was quite surreal as we were looking round the palace where this balcony was so had a very good view of the singers.

Walking back down one of the many small alleyways leading from the main street to the quay. 

Our taster menu lunch in the market street.

Back out to sea sailing with Wolfgang and Ursula on Pruveda (junk rig boat seen in the background). They had been opposite us in the marina and joined us in Siracusa.

Pruveda, junk rigged boat rebuilt and fitted out by Wolfgang and Ursula.

"I see no ships" 

Malta April 2017

Trip to Malta

In April we flew from Sicily to Malta to visit our friends Chris and Desi. 

The views from our hotel balcony in Sliema looking across to Valetta on the right.

The main street in Valetta.

St John's Co-Cathedral

"St John’s Co-Cathedral is a gem of Baroque art and architecture. It was built as the conventual church for the Knights of St John. The Grand Masters and several knights donated gifts of high artistic value and made enormous contributions to enrich it with only the best works of art."

Detail of the gold work 

  

The wooden balconies so typical of Maltese architecture.

We had a very interesting visit to the Lascari War Rooms.

"Located 150 feet under the Upper Barracca Gardens and the Saluting Battery in Valletta, the Lascaris War Rooms represent one of Malta’s best kept secrets from World War Two. 

The War Rooms consist of a network of underground tunnels and chambers that housed Britain’s War HQ in Malta from where the defence of the island against Axis aggression was waged and all offensive operations in the Mediterranean were directed."

We also visited the Inquistor's Palace in Birgu. 

"It is today the only Inquisitor’s Palace open to the public in the world and an architectural gem, representative of the chequered history and European heritage of the Maltese islands"

Beautiful stonework seen on a lot of Maltese buildings.

When Desi and I ordered ribs at the small, typical Maltese restaurant, we assumed this was to share but then another plate arrived! We both had a wonderful meal and there was enough meat left to make rolls for all four of us to have on the flight back to the UK the next day!

 Valetta skyline.