Finally, an internet signal that works well!!
We moved on from Corsica to Elba, then to the Italian mainland, taking in Naples and Pompeii from the island of Procida, as we were advised that leaving things (like boats) lying around in Naples could lead to them going missing!). We also went, to Ischia, and Capri. I think Augustus should have avoided his swap and kept Ischia, rather than give it away for Capri. Perhaps he just wanted the designer shoes and jewelery that seem to be prolific there.
After that, we headed past the "oldest lighthouse in the world" Stromboli, and spent a few days on the island of Vulcano.
The Straits of Messina were relatively kind to us, ie the unforecast 30 knot wind was in the right direction, and we had listened to the advice and had reefed sail "in case".
We then headed along the sole of Italy's boot and called in to Otranto, just beating the Season, so it was lovely and fairly quiet. Bridisi was good too, and from there we headed to Cavtat in Croatia.
A week soon passed there, as we had met up with John and Wendy, who kindly brought important things with them to give to us (most important of all - PG tips tea bags). Dubrovnik is very impressive.
Next call was the island of Lokrum, near Dubrovnik - excellent fo a bit of P&Q.
We headed up the coast, and stopped in the National Park at Miljet where we actually got the bikes - yes, bought in Elba - off, and unseized the rusty joints, so that we could make our legs ache again.
Now on the island of Korcula, where we have done some maintenance - much needed, and climbed a peak on the "half island" opposite - not really needed, but spectacular views!
Planning to head to Hvar tomorrow 10th June.
Don't worry Nedra, we are still afloat!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Corsica
We left Sardinia, and made it to Corsica, Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio. Both good. The island is very green, and also mountainous, all told a beautiful island. Being French, the wine is not only good, but also cheap - very important.
Our first anchorage nearly had a bad ending, when the swell rolled in a bit from the sea, and one of our anchors let go. A new extended vocabulary was tested about one o'clock in the morning that particular day, and we then added shore lines to the four anchors we were using. After that the only real problem was how long it takes to get them back up. Bonifacio is spectacular with the old fortified town perched on top of a limestone cliff. We'll post a photo when we get a chance. One drawback was that we could not find any car-hire offices that were not closed for the off-season.
Porto Vecchio was a lot safer as an anchorage, and we were able to hire a car to travel around. The price of the car was the same for 4 days or a week, so we stayed a little longer. Not a problem.
Our first anchorage nearly had a bad ending, when the swell rolled in a bit from the sea, and one of our anchors let go. A new extended vocabulary was tested about one o'clock in the morning that particular day, and we then added shore lines to the four anchors we were using. After that the only real problem was how long it takes to get them back up. Bonifacio is spectacular with the old fortified town perched on top of a limestone cliff. We'll post a photo when we get a chance. One drawback was that we could not find any car-hire offices that were not closed for the off-season.
Porto Vecchio was a lot safer as an anchorage, and we were able to hire a car to travel around. The price of the car was the same for 4 days or a week, so we stayed a little longer. Not a problem.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sardegna Photos
The Roman Bridge in Torres, they clearly didn't want the surface wearing out too quickly! Nearby, on the side of the road (admittedly fenced off) there were the remains of the Roman baths. Mosaic all over the option! More modern were the iron smelters. I thinks they would have stolen the stone from the bridge, but it has clearly been in use until relatively recently - much of it is still tarmaced.
The weather has been (relatively) bad here, but we didn't expect to see snow on Corsica!
These houses are near Palau, and they certainly blend in well with the rocky shore. We spent a couple of nights in the bay nearby, before we decided that we would head for the marina, at a very good off-season price.
The pre-historic sites on Sardinia are fantastic!
The pictures below show a site where there were "temple" buildings and a ceremonial pool, which was fed from a very carefully adapted well-spring. There are also the remains of about 7000 Nuraghe towers on the island. All of which date from about 4000 to 1500 BC. The photo of Tim (looking especially gormless) is actually taken inside one, where it is blacker than the inside of a cow's guts, and we were using camera flashes to find our way. No-one is quite sure of the purposes to which the towers and their nearby buildings were put, but there seems to be a combination of living, storage and ceremonial and possibly also defensive. Some were still in use into the middle ages, and there, defense seems to be a factor in the later modifications. All in all, it makes Stonehenge look a bit paltry!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sardegna
Sardinia (or Sardegna, as the locals would have it) is enjoying a typical January. Well, I assume it is typical. The temperature, although nice for January, is brought down whenever we are brave enough to stick our heads above the parapet, by the strong winds. We spent one night getting a severe bashing from a wind that was not coming from the right direction. I mean that it was forecast to be East, and came stomping in from the North, there was a two mile “fetch”, so the waves had time to get to an uncomfortable size. We did drag anchor (not the first time), but managed to get a decent bite after letting more chain out. I guess that the problem with winter, is that you have to spend it somewhere and given that we did not want to go back to the Caribbean, the choice was limited.
We moved a few miles back to the West, and have tucked ourselves just as far into a bay as we dare, so much so that there is barely room to swing round on the anchor chain. We did touch the bottom last night, but after we hauled a bit more anchor chain back in, we were missing whatever it was, rock by the sound of it!
Writing this, I realise how much of our current lifestyle is governed by that lump of metal called an anchor, and the stuff attached to it. In simple terms for those that don’t know, the boat holds itself on the anchor, and can swing a full circle, with the anchor at the centre, depending on which direction the wind blows from. To get a safe hold, you pay out chain until you have five times the depth of water. Finally, because all but the extremely alert are nearly asleep, you “snub” the anchor by attaching a hook on a rope to the chain and then using that to take the strain, believe me, when it is blowing twenty knots, there is a strain. The rope stretches, where chain will not, and that helps to avoid pulling the anchor from its spot on the bottom.
When we were in Falmouth, the Harbourmaster approached us in his small boat, just as we were climbing into the dinghy. It was blowing twenty knots, and had the potential to be “lively”.
“Are you going ashore, Sir?”
“Yes”
“In this?”
“Yes”
“And all you’ve got it anchor, chain and warp?”
“Yes”
“I hope you’re insured!”
More worrying was the fact that at that time, we weren’t. I was nervous about the boat all day, returning to the quay two or three times to make sure we weren’t dragging. Just to make sure that we were paying attention, we spent the last eight days of January stuck on Lusty Wench with two anchors out, each with over fifty metres of rode. We held, but couldn’t get ashore, gusts were over forty knots, which is enough in most circumstances!!
So we find ourselves stuck on the boat in a bay called Liscia, waiting for the wind to drop a bit, so we can get ashore to take a walk. The bigger plan is to head back to Palau, from where we could rent a car, or catch a bus so that we can see a bit more of the island. We would like to see some of the archaeological sites, of which we believe there are quite a few. Besides, being boatbound for anything over twenty four hours makes the space that we normally find quite adequate, much smaller!
Sardegna is the second largest island in the Med, and we also hope to make it to the largest. From here we will probably head for Corsica, mainland Italy, and then Sicily. Not too sure about the timescale for that.
The photos in this post are mainly from Barcelona, we'll add some sardegna photos to the next post.
We moved a few miles back to the West, and have tucked ourselves just as far into a bay as we dare, so much so that there is barely room to swing round on the anchor chain. We did touch the bottom last night, but after we hauled a bit more anchor chain back in, we were missing whatever it was, rock by the sound of it!
Writing this, I realise how much of our current lifestyle is governed by that lump of metal called an anchor, and the stuff attached to it. In simple terms for those that don’t know, the boat holds itself on the anchor, and can swing a full circle, with the anchor at the centre, depending on which direction the wind blows from. To get a safe hold, you pay out chain until you have five times the depth of water. Finally, because all but the extremely alert are nearly asleep, you “snub” the anchor by attaching a hook on a rope to the chain and then using that to take the strain, believe me, when it is blowing twenty knots, there is a strain. The rope stretches, where chain will not, and that helps to avoid pulling the anchor from its spot on the bottom.
When we were in Falmouth, the Harbourmaster approached us in his small boat, just as we were climbing into the dinghy. It was blowing twenty knots, and had the potential to be “lively”.
“Are you going ashore, Sir?”
“Yes”
“In this?”
“Yes”
“And all you’ve got it anchor, chain and warp?”
“Yes”
“I hope you’re insured!”
More worrying was the fact that at that time, we weren’t. I was nervous about the boat all day, returning to the quay two or three times to make sure we weren’t dragging. Just to make sure that we were paying attention, we spent the last eight days of January stuck on Lusty Wench with two anchors out, each with over fifty metres of rode. We held, but couldn’t get ashore, gusts were over forty knots, which is enough in most circumstances!!
So we find ourselves stuck on the boat in a bay called Liscia, waiting for the wind to drop a bit, so we can get ashore to take a walk. The bigger plan is to head back to Palau, from where we could rent a car, or catch a bus so that we can see a bit more of the island. We would like to see some of the archaeological sites, of which we believe there are quite a few. Besides, being boatbound for anything over twenty four hours makes the space that we normally find quite adequate, much smaller!
Sardegna is the second largest island in the Med, and we also hope to make it to the largest. From here we will probably head for Corsica, mainland Italy, and then Sicily. Not too sure about the timescale for that.
The photos in this post are mainly from Barcelona, we'll add some sardegna photos to the next post.
Barcelona Photos
Sam got up close and personal with a well balanced street artist. We took Pam up a steep hill to Parc Guell, but from the photo, she seemed to manage the climb quite well!
We went to various Gaudi exhibits/locations - are we quite sure he wasn't nuts?
We also bumped into an exhibition of Rodin's work, although I couldn't bring myself to photograph the "Thinker" - doesn't seem natural.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
....phew, Barcelona - just!!
We made it!!
Didn't enjoy the bout of wind! Made it to Barcelona though, and met with Jill and John. Pam flies in today (23 Dec)so off to the airport now.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All.
Email addresses below:
tim dot whitehouse at yahoo dot co dot uk (spelled so that the nasty "bots" can't get me loads of junk mail)
sam dot pollard at yahoo dot co dot uk
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Gibraltar
Gibraltar….and its straits. Overnight sail from Cadiz which was well timed but we still found ourselves in, what can only be described as a ‘washing machine’. The straits are very deep but the Med tries to leave twice a day through them! In other words we found some interesting currents….underwear wasn’t needed or was very wet for this passage!
On the rock itself we decided to climb to the top via the Mediterranean Steps which took between 3 – 4 hours and was quite onerous. On the way up we were overtaken by Elvis and some groupies who were doing the climb everyday for 12 days for charity uh huh. At the summit were the famous apes who were sooooo cute and photogenic
Gib is more British than Britain although they do drive on the wrong side of the road. Shop hours are just like home, no siestas and lots of fish and chip shops. It is hard to imagine fitting more bars and pubs into a small space – what a shame Tim has given up alcohol for a week (tee hee)
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