Day of Leisure

Today we tried to explore taking a boat to the island of Capri. We drove down to the coast to a sleepy little beach town and talked about hiring a private boat. The costs were a bit more than we wanted to spend so opted for a larger boat which was leaving tomorrow morning. That left us with the rest of the day with no plans. We ended up driving around and exploring the local area on a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the air was cool and there was the smell of woodsmoke in the air. Fall is definitely only a day away. We cruised down small roads lined with olive and lemon trees, through sleepy villages. We finally settled on one town with a sweet little harbour and got out to stretch our legs. We took a walk down the shore and sat on the rocky beach watching the local Italians soak up the last bit of summer sun. Then after a nice lunch we headed back to the apartment. An afternoon of reading and napping was just perfect for Mike and I. I think we are still decompressing from the decision to leave the boat for awhile and just needing some time to unwind and catch our breath. We continued our leisurely afternoon while John and Traudi, again much more energetic than us, went for a hike in the late afternoon.

We Found the Tourists!

This morning we all started off with a walk down the big hill into Sorrento. It was delightful the entire way. The path started off from town and went along small cobblestone roads which then led into paths and stairs winding themselves through local homes set into the hillside. Mike and I were slow pokes and soaking in all of sights, sounds and smells along the way. We admired the old Italian country homes with their gardens and olive groves. And wondered how do these people get anywhere in this windy, steep, narrow maze? And why would they want to go anywhere else… Soon enough we found ourselves in the midst of Sorrento! Wow. So this is where all of the tourists are! What a difference from the towns in Southern Italy. Suddenly, the locals speak English and we are surrounded by American accents for the first time in 6 months. After checking out the town for a bit we jumped on a train to Pompeii, the ancient city that was destroyed when the volcano Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The site was huge and it was impossible to take it all in. But the preservation was impressive and amazing to see how people lived almost 2,000 years ago.

The Amalfi Coast!

We drove the Amalfi Coast today! It wasn’t quite expected but that is the route we found ourselves on to get to Sant’Agata. And what a drive! Cars (and really big tour buses) squeezing past each other on hair pin turns with the sea on one side and mountain cliffs on the other. All the while, scooters are passing you on blind corners and miraculously finding space in between your car and the one on coming. There was some spectacular scenery but it was hard to take it all in because of all of the traffic going on around you. From the glimpses we caught we are pretty excited to come back and check it out at a much slower pace. But after 2 hours of driving the novelty had worn off and Mike was happy to get to our apartment. And enjoy a well deserved beer on our terrace with an amazing view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. By evening, Mike and I weren’t hungry so stayed behind while John and Traudi went out to dinner. And found ourselves pretty blissful as we sat outside, wrapped up in a blanket, looking at the stars and the moon’s reflection on the sea.

Getting Lost

Our plan for today was to find the ‘Parco Nazionale del Pollini’ which was a short drive from Sibari. It wasn’t as easy as we thought. The National Parks here don’t appear to have very clear boundaries and we spent the entire morning getting lost in hillside towns and villages (it was pretty fun). Luckily, we didn’t get ‘stuck’ in any hillside towns and villages. Let’s just say that we now understand why Italians drive such small cars! Our Fiat actually seemed too big and we found ourselves backing down some alleys more than once. But the local folk were very friendly and our gas attendant even offered to get in his car and lead us to the right road. We turned him down thinking we could find it on our own but after almost getting ‘stuck’ once again, and driving down yet another one way road the wrong way, John got out to ask a policeman for directions. And before you knew it, we were having a police escort down the hill, through winding country roads and he delivered us to where we wanted to be. And so you know, we would have never found it on our own. But we weren’t there yet. Another small town, another stop to ask directions and we eventually found the park office. We were finally driving in the ‘park’ and the road took us to the top of the mountain where we stopped and had a lovely picnic in the sun. Then we were off to find ‘Devil’s Bridge’ in the town of Civita, which was founded by Albania refugees. We strolled through the very enchanting town and down the steep hillside to find the bridge over the narrow canyon. John and Traudi were more adventurous than us and hiked all the way down to the river and up to the canyon while Mike and I slowly made our back up the hill and to a café for a pick me up. And once again, it was the waiting game for the ‘Albanian’ restaurant to open so we jumped back in the car to see what was on top of the mountain. It was a spectacular drive and we arrived just as the sun was going to set. The lighting was magical, the mountains were glowing with golden light, the sky was full of swallows flying in their beautiful and graceful patterns. After soaking up the last rays of sun, we were back to Civita where we had a very patient and Italian speaking waitress. We probably spent more time trying to interpret the menu and looking up translations in our Italian-English Dictionary (waitress included) than we did eating. But it was worth it, the food was plentiful and delicious. And only made better by the very talented local musicians practicing in the adjoining room. They were playing Italian, Greek and Albanian songs with an incredible female vocalist. Some were fun, some were haunting and we all wished that we would be around in a couple of nights to see their ‘real’ performance.

One of two sweet puppies who joined us for lunch. You can probably tell why we thought he was so adorable!

Looking down on Civita

9,000 Year Old Family Home

Today we jumped into our Fiat and headed to the town of Matera. We were all intrigued by the description in the Lonely Planet which stated it is perhaps one of the oldest towns in the world, as well as one of Italy’s most extraordinary. It is also the site where Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion of Christ’ was filmed. So it’s got that going for it. Matera is located on a spectacular gorge and the surrounding rock, with many natural caves, were turned into homes and it is even said that some people have lived in the same houses of their ancestors 9,000 years ago! This area, the sassi, also has a history of being extremely poor and the homes being considered ‘unlivable’. The families were large and many would have an animal stall right in their living space for their donkey, pig or chickens. Also many homes did not have running water. So it’s not surprising that there was much disease and the infant mortality rate was 50%. By the 1950s half of Materas population lived in the sassi and the government was pushed into take action when the poor conditions started to become more publicized. Sadly, their solution was to forcibly relocate most of the families during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s into government subsidized housing. It struck me as being very sad and tragic. I know the living conditions were sub-standard, and the infant mortality rate was horrific, but to force people from their ancestral homes of 9,000 years? And you know there was little done to make the acclimation to modern society less traumatizing. And maybe what makes it worse is that the government seems to be benefitting from this area by it now being a Unesco World Heritage Site and being turned into Basilicata’s biggest tourist attraction. You can already see the old homes being ‘renovated’ into chic, expensive ones. And the B&Bs, bars and cafes making their way in. It would be so fascinating to meet someone who grew up in one of those homes, relocated to the modern world and hear their experiences and thoughts.

In the Middle of Nowhere...

Today was spent talking with the office and trying to figure out our plans. It seems this place has everything we need, well except for a yacht broker, a grocery store, a decent chandlery… We are also realizing that we are a bit isolated out here but it’s cheap, and quiet. Thankfully there is a good internet connection and we made progress on finalizing our travel plans with John and Traudi for the coming week. We were able to rent a car and also booked an apartment for 6 nights just outside of Sorrento. I am already looking forward to a ‘real’ private bathroom and running hot water. For dinner, we took advantage of our rental car and attempted to venture out of the marina into Sibari proper to find a restaurant. After getting a bit lost and then seeing nothing remotely appetizing or welcoming (only small bars with lots of local men sitting around) we headed back for the marina where I think we found the second open restaurant for miles around.

Running from Torpedos

The sun decided to take a break and we awoke to a gray and cloudy day. As we were leaving the harbour, we saw a Navy Destroyer with a helicopter chaperone also heading out and it wasn’t long before they were out of sight. Well, that is until we saw them on the horizon a couple of hours later, and of course right in our path. Unsure how much distance is appropriate to leave between ourselves and a ‘Destroyer’ we veered off course in front of its bow (it appeared to be stationary, at that time anyways). We decided that a couple of miles was polite but it then became difficult because the ship kept changing it’s heading and appeared to be moving some. At one point, the helicopter decided to do a fly by right over our heads and after getting a good look at us returned to the ship. All seemed well and we were finally able to make some progress with getting across its bow when someone started to attempt to hail another vessel on the VHF, in Italian. They kept trying different channels but we couldn’t understand what they were saying. That was when we noticed the ‘Destroyer’ flashing some very bright lights on their port side, directly aimed at us. At this point we were getting suspicious that they were actually trying to hail us. Traudi wondered aloud if the voice on the VHF wasn’t calling a “red sailing boat”. We immediately responded, and a very polite man who spoke good English informed us that we were in a prohibited area (not clearly marked on the charts) and we were right in the middle of their torpedo practice! What? That is a little scary. So Mike asked them which course we should take and we followed that for awhile until it seemed that a much greater safety zone was placed between us and the big ship firing weapons.
After about an hour and a half diversion, we had a (thankfully) uneventful motor the rest of the way to Sibari, Independence’s new home. Our only concern was that the marina entrance is about one mile up a river and has been known to silt to shallow depths. And there are stories about some boats not being able to get back out and having to be shipped over land. With an escort from the marina, we were just happy to make it to our slip without getting stuck! I guess we’ll worry about the getting out part later. And this is an interesting place, a whole different story from Yacht Marine. The whole complex is made of man-made lagoons that are fringed with condos, hotels and restaurants. It seems like a great place for a summer holiday if you are into boating and we are hoping that we arrived after the summer season ended. Because right now it all feels a bit empty, desolate and run down. After strolling around we did manage to find one restaurant that was getting ready to open. So we sat on the deck outside enjoying the evening until the mosquitoes chased us inside just in time for dinner. Then it was a chilly walk back to the boat, but not too chilly for gelato!

(Sorry, no photos of our friendly Navy Destroyer. Didn't want to push our luck any further!)

John playing Sudoku once we out of harms way!

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