Belated 5th Anniversary Post

November 24, 2015
Rocella Ionica, Italy

The fifth anniversary of our departure from Canada slipped past on July 1st, much like the past five years, but so much has happened,  we have seen so many things and met so many people that it already seems like much more than five years have gone by.

This summer was a busy one because we were helping our friends to operate their mooring field at the base of Taormina; the location is spectacular.  With the hilltop towns of Taormina and Castelmola and the volcano, Etna, in view on shore, and the Ionian Sea behind us, the scenery was so beautiful that we did not mind spending an entire summer in this spot.  

One hot day in August found me in the nearby town of Giarre waiting for a train after running an errand.  The temperature hovered around 100 degrees fahrenheit and a shimmering haze obscured the view from the station back toward Taormina. A slight breeze was blowing and hints of the cooler sea air mixed with the hot thermals rising from the gravel on the tracks. I had been waiting for about an hour because the train was late, and I was thankful for the shade I was in, but it was not enough to keep the rivulets of sweat from running down my leg and over the nine-stitch-gash on my ankle.  

The work on the mooring field entailed soliciting business from boats entering the harbour, tying boats to the mooring balls, ferrying people to and from shore, and disposing of customers’ trash.  One evening early in the season, a thoughtless crew person on one of the superyachts put an unwrapped, broken champagne bottle in the trash bag and never told me.  I cut my ankle on it while carrying the bag to the dumpster.  Four hours later, after a pleasant trip to emergency at the nearby hospital, I was back on H2OBO.  It was six weeks, during the hottest part of the summer, before I could go swimming in the cool waters buoying up our home.  The only respite from the relentless heat during that period was found after the sun set and in cold showers in the cockpit. Once I was able to swim again, it was glorious.

The only routine we have are the seasons themselves.  Our plans change almost daily.  We had originally intended to sail to the Aegean Sea this summer to visit Greece and Turkey and ended up staying in Sicily.  The world is a radically different and dangerous place just three hundred miles from this idyllic spot. Desperate refugees are crowding unseaworthy boats to cross the Med and flee terror and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to reach a haven in Europe. Violence has taken many lives in places we visited a year ago and where we intended to go this one. We keep a watch on the weather and navigation hazards that now include geopolitical actions to a greater extent in order to avoid being caught somewhere not welcoming.

But if the preceeding sounds like I am complaining, I am not.  I am actually bragging - our life is anything but boring.

The summer passed pleasantly, the work was done, so we decided to take a short cruise to the toe of Italy in Calabria, Rocella Ionica specifically.  It was new to us and we liked what we saw, so we decided to stay for the winter.  After two winters in Sicily it was time to see something different.  Keep moving and keep it fresh, I think, take it all in.

Branko

Calabria, southern Italy

View from our dock

The beach

Where are we now?

Calabria, the toe of Italy.

Rocella Jonica.

The pizza 

Riposto,  fixer-upper

We were to be wintering in Riposto, at the foot of Mount Etna but the universe had other plans for us.  Leaving Taromina just before sunrise, allowed us a mystical sail across the ancient Messina Straits heading for the rising sun.

Mount Etna, sunset

Messina Straits, sunrise

Each time I cross the straits I think about Homer, Ulysses, the Iliad,  Phoenicians, Moors, Normans and imagine how it was hundreds of years ago.  What a feeling to think your part of the mix:-)

Messina Straits, Reggio Calabria

It is quiet here.  Great for dog training.  Marina staff excellent, helpful and happy. More cruisers staying for winter, so not alone.

Training? What training...

The date forest

The BBQ

Our first Rocella Jonica Marina BBQ was yesterday.   
French, Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian and us Canadians were represented at the event. 


More adventures in Calabria coming soon.
Mag

The summer of 2015

"All the single ladies..all the single ladies...."  and .... stop,  that is all I know of that song.

Our visitors this summer have all been single ladies,  (singles being that they all came alone) first Tara, then Kathy and 2 surprise guests Jenna ( daughter of a good friend) and my niece, Naomi; who you all might remember from Spain, she travelled with us for 3+ weeks from Almerimar to Ibiza (sometimes in pirate outfits), ah but that is another, already told story.   No need for rehashing tales yet.

Mount Etna

Donna and Kathy

Kathy, nice eh

Branko and  I enjoyed the company of wonderful women, old and new friends and family.

Jenna, never having been on a boat, nor to Italy/Sicily contacted us and asked to visit.
She stayed a week.

water fountain, Savona

Visitors always get you to see new things, we travelled to Forza Agro, a hilltop town a few  miles from Taromina, beautiful views, well kept town and got invited into a home for coffee.  Then on to Savona, where some Godfather II scenes were shot.  Mainly where young Michael asks his 1st wife's father for her hand.  Another hilltop town, with mummies, castles, valley views and a cat.

Forza

Had coffee here, Forza

Godfather, bar scene

Naomi in Spain

Jenna, Catania Market

Wall art in Catania

Leather cowgirl boots, 2 euros

My niece Naomi arrived later in the month and we got to travel a little in Calabria.  More hilltop towns in Calabria.  Bova (hopefully going to their wine fest in November) and Gerace, fantastic Norman town.  We are amazed at how the Normans not only got around,  but built so much on the tops of precipitous hills, in short timeframes.  

'Seat' of a Greek Goddess, seriously

Gerace, Calabria

Us and Branko's thumb

Bova, Calabria

Naomi, Jenna in Bova

Branko and I were given tickets to hear and see the  Song Symphony at the  Teatro Greco in Taromina.   

The ancient theatre (the teatro greco, or "Greek theatre") is built of brick, and probably of Roman date, though the plan and arrangement are Greek.  The present theatre was rebuilt on the foundations of a theatre from the Greek period. With a diameter of 120 metres (after an expansion in the 2nd century), this theatre is the second largest of its kind in Sicily (after that of Syracuse); it is used, still for concerts. The greater part of the original seats have disappeared, but the wall which surrounded the whole cavea is preserved.

The theatre sits atop a hill, overlooking Naxos Bay.  The stage is positioned so the entire audience gets a view of Mount Etna.  There is no roof.   Your senses are heightened by the natural beauty.

From the cheap seats, see Etna?

Our evening, Song Symphony

The Song Symphony is multifaceted performance.   First you have the Palermo Classical Symphony Orchestra ( mostly young musicians) playing instruments from the harp to the drums.  Every instrument is represented in this entertaining orchestra.   Second is the conductor, lively, young and obviously enjoying himself.  Third, a young American woman Bria Drain who sings old blues songs and hip hop.  Accompanying her at different times is a fantastic trumpet player Fabrizo Bosso and harmonica player Giuseppe Milici.  Excellent concert.

Palermo Classical Symphony Orchestra  takes viewers on a journey from Gershwin to Ray Charles and tapping through the Beatles, the leadership of the orchestra conductor Stefano Nanni , singer Bria Drain, Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet, Giuseppe Milici harmonica, and Raphael Gualazzzi piano.

In addition,  the Sicilian heart throb Raphael Gualazzzi, playing piano and singing.   The ladies, old and young,  loved him.  He did not look the part, but he had charisma and talent.

The unusual blend of these musicians was incredible,  seriously entertained by a wide variety of music and instruments.

Earlier in the summer a few cruiser friends were anchored in Taromina Bay.   We decided to have a girls day. Catania shopping at the everyday market, lunch and dinner.  A long day but wonderful.  The picture below is us at the end of the market day (which is early afternoon. )

Ange, Aylin, Jess, Kim and  ?

 As we were posing, the lady in the colourful dress,  jumped into the photo.  Only in Sicily:-)

My birthday celebration this year was dinner with George, Donna, Jenna and Branko.  We ended up in a restaurant in Naxos, owned by an acquaintance of G and D.  The owner joined us,  gave us champagne, liqueurs, cake and more champagne!  The food was good too:-)

On our way home, George found a Sicilian band who had just stopped playing for the night.  He asked them to play Volare, and asked me to sing...poor band.


Mag 8-)

Donna and George

Jenna

our drinks and Donna

The band