Italy Log
Sicily - We did the straights between Italy and Sicily at night and boy was that fun. We had everything
from 20 knot headwinds, to no wind, to strong currents against, and strong currents with, and tons of
ferries almost impossible to see for all the city lights (thanks to the AIS).
Our first stop was Milazzo, which is pretty much an industrial town on the NE corner of SIcily. There is a
neat castle to explore and it is a great spot to catch a ferry up to the islands of stromboli, etc. We did not
have time to cruise up there and seeing how many boats there are I am kind of glad. Definitely take the
tour ferry up to stromboli volcano and watch it erupt at night.
Next we hit Cefalu, which is a nice old town with a new one next to it. The old town is narrow stone
streets, lots of walls, tons of tourist shops, etc. There is a nice old fort up the hill to explore and lots of
places to eat out. Groceries are a bit of a walk away (30 min or so). We stayed 3 days then the winds
shifted for a run to Sardinia so west we went.
Sardinia - We had a long frustrating 2 day trip here. The winds were all over the place (all wind
predictions were basically wrong) and we did anything from 13 knots to 2 with tons of sail changes and
little sleep. So anyway our first stop is a small bay on the south end of the island that has no provisions
nearby. We left the dingy on the beach and went up a dirt road only to end up in someones back yard.
Oops that is not good. The lady owner was nice and told us where to find the grocery store so off we
hike down the road. A mere 15 min later she drives by and gives us a lift to the store and back! Not only
did she take us back to her house, but down to the beach even! Talk about nice and service! This is
more like south pacific hospitality and really lacking in the Med. Too bad we are running a bit behind and
will only get a week or less here before hopping to spain.