Ok I have been meaning to write this up for a while now…….but you know the drill life gets busy something happens at work etc and it well hasn’t happened…..
It is winter here now though and well amongst the cold(well ok cold for us) I needed a reason to think warm happy thoughts!
Last year enroute to a family celebration in the UK and desperate for a bit of break my wife and I decided to charter in Italy, we were keen to get a taste for the Med, eat some good food, drink some good wine and do a bit of sailing. Our romantic break away however became somewhat less romantic when my parents decided it also sounded like a good idea and decided to join us! We all get along and so what the heck the more the merrier.
We chartered with Sunsail out of Tropea…….a charming little town set on the side of a cliff.
The view from our hotel……
Our first destination was the ‘jet set’ Island of Panarea. The seas were Med flat and there was very little wind so we motor sailed the 35 Nm across to this pretty little island. Not feeling in a Marina sort of mood we dropped the hook in a pretty little bay around from the town.
and explored the island on foot…
From Panarea we headed across to small the hamlet of Rinella on the Island of Salina.
Swimming/Snorkelling around all the islands were great, the water surprisingly warm despite being the end of the season.
Outboards are sooo outrated. We thought we would do our bit to help Italy meet it’s emission targets. 
Truth be known after all the cheese I needed to exercise!
After a round of drinks at the only bar in town, we found a local and amazing little Pizzeria for dinner.
After Salina a short sail, past Lipari and we were anchored off the Island of Vulcano.
An island created by a now extinct volcano, we decided to give the mud baths a miss, but found it to be a pretty interesting if also ‘fragrant’ place to wander around.
With a less than favourable forecast, we decided to head into the fairly protected harbour on the Island of Salina. The storm that ripped through the islands as we sat down for dinner confirmed that we had made a good decision.
We found the high Piers and gangplanks that are the norm in the Med a great Sobriety test!
Our last night at anchor was once again back at Panarea, where after getting up early we did a circuit of the impressive island of Stromboli to see the active volcano that dominates the Aeolians.
A walk to the top of this Volcano is high on most people’s agendas, however with swell, deteriorating conditions and no sheltered anchorage we gave the island a miss, determined that we would see it next time.
Lumpy seas gave us a exciting passage back to Tropea, where one last night of Pizza/Wine and Limoncello made it easier to forgive this strange sea we had just met…..
Oohhh the Food!!
We will definitely be back to this part of the world….the sailing here is so different to what we are used but the places, the people and scenery are amazing.
From Licata we began to slowly make our way north along the Sicilian coast anchoring off small towns and eating simple pasta dishes alfresco in the cockpit at sunset.
From Taormina we crossed over to the heel of the boot. Roccello Ionica turned out to be a great surprise, both an affordable marina with great pizza sold by the length and nearby was another great little town.
Slow Travelling 