Cinque Terre

Last weekend I visited the Cinque Terre with 2 of my crew mates from the yacht that I work on. Cinque Terre means 5 lands, and is 5 villages in a row North to South on the Ligurian Coast, part of Italy's West Coast. We took a train from Principale Stazzione in Genoa, Italy close to where the boat was docked. The train was old, but comfortable and the scenery changed quickly and drastically from urban to hillside villages and seaside towns. The topography of this section of Italy's coast forces a Coastal track to slice tunnels through many hillsides and cross steep valleys on numerous bridges. After 8 or 9 stops we reached the starting point for our hike through the 5 Lands, Monterossa the Northern most town of the Cinque Terra. It was nearly noon, stepping off the train the air was warm and sun was shinning brightly as the last clouds of the morning were moving away.
A cafe' , the drink same name as the place, was a great choice for the first activity upon arrival. So good that the next activity was another cafe'. Aside from 2 delicious espressos each, Matty got some directions on how to find a store that he could buy a swim suit. Casey and I had brought our surf shorts, but Matty did not have his along. On the boardwalk, we had met an intern from Venezuela named Romina. She was doing a university project at an acoustics engineering firm in La Spezzia, IT and she accepted our company for the remainder of the day. Matty returned from the store with what may be the smallest mens swim suit or

costume de bano

. Us guys got dressed in the

Italian changing room

and ran into the cool Mediterranean Sea for a swim in the warm, midday sun. Oh, the Italians regularly don't use changing rooms, so by this i mean drop trow on the beach. Romina had already done her swimming while we were drinking Coffees, she hadn't a swim suit either but opted to swim topless to our delight. After a cold, refreshing dip in the Mer we warmed up by sitting on the warm gravel beach, a great start on the trail so far and it was time to start walking.
About a 3Km walk, which was slated at 2 hours, took us to Vernazza. This part of the walk went up steep steps, traversed terraced vineyards, and wound through evergreen and birch forests. The occasional picknick stop was thrown in there and there were continually views of the Monterosso and the Mediterranean. Paragliders soaring up and down the cliff front on the thermal air, sounds of creeks and chirping birds were the only sounds heard. One really enticing feature about the Cinque Terre is that they can not be reached by roads. Travelers must seek these ancient towns by rail, sea, or foot. A great feature of this is that no traffic can be heard when hiking.
Vernazza! Immediately entered the first restaurant we came to. Pizza and beer! Next to the coffee bar, which also served the local wine! The bartender was sampling his own craft, and with shaky pours was keeping our glasses full. He was telling stories to Romina, who was then translating to us in English what he was saying, and many of his noises were complaints about American tourists trying to pay with credit cards. Meeting a quartet of American English teachers, we bought some bottles of wine and took them to the rocks on the harbor front to watch the sunset.
My groups hiking was apparently done for the day, but the night was still young. After trying at least a dozen ( i think we drank 16 ) bottles of local white wine (and a strong red), we all hopped a train to Riomaggore. I found us some accomodations there in Riomaggore by asking the bartender, who called his friend whom owned rooms. He set us up with an attick type large dorm room that had three twins.
The next day was rainy and cloudy. My big hiking ambitions were countered by my two mates, who preferred a short hike on the trails most famous section, followed by a train ride to the city of La Spezzia. Via Del'Amore, Lover's Lane was adorned with the locks that couple lock around the fence that line the trail to keep the cliffside from tumbling across the trail. This short trail lead us to the most scenic or the villages, Manarola. First order, you guessed it, coffee and a snack. The wind had churned up the sea, and here it was smashing into the villages rocky harbor. I found it hard to imagine the ferry traffic and swimmers that would be found here at the popular times of the summer. We were sharing the village with only 5 or 6 other tourists on this morning. The other memorable thing was the duet playing in the tunnel from town to the train stop.

Ligurian Coast and Cote' D' Azure

Well, my posts have become sparse as I expected they would at when nearing the end of this yachting season. The time between posts has increased due to fatigue, workload, and intermittent internet availability. There may be a dash of laziness and apathy thrown in there too. Don't worry, I haven't given up! I am not homesick, but am longing for independence, and a visit with family and friends. I have vowed to make the most of my two weeks or so remaining in Europe. Guests trips are over (last one ended on Sunday) and all that is left to do is prepare for loading onto a transport ship that will take the yacht back to the New World.
Recap, last entry was about Croatia. Amazing place, got to see more of it Torgir, and Split. Next, the yacht went South to Kotor, Montenegro. Kotor is thought of as the best preserved citadel in Europe, basically since it avoided devastation that war brought upon most of the others. After just one day and night there, we moved Southwest back through the strait of Messina for the fifth time to Viareggio, Italy. It was there that we spent the week getting the yacht ready for the arrival of our last 10 guests. Viareggio has a great beach (it was too cold to enjoy the beach) and amazing pizza. It is the yacht building capital of Italy. We found the Italians there to be extremely friendly. It was at times frustrating to plan around the workers extensive mid day siesta, but one has to admire the passion and resolve for which they enjoy coffee, long lunches (up to four hours) and large, late dinners. Italy was a highlight of eating for me (and most of the crew), and a four course dinner at an Italian restaurant with no written menu was the pinnacle of the gastro-experience. The chef there came to the table and verbally conveyed the evenings choices, and used a combination of expressions and body language to clarify that we were in his care, and all would be "malta Bene".
Our final guests for the season arrived, and we whisked them away on an eight day trip through the Ligurian Coast of Italy, and the Cote'D'Azure of France and finishing in Antibes. We did nearly one destination a day, including Portovenere, Imperia, Portofino, Monaco, Cap Farat Villefranche, Antibes, St. Tropez, and ending back in Antibes close to the Nice Airport. You may be inclined to "ooh, and ahh" at the itinerary that I have just laid out, but its not so for crew. I hardly stepped off the yacht in any of these places.
Battery is dead, and still no Euro plug. Au Voir!

Krka National Park, Croatia

Just focus on the river, the wildlife, the forest; I told myself as I surveyed the natural scene around me. I was making an effort to ignore the large and small groups of other tourists walking about me. The effort was easy due to the sound volume that the waterfalls were producing, but it wasn't ignoring as much as allowing them to move by me without acknowledgement. The allowances I mainly made to this theory were only to share the small viewpoints in various lookouts where there wasn't room enough for many viewers at a time. My ventures for the day were aimed at getting someplace at the very least partially wild. I was being patient about the fact that this intensely captivating geographical phenomenon was packed, even at the end of the "season".
Lack of information is what creates a good 90% of the label "adventure" as I know them. In 2010 nearly everything has been done, aside from so much ocean unexplored, so nearly every discovery for me is only new because I hadn't previously read or heard about what other people had done. I had a tourist map of the park, and some general directions and distances from the cab driver whom delivered me the 14 Km from the shipyard that morning. He did more than his part of simply driving the cab, a trait I have been noticing in about 1 out of 7 or so cab drivers in Europe as a whole. My driver did some interpreting, and brought me an extra distance into the park beyond the ticket gate after purchase. He even offered me a "bargain" return fare if I was ready to depart when he arrived with his next fare at 11:30 that morning. There was little chance that I would be in and out that quick, knowing that some extra exploration was my appetite for the day. With the language trouble, it was hard to deliver my point that I was up for more than the 2 Km boardwalk that meandered around the park. He assured me that the only other trail was an easy 5 Km walk down stream to the next historical town. That would not satisfy me, but I thanked him anyways and showed him appreciation for his extra helpfulness.
I had only slightly beaten 5 of the 6 tourist buses that were queued up to enter the park that morning. I used the chance to slowly view some of Krka (pronounced kreeca)National Park and the longest and most widely visited falls of Skradinski Buk. At a half dozen outlooks over the different levels of the falls, I was among only a handfull of viewers gazing down into the emerald water cascading endlessly downriver to the Adriatic. A small taverna among the other historically reproduced buildings at the site of the old mill house. Picnic tables were arranged on one overlook and I took the table at the edge of the veranda which actually hung out over the river to enjoy my coffee. The park was slowly filling, but I still wasn't hurrying to cross the river and begin searching for a trail, any trail. The park's design had been carefully considered, and each place that the stone and wooden bridges crossed the areas of flowing water requested an extra moments pause to admire the sight.
Two main reasons existed for my choice to travel alone that day, and are similar to other days where I choose to not have company. Firstly I didn't want to wait for anybody. Most times I don't mind waiting, I realize I probably am often the one that is being waited on, but not this day. The second reason applies to the first one, I didn't want to feel rushed. I was planning on taking a time out in the woods, staying still for some time to absorb what was, and wasn't happening around me. I was resistant to the idea that somebody, especially a good friend, along with me would be there and potentially detracting from the experience in those moments. At the outset of my employment aboard, I did explain that occasionally I would need time apart from the group. I think my crew mates remember and understand the statements that I've made regarding my independence and don't chalk it up to ill temper or any other falsities. It is a sensitive balance we strive for here, living at work is occasionally difficult.
The mist from the falls is illuminating in the morning sunshine. Rainbows are forming in the blowing water vapor, they shimmer, glisten, and drift overhead. Across the bridge, the paths lead deeper into the opposite side of the main falls. Diverging from that trail network is a gravel road, a narrow one lane road. I was guessing that by following what the map called this bike trail upriver I may see a more primitive hiking trail leading up the ridge. Only about a kilometer up the lane, I found this path that lead up the steep hillside, mostly on scree tracks that mingle with dense brush and small evergreen trees. The density of the trees on this trail gave the impression that it was not currently popular, but that it may once have been more heavily traveled. Gaining some elevation quickly lead to excellent views of the snaking Krka River, the canyons walls at this fork were wide, and gave room for some grassy flats and the sparsely spaced row of skinny, tall evergreen trees. Water fowl evidently loved this landscape, even from my distance I could see several ducks and a crane.
The scree slope grew steeper and the trail made longer switchbacks. On the other side of the ridge, my ears were sheltered from the roar of the falls, only perceptible now was the chirp of the grasshoppers. Below me was still the rivers calm and wide section. Across the water were the other hillsides of the canyon walls. Cairns marked the trail where the landscape was more open and the trail less discernible from the many scree tracks. These cairns were small, most of them would have fit on a frisbee and none were taller than a foot, save one cairn that was about three times larger than all of it's friends. The scree was very consistently fist sized or smaller, and it's angular shape made for easy footing. The shoulder leveled out into a ridge, and revealed the first view at altitude of the falls below. Regrettably , I could also view from that vantage the old hydroelectric dam building and machinery. Additionally, two abandoned buildings slumped atop the adjacent ridge, far across the Krka and canyon from my position.
I took a seat among the warm rocks, pulled my camera and notebook from my pack, and resolved to have a rest and enjoy the view upriver towards the fork. This was the best viewpoint and best direction lending that it was the one that included the least man made junk, not to mention it was facing ESE, making it ideal for catching some mountain sun. The rocks were almost comfortable, I took my shirt and shoes off and reclined back against my pack, feeling the warm rays radiating down on me. So much time spent at sea level had me craving some time spent higher up, I was reveling in the peace and open space below me, and devoured a snack along with my surroundings. I attempted to photograph a spider in it's web, busy wrapping up a fresh caught fly. My efforts weren't in vain, my simple camera wouldn't focus on the small spider, but was instead focusing on the leaves behind it. A praying mantis was hunting next to where I laid out, and was an easier subject due to its background. Despite my patience and effort in getting photos and video of it attacking and eating another insect, I was only able to photograph it walking around atop the rocks. I headed back down to river level after about an hour on top the ridge, I wanted to use the the rest of my day next to the flowing water.
Next to the river below the falls, I found a nice tree to lean back against, got my book out, and read in the sunshine. At this time I realized that swimming was allowed at this lower point in the river. Signs prohibiting swimming, camping, fires, fishing, and leaving the trail were placed along the trails prior to that level. The river was cold, but not cold enough to force me to get out immediately. The water was great, the river bottom and sides were solid rock covered with a thin layer of mossy growth and mineral sediment. The rocks were slightly slippery, but comfortable to walk on. The depth went from well overhead to a few inches and back to deep again. I would swim to a rock to stand up on and warm up in the sun. I was getting cold rapidly, and so made a strong swim under the wooden bridge and up to the rope barrier that closed off the bottom of the falls for swimming. I put my feet up and rode down stream in the current on the way back downriver. Shivering, I laid back at my tree and read, warming up in the sunshine. Did I mention getting the beers from the beer garden? They were so good and cold. Excellent day at a national park in Croatia.

Owner Trip/Tender Delivery

We hosted the owner, his wife and his guests for two weeks in the Greek isles and Kusadasi Turkey. After a couple days in Rhodes, the yacht left for Kusadasi, Turkey. The guests toured Ephesis, and the next day I flew back to Athens while the yacht left for Patmos. I was on a mission to unpack the new tender that had been shipped there to Athens from New Zealand where it was built. I was to get the new boat splashed in the water, and deliver it to the yacht's position in Santorini, about 150 miles away.
The first complication was customs in Turkey. I had been stamped out of the country along with the rest of the crew the night prior to my leaving for the airport, because at that time there was no plan to have me fly from there. Luckily the agent whom I was picked up by that morning had connections with the customs and immigration officials and all was put correct by simply making a quick visit to their office. The nature of my trip was interesting, I was arriving as a tourist on vacation and there to visit my "uncle Mike". Mike is the agent in Athens who we have great faith in; he has been extremely helpful to the yacht's crew. As this was the situation, I did not bring any crew clothing or equipment. Everything that I needed to outfit this new boat would be purchased in Athens.
My next complication was at security in the Izmir airport, about an hours drive from Kusadasi, Turkey. I had packed in a hurry the previous night at a late hour since the whole arrangement was last minute. Having packed my normal size toiletries meant that many were over the 3 or 4 oz travel size limit for carry on. It turns out I also had packed my Spyderco folding knife; as a rule I don't like being on a boat without a good knife. I made it through the first x-ray at the airports entrance before I even remembered that I had the knife in my bag. Determined to get through security with it, I brainstormed and quickly decided to put the knife in-between my phone chargers and wrapped it with my headlamp to help disguise it in the x-ray machine. I wasn't sure this would work, but I had scoped who was watching the x-ray monitor in the security lane that I was going to use. She looked very passive, and it may have been that she wasn't paying any attention at all. I have once passed a smaller knife through security x-ray in the basket underneath my wallet, this gave me some optimism that I would arrive Athens with my favorite knife.
They busted me.... on the toiletries though, wanting to take four bottles from my bag; sunscreen, toothpaste, shampoo, and shaving gel. In an effort to save these, I hurried back to the information counter, the security guys held my passport at the desk so I would not have to go through again. The baggage service had already closed, so I had no choice but to go through with carry-on. They did take those four items and actually would not let me board until I personally tossed them in the "liquids" trash can. I got to my window seat with my knife in my bag, but lucky for the other passengers, the ever-vigilant security force had saved the jet from my shaving gel.
The flight was quick, but I still had a difficult time keeping my eyes open. A cab was waiting at the baggage claim for me, and whisked me to the marina. The new tender was still in the trailer, another shipping agent there explained to me that they were waiting for another truck to arrive. The way they got the boat out of the container was interesting. They backed a flat-bed truck up to the door of the trailer, lifted the front of the boats cradle, and dragged it out and onto the flat bed. Then, rigging to the boat itself, lifted it up and drove the trailer out from underneath the tender. The crane placed the boat down on the ground while the sponsons where inflated, and the agents had to run to the store for a wooden bung to replace the threaded transom plug that was not shipped with the boat. We also put up the t-top bimini and I checked that the engines still had lubrication in them from the sea trial. I stayed in the boat while it was picked up and placed in the sea, they were in a hurry to get the crane free for another project. The fuel truck arrived and I put 300 litres of gas into the tank to fill it.
Now supplied with fuel, some safety equipment, and navigational tools I was ready to go for the next morning. I had an ex-pat named Gary to help me deliver the boat. He had worked on the yacht in Athens for the week when we first arrived there after the Atlantic crossing. Gary offered to sleep on his friends boat for the night, and therefore tying the new tender up next to would be looked after. The next morning we got started at 0710, using the charts and some waypoints I had entered into the handheld GPS. The first hour was nice smooth water, and the boat was running perfectly. The next hour saw the waves increase in size bit. Dodging ferry and shipping traffic and jumping some of there wakes ;i was making good time. Gary steered a bit while I did some inspections of the boat, took some photos, and did some navigating.
This new tender was fast, comfortable, and a blast to drive. The smooth water of the early morning was lost to wakes of ferries and cruise ships, but the deep V shape of the hull was slicing through the chop and swell. Out of the Gulf and past the Greek mainland I began threading the islands on a SouthEasterly heading for Thira. At least one fuel stop would be needed, or at least wise. The first landfall made was in Serifos for some petrol. The mooring man there was beyond wierd. He gave Gary and I the creeps. Upon entering the harbor, I was looking for somewhere to tie up to the quay. This creepy guy was yelling at me in Greek and called Gary and I Malakas, in Greek meaning f*&ing idiots. Gary went ashore and spoke to a captain whom he knew, this proved to be very helpful in getting fuel. The crazy mooring man started his act on me, touching my hands, neck, and speaking very close to my face. He pushed his walking stick down on my toes, and did his creepy thing for which I found out later he is infamous. I felt forced to hurry the fueling, pay and get out of there even though I had initially planned to stop and have a coffee break there. Gary confirmed the odd behavior of the man from speaking to his Greek captain friend. Weeks later, I would laugh at the thought of my crewmates taking a chartered sail boat
Next stop would be Ios, I anchored the boat in a nice bay in front of a great beach. Gary and I picknicked on the sandwiches and Nescafe coffees that his girlfriend had made us. I took a swim and it was a magnificent day in the Aegean. The little windlass on the tender was so easy, a caveman could do it. I took the tender around the point to Ios harbor. Tied up to the quay there and received some petrol from the truck I had arranged. I purchased some cleaning supplies from the little market; a bucket, soap, magic erasers, and two chamois. Gary and I spent a couple hours cleaning the tender, in hopes to deliver it to the next island of Santorini fairly clean, if only a little salty after the last run of about 45 minutes. Ios is a great place, and cleaning the boat there in the sunny and peaceful harbor was very enjoyable.
On approach to Santorini, I was in contact with the yacht via cell phone. Our eta's to the island were almost exactly the same as we closed on converging courses. The captain directed me to bring the tender in close to the yacht as speed so as to get some photos of the new boat in the light of the setting sun. The owner was up in the bridge as I brought the tender in fast towards the yacht and I believe he was excited to see his new boat. Once the yacht was moored, and the tender tied up to it, the guests and crew were all on the aft to welcome me and bombard me with questions about the delivery. The day was potentially my most fun work day on record. I received a lot of praise, and a personal thank you and well done from the boss was a compliment.
That evening, to all of our pleasant surprise, was the anniversary annual volcanic eruption reenactment. Using fireworks, and flares they did a great show from the caldera that lasted about 30 minutes. After that show ended, we turned our attention to Thira atop the cliff for a hotel's fireworks display.
Our trip continued on to Mykonos, a day in Paros, and on to Poros. Poros is a great little island just off the mainland Peloponnese Peninsula. Next day on to transit the Korinth Canal. Going through the three mile long ditch was exciting, and we were not expecting the sudden strong blow upon exiting the canal. I had to pick up Kim, the nurse, and carry her back inside the wheelhouse. The wind was blowing so hard and yacht now smashing through the waves on the bow that she was too scared to walk back the 30 steps by herself. The new tender in tow was now getting airborn off the wave tops as we towed her along at 18 knots into 25 knot head winds and two meter short and steep seas. Galaxidi was the destination, and the point of departure for the tour the guests took to Delphi, another famous Greek and Roman ruin location. The entire city of Delphi is sacred, a place to worship the gods, and women were taken to a nearby island to give birth as it was forbidden in the sacred city.
Back through the canal, and the trip finished in Athens. I am still here in Athens on the yacht, today its Saturday September 25th. The yacht has been here in the city since arriving and dropping guests off here on September 4th. Tomorrow we leave for Split, Croatia.

Rhodes 2

Sunday saw us return to the Southern beach of Prasonisi though with a group of only 4 this time. The wind was far stronger this day, and the beach even busier. A windsurfing championship was taking place, and the waters were full of windsurfers within an hour. I boosted some big jumps, and had some great crashes. After getting back to Rhodes town, three of us cabbed to a beach for an evening session. The wind was not cooperating, so we began walking back towards the marina. As we rounded the point beach, we noticed one kitesurfer who was struggling in the light wind. "What the heck?" Thatcher and I just decided to rig and try to ride the light wind anyhow. The guy who was out there quit, and as we started riding the wind picked up! I had a great session on my surf board, and Thatcher had a major break through session and was not kiteboarding upwind!! The photos that were with the last Blog entry were actually from this evenings ride. Amazing, the wind blows harder on this beach before sunset and increases for an hour after the sun fully goes down. Its a strange phenomenon, but in the next two weeks the yacht spent at the marina only a mile away I would take advantage of it more nights than not.
That week of non-guest work flew by. I spent most of it doing engineering projects, tinkering and fixing whatever needed tweaking. Monday was light wind, so Thatcher and I decided not to go. A silly move, as the point beach again had evening wind! Tuesday would not be lost, as I was still forcing myself to wake at 6:00 am as to keep in my rhythm. The wind was already blowing at that time in the morning, so I grabbed my gear and caught a cab to the beach. This would count as my first true morning kiting session. I made it back in time for work, and then after work went back to the beach with Thatch. A double session day! I never repeated that feat on any of the other days. I did continue to rise early and get some runs in. The first path I was taking was by the edge of town and along the beaches. It was nice, especially the part that was on a path next to the sea and away from the roads. I tired of the same routine, and so tried running inside the walled city. Immediately I was happy with the decision, and it would become my new favorite running spot. Normally the narrow streets are filled with tourists, but at 6:30 in the morning I had that ancient city to myself. I developed a great route that hugged the inside of the walls, exploring the many alleys and back streets. Next I coupled it with a run through the bottom of the dry moat. I have run in some scenic settings, but this Rodos Citadel run is in the top three.
Our chef had left the boat and returned home to Boston to spend time with his family before the next guest trip. I missed him and his cooking, and after a few meals cooked by another crew member we spent the remainder at restaurants or getting takeout. The weekend came around fast, and lucky for us it was declared another three day weekend. Matt rented a car, and we used it to go camping on the beach at Meltemi, one of the kite spots we had scoped out the previous weekend. Matt took a kiting lesson and I had a good day of riding. I picked up some beer and ice at the supermarket, then we set up camp just down the beach directly on the sand. I put up my travel hammock, Matty put up his tent. After a couple of beers, we meandered up the hill to Dionysis, the Greek restaurant. Two of my other crew members were there! They were finishing up their own meals, so Matty and I took their table. Another delicious dinner was in our belies and back at the campfire we got started on the Absinthe. Drunk and happy, we went swimming in the warm Aegean Sea and I fell asleep on the sand. If only every day could be so great.
The next day Matt and I woke up with some mean hangovers. Matt had to get back to the boat early, he was on watch that day. I got dropped off at the kiting beach and put my hammock up for some needed extra sleep. A few hours later that's where my crew found me. They made fun of me for having sand in both my ears from sleeping on the beach. Haggered, I rallied and made it up for a kiting session before a late lunch. It was strange kiteboarding in such a condition. I was not yet hungover, maybe just still a little drunk. It can only be compared to kitesufing in somebody else's body. Lunch was excellent, probably the best Greek food that I have ever had. This Sunday was a Greek holiday, and many families were out celebrating and having a late lunch. The restaurant was full of local people, always a good sign when searching for the best food away from home. A rest after lunch in my hammock, then out for another session as my crew mates packed it up and drove the 35 Km back to the yacht. I was to stay on my hammock on that very beach for the night. It was pretty noisy, all the people in the restaurant were staying up and being loud as it was a holiday. I would have had a better sleep by moving up the beach, but I couldn't be bothered to carry all my gear up there. Besides, it was convenient being close to the restaurant for take away and bottled water.
I lay in my hammock, looking up at the blanket of stars stretched across the Aegean and her many islands.

A Couple Weeks in Rhodes.

Im actually writing this entry from Kusadasi, Turkey. However, before I write about what the yacht is doing now, I want to take some time to explain what I was doing for the two weeks of silence on my BLOGGING. No, the internet was not broken. Some of you may have thought so, but I hope you weren't worried about me.
Rhodes is my favorite island in Greece, Turkey, and Italy. I would have said that Sicily was my favorite island in the Mediterranean, but it was crossed off for lack of consistent wind(Messina Straight does have wind but too much traffic and current). I have chosen Rhodes for its history and heritage, ease and friendliness towards travelers, consistent winds and beautiful beaches, and wide explorabillity factor.
Upon arriving Rhodes after dropping guests off in Mykonos, the crew was given a long weekend off. I spent most of Friday sleeping, catching up on rest after an active guest trip full of long hours. Saturday I went with four other crew members down the West coast of the island in search of a kiteboarding beach. I had done some research online and knew that there were some kiting centers and schools on the island's Western coast. Rhodes has good roads by Greek island standards and the navigation is pretty simple. First stop was at a kite center to look at conditions and ask about some equipment spares. Our real focus was on a giant sandbar that connected a rocky island to Rhodes at the Southern tip.
The main road took us through towns and villages, by the airport and many beaches, and up some mountains into a forest. Dozens of signs along the roadside denoted monasteries and ruins. The road became twisty, at times with a sheer cliff on one side. Views out to sea and inland to tall mountains and pasture lands were entertaining, and the sharper the curves got the more I wanted to tour the island on a motorcycle. The beach resorts and restaurant strips of the northern part of the island faded into olive orchards and other tree crops. The sandy beaches could have been there, but they were not visible looking out off the cliffs. A mountain town named Monolithe was unique, and honey bees are a spread throughout this area of the island. Coming down the other side of the mountain revealed a broad dune covered in some scrubby bushes and criss crossed with atv trails. Our turn came up for Prasonisi, and the van made the right that would take us across this dune and up over the hill to our destination.
Coming around the curve and down the hill was a sight, dozens of kites were in the sky, and even more windsurfers were out on the water. I say sand bar, but picture a wide and long beach with ocean on both sides. A rocky island at the end of the beach, with more roads for ATVing. We drove out on the sand, checking out the spot. Many motorhomes were parked there on the sand, as were lots of cars. It was a busy spot on a busy day, but our stomaches were growling so we turned around and headed to the restaurant at the entrance to the beach. Service was slow, typical of Greece, and I was losing interest in the cheeseburger I had ordered. I just wanted to go kiting, and it seemed the wind was dropping.
Finally lunch was over and my kite was rigged up. The wind was still light, even on the wave side of the beach were it should be heavier. I got my first session on my surf board without any foot straps, a good choice for light wind. When the wind picked up slightly I switched it out for my twin tip board. After a great day at the beach we piled back into the van and drove home with the sliding doors open. For the ride home we went up the East coast for a different view and to save some time. The East coast is much more populated, and there are a few very nice bays complete with hotels. Also on this coast are some great anchorage options, weather depending.

Rhodes

The citadel is massive. Its tall stone walls are the predominant feature of the marina's vista. Inside the Old Town is a sticky tourist trap, and they really are trapped in this extensive, mid-evil walled city. I was here for one night prior to this weekend, and was not overly impressed with the hokey atmosphere inside the fabricated area for tourists. Average stores lined the old cobblestone streets selling overpriced knick-knacks, leather goods, fake watches, and "American" clothing to the "deer in headlights" passerby. However, upon arriving late Thursday night I have seen a more interesting and authentic Rhodes Town and Rhodes island as a whole.
The large group of guests was dropped in Mykonos on Thursday afternoon, and the yacht put the hammer down to Rhodes; a 6 hour passage at speed. Friday morning I started my weekend off by taking a long run through town, along the beach and beside the sea on Rhode's "cliff walk". The large number of other runners out at the time was surprising, but refreshing. It would not be an exaggeration to state that most of the population here in Greece is not interested in any cardio exercise. Off to see some more of the town, more later from Rhodes!

Guest Trip # 4. 3 More to Go.

Hello from the Aegean Sea! I'm zooming along at 20 knots towards the caldera port of Santorini, Greece. If you've been following along with me this summer, you know that this will be the yacht's 3rd visit there. We have a pretty full boat this time though. Aside from our usual nine crew we have Twelve guests aboard, comprised of two families; the group is mostly kids ranging in age from 7 years to 19 years. They are a great group, and 90% female but these girls aren't scared to be active and have fun. On the way to Santorini, we'll stop at a secret location near the Greek Isle of Paros, the preferred anchorage of Brad Pitt's yacht. The diving, and water sports in general in this area are reputed to be fantastic. Underwater caves are there, as well as a pinnacle or two. I've been thinking back on my favorite movie with Brad Pitt in the cast on the small chance that I will encounter him. Its a toss up for me between Fight Club, Snatch, and Seven Years in Tibet.
This guest trip started in Kusadasi, Turkey on Friday afternoon. Yesterday we left there and stopped in Patmos where the guests did a tour of the Church of the Apocalypse. Next we anchored in a small bay on that island to give the kids and adult kids an hour to play in the water. While tubbing, my crew member ran over the tow line with the jet boat and sucked the line into the impeller. A knife had to be heated with a blow torch in order to cut the mess out of the suction housing. It was a funny site, because the line became fouled in the tender while it was very close to the yacht. I watched it happen from the window in the wheelhouse, and another crew member went to rescue him with the sea bob; a diver propulsion unit. I snapped a photo as the tow package came near the swim deck. My friend looked so proud he had towed the incapacitated tender back until the tenders forward motion continued it ahead and ran over his head as he stopped near the yacht. It was a funny sight since he was not hurt, I should have been video taping that one.
A side note, Turkey is an amazing country from the small part that I have seen and the bulk of information I have learned through other people. There is a chance we will be seeing more of the country during our next guest trip, and hopefully getting to see the capital of Istanbul. My experiences there thus far have included walking through the historic streets of Ephesus, smoking in a hookah bar, shopping in the Bazaar, dancing in a Turkish night club, riding the public buses, and kitesurfing on the beach there. Each day there was memorable, and Turkey is currently the most exotic place that I have kiteboarded. From the moment my two friends and I stepped out of the cab at the beach, we were a spectacle. Two young boys were admiring our boards, and followed us far down the beach, nearly to where we set up to launch. Once we began inflating the kites, people really took notice. My funniest kite experience happened when an elderly Turkish man picked up my kite lines as I was unwinding them on the beach. He proceeded to yank them, as if he was going to send my kite aloft from it's position on the beach. The lines were not yet connected to the kite, but this did not stop the man from pulling more and more of my kite lines in an attempt to get some movement from the kite. I and his grandson stood in awe as he did this and spoke to me in an unintelligible language, but eventually I had to take the lines from his hands as he was about to turn my lines into a ball of string. Kiting by the women there in full dresses and head coverings was an unforgettable experience.

Ephesus: Fourth largest Roman city

A tour to the Roman city of Ephesus on a cool Mediterranean summer evening. My group was my 7 crew, all except the captain. The first stop was the Virgin Mary's House, where she spent the last years of her life. This is only a theory, it is not confirmed that she really lived here, though two popes have confirmed that it is a religious site for Catholic pilgrims. The house stands atop a hill in a farming and retirement town in the valley adjacent to the city of Kusadasi, Turkey. I entered the house, rebuilt as a temple in the 1960's, and walked through the prayer room and the historic room. An old rosary was framed on the wall, and a portrait of Mary hung on the opposing wall. The building was small, made entirely of stone, and 3 candle burning alters were outside the exit. I lit a candle and reflected on those people whom I was close to that have passed away.
Down the short ramp were the sinks from which flowed the natural spring reported to be holy water. The cool, clean water comes from the ground under the hill. Many people were drinking from the fountains, some were filling containers to take home, and one woman was splashing the water on her baby's face. A few steps farther down the ramp was the wailing wall. Prayers are written, rolled up, and placed on this wall. Thousands and thousands of these people's wishes hung next to and atop one another. Beyond the wall was the museum shop and a cafe'. Half my group stopped at the cafe' for a Turkish coffee. This was my first Turkish coffee, and I will explain it here as it is very different from any other coffee drink that I had previously had.
The grounds are Brazilian usually, coffee beans do not grow in Turkey. The grounds are extra fine, almost to a dust consistence. The coffee dust is placed in a tiny mug, similar to an espresso cup, and boiling water is poured over it. Sugar is added depending on how it was ordered black, medium, or sweet and the cup is served. One must let the coffee sit for a minute or two to allow the grounds still in the mixture to sink to the bottom of the cup. Care is taken during the small sips of this beverage as it is still extremely hot at this stage. The drink holds a consistence of warm motor oil, and it is slightly bitter even when ordered sweet. Once nearing the bottom of the cup, which is three of four sips, the drinker leaves the last big sip that is mostly grounds. The mug is then flipped over on the saucer, and the cup is pulled off the grounds. This soggy, black mess is then read by a psychic and a fortune is read back to you. Our coffees did not come with a psychic, so my group read each others fortunes as best we could. Next was the city of Ephesus.
I have a difficult time explaining in any detail or accuracy the extent or importance of the city of Ephesus. The facts as I have been informed by my tour guide is that the city was founded in first century AD and prospered for 300 years. It had a population of 250,000, was a booming port city, and the fourth largest in the Roman empire behind Rome, Alexandria, and one other that I can't remember. We walked "5th Avenue", stopping in front of the government house, the library, the hospital, drug store, and brothel. Me writing that makes them sound common place. I am lacking the details of how each are full of columns, statues, and scenes carved in marble. The streets were paved in marble. Being a port town full of foreigners, the road signs were carved into the sidewalk as images of hands and feet and other symbols. My group stopped at the public men's room for a photo on the bench toilets. We also did some group photos in front of the largest ampitheater in Europe, holding 25,000. My crew got down on the stage, and up in the bleachers and we did a proper sound check. Four years ago the site was announced as a UNESCO site, and the rock concerts there were stopped. Classical concerts are still held in the theater. My guide proudly shared that he had seen Sting, Jethro Tull, U2, and some other popular bands that I don't remember there at the theater. He also sung us Lynrd Skynrd songs in the theater, wrongly telling me that they are the best band. I give him some credit though for liking the Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones. "Harbor Ave" lead us from the theater down to the parking lot. I have informed that the city was built around a port, but the river Meander brought with it so much silt that the harbor filled in. This combined with what we think might have been a strong earthquake caused the inhabitants to abandon the city around 350 AD.
The last part of the tour was a visit to the Turkish Carpet Cooperative. I learned there about the preparation of silk and the manufacture of traditional rugs. The first room after the entrance is where the old looms are set up along with the boiling water pot used to pull the silk off the cocoons. The host explained the process, and the weavers demonstrated for us the knots used. The whole thing was very interesting, and it gave me great appreciation for the amount of labor that goes into making just one carpet. However I soon got the feeling that we were being primed to buy rugs, and my suspicions were correct. After almost an hour of carpet talk, I was ready for something else like dinner.
That night we ate at one of the marina restaurants. Food was very good, different courses of bread, olives, salad, calamari, shrimp, octopus and sea bass. The Turkish red wine was very good as well, smooth and no pucker or aftertaste. Dessert was incredible, and I still don't understand fully what it was. Some kind of filling that was sweetened with honey inside a rolled crispy deep fried outside and topped with powdered sugar. Turkish Delight!

Isola Ciclopi & Taormina 3

After the volcano, we drove straight to Isola Ciclopi. This little stretch of the Sicilian coast is prime for paddle boating, and kayaking and cliff jumping and all that stuff. The two towns that border each on this rocky piece of the sea front are adjacent to the city of Catania, but couldn't feel further from the industrial center. The church/castle ruins on the cliff side, the many corner cafe's offering pastries and pizzas, and the waterfront bars are what made this area a must return for us.
Parking wasn't quick and easy, but after finding a place and paying the attendant it was a short walk along the boardwalk to the place we had our sights set on. "That's a long walk, you know why that's a long walk?" says Rob as Matty and I point out our target. "...Its a long walk because I have to pee, and I need a beer." clarifies Rob. Matty and I laugh and as we sit down at a street side cafe. Once to this waterside deck bar, we get another round and check out the scenery. The deck is clearing out, at this time of night on Friday there aren't many people around; Saturday and Sunday evening are the busiest. We decide to just do it, rent a paddle boat and get out to the rocks just off the beach. I know what you may be thinking, but it looks totally normal to have as many men in one small boat as possible in Europe. We figured nobody would laugh at the three of us guys in a small red paddle boat with a water slide on it, and so off we went.
The paddle boat was at top speed, heading out to the Island of Cyclops. A short paddle brought us to a channel between two rocks where I had seen some kids jumping from the cliff. Not having surf shorts with us, we had to swim in our boxers. That didn't look out of place at all in Greece, if anybody noticed we were in underwear. We all jumped off the boat, letting it drift, and climbed up the cliff face. I showed Matty my forward backflip, and he showed interest in learning it. I told him the keys to the trick, and he landed on his face the first few times. It was a funny slap, but Matty didn't give up and landed one on his fourth try. Time on our rental was up, we returned the boat and headed off to find Harry.
Next stop was Taormina, parking was strange there and semi difficult to find. The lot was down under the tram line, and the turn was easy to miss leaving you facing a one way the wrong way. The main shopping street was packed on for the night. Together we decided it would be hilarious to all buy speedos with different flags of countries nearby. Greece, Turkey, and Italy. I was to wear Greece, blue and white cross and stripes. Lucky for us, we could not locate these "costumes" in any of the 5 stores that we checked. Besides looking for funny swimming costumes, I tried some cafe' fast food and just people watched. There were many wealthy people walking around very dressed up and spending wads of Euro. Trophy wives were leading their reluctant husbands from one shop to the next. Teens from rich families were strolling in groups, trying to be noticed. After walking to the end of the long street, we just turned around and returned to Harry.
Matty hit a parked car on the way back to the marina. Making a right turn at a corner he took the turn too tight and smashed the tail light of a car that was stopped there. The car only had children inside, the parent probable being inside the store there. Matty pulled forward to find a place to stop without clogging traffic. He left the van, Rob and I stayed with it. Matty ran back to the van and reported that the car had already taken off. We assumed that the driver did not have insurance and feared the presence of police. Matty drove towards the marina and parked the van close by the docks. A large scratch now covered the passenger side sliding door, but the van was fully covered on the rental insurance so that was not a problem.

Climbing the Volcano

Friday I climbed the highest volcano in Europe. At 10,922 feet, it covers around 460 square miles of area. The volcano is active, and atop it I breathed in my fare share of sulfur and carbon dioxide gases combined with water vapor. It is not a healthy mixture, and can be deadly in large doses or low areas.
Rob, Matty, and myself rented a van locally and made our journey through the narrow and twisty roads of Catania province. Our van was named "Harry", as denoted by the sticker on the back doors. "Harry" was a white Fiat diesel mini-van with power and air-con! A mixture of the directions drawn on our tourist map and the verbal directions from the rental car agent were sufficient to get us to the volcano. Of course we also looked up at the volcano while we were driving to verify that we were headed in the correct direction. Twenty euros worth of diesel was enough fuel for our day of running around Eastern Sicily, and a strange fact is that the van was loaned and to be returned on a quarter of a tank. Piedmonte was the first town we drove through as we made progress up the slope of Etna's flank. There we stopped at a cafe' for paninis and cigars. I tried the slot machine with some fifty cent euro pieces but came up empty. Piedmonte is a classic Sicilian mountain town, it looked like a great spot to find some authentic dinner and souvenirs. Of course, even the take out from the corner cafe' is as authentic as anything.
The road switchbacked, and an occasional Etna Nord sign posted kept us comforted that we were making forward progress. We had to pass some trucks and buses on the narrow street, which was all about opportunity amidst the hairpins and s-curves. At the same time, we were getting passed by motorcycles, and a car whose driver we figured was late to work passed us as he ran a red light. Once to the park, it was slightly confusing which turn would lead us as high as possible into the lava fields on the North side of the volcano. Taking a few wrong turns allowed us to see a lot of the park, and there were many trailheads leading off into the evergreen forested woods surrounding the volcano. Lower on the access road, we passed a tourist center which was selling trips on horses, bikes, and atvs.
Reaching the upper parking, the tourist stands and excursion booths were in our grasp. Matty, Rob and I grabbed our packs and set up to find a 4wd to get us up on the mountain. Walking would have been a more fun option from the trailheads slightly lower down on the mountain, but we didn't have the time to make it up and down that way as it was already 11:00. Within 45 minutes we had secured tickets for the next truck ride up the hill, and I had a topographic map of the park and a small bottle of Fuoco di Etna; "fire of Etna". The jeep was a large Mercedes truck, and our truck was full. The windows were large and dusty, and our spot in the back seat was far from any openings making photography difficult from the bouncing truck. The 4x4 crawled its way up the steep and winding volcanic dust track buldozed into the old lava flows. The wildflowers of the lower elevations gave way to snow fields as we climbed. The track moved past many vents, which we all struggled for a view into the earth as we peered down from the height of the truck. Within about 30 minutes, the truck came to a stop and the group unloaded for the guided walk to the top of the main caldera.
The guide overheard me referring to the trail we were on as an uphill black sand beach. He laughed and we chatted for a bit with him as we hiked. He explained that we would not see any lava, but plenty of gases and water vapor. He stopped our group near the caldera's rim to point out a vent that was belching steam. We all put our hands over the opening to feel the heated water vapor escaping the fissure. Looking down the mountain held a view of the Catania valley, and the haze below 7,000 feet made those vineyards and towns look further away than they were. 45 minutes walk from the truck had us to the caldera's edge. Our group took turns peering over the edge and down into the abyss below. The bottom could not be seen due to the amount of gas flowing up from the caldera. The wind direction was the best for our viewing, blowing the gases away from our side of the caldera and South across the opening. Those viewers who came up the South side, more popular side, were not allowed a view from the top on that day due to the dangerous conditions brought by the wind.
Volcano lookers took turns holding their breath, and squatting down beside the upward flowing steam and sulfur for a photo. If your photographer took to long to get the shot, you were forced to take a shallow breath of the stuff. It shocked your mouth, throat, and lungs; making you move away from the area with squinted eyes into an area of fresher air. Next, we moved across the ridge, and I broke out the Fuoco di Etna to toast the highest point of the mountain that we would reach. The summit was slightly East of us, but we would not be able to get there. The guide explained that there was too much danger of land slides. I opened up the booze and took a shot. It tasted like cinnamon schnapps, and I passed it on to Rob who then passed it to Matty for a ceremonial shot. After shooting the rest, we charged away from the group to the ridge, hoping for a look down into the harbor where the yacht was at anchor. We saw her far down below in the haze, and ran back to the group who where now heading down the trail. The three of us veered from the trail to glissade the small snow field. Back at the truck, I had trouble staying awake during the hot ride back down to the parking.
Leaving the park, we stopped at the tourist stop. After a drink there, we headed back down towards sea level. Driving though the conifer forest smelled great, and only heading to a camp site close by would have made the adventure complete. Instead we moved toward a destination completely different in nature. To be continued.

Crew Cruise Underway

I'm in the same place that I wrote the last blog entry from, Taormina Sicily. This is the Yacht's 3rd time stopping here. The second time stopping here without guests. Its been nearly 10 days since my last entry, so I will back track some to fill in the missing pieces.
We dropped the guests off on Sunday, 6 days ago in Catania, Sicily. The finish to the 2nd guest cruise was great. After Taormina, we took the yacht with guests to Siracusa. This ancient town has some insane architecture and the piazza is really fascinating. The guests did some tours ashore there, and the crew got to take some time ashore in two groups as well. I was in the second group, which went into the town on Sunday morning. At breakfast I had chocolate and vanilla gelato along with a strong latte. After taking some photos in the piazza, Rob and I made our way into town and found a street market. We tasted some capers and Rob bought some locally grown and pressed virgin olive oil.
Before dropping the guests at the dock in Catania for the airport shuttle, we stopped at the Isola di Ciclopi; Cyclops Island. This is Southern Sicily's weekend party on the water spot. Locals and tourists were on the water in tenders, paddle boats, kayaks, and anything else that floats. Many women were topless, some men had on swim wear that was smaller than the females'. While the yacht was anchored there, it was a constant source of attention for the many boaters. The Sicilians circled the yacht, and we waved and responded to their greetings as much as was appropriate to do with our guests present.
Guests successfully dropped, yacht once again anchored in the Naxos harbor, near Taormina. It was time to unwind, relax, and release from a long period of work. The process began with some wakeboarding. Followed by some beers and hot tubbing. Next shots of tequila, and a tender run to the beach to pick up pizzas and more beer. Pizzas eaten, World Cup won by Spain, and more hot tubbing. Next we started jumping and flipping off the top of the yacht, about 40 feet off the water. Chilling, eating, drinking and having fun on this yacht was almost like having it to use for personal fun. The next job was to get the yacht back to Palermo to drop off our rental tender and pick up the loaner tender, plus get some diesel fuel.
Not sure if I clarified that we had no towing option with the rental tender. The bow eye and cleats were too weak to be used as attachment points. We had no way to put the tender up on deck, our new davit has not yet been installed. This left the only option of one of our deck crew to drive the tender as the yacht was driven from one port to the next. Complicate this with the fact that the 18 foot tender with a 115 horsepower only had a 55 liter gas tank; which is about 14 gallons. This gave us a range of only 45 miles at 25 mph. Some of the distances between our ports were 70 and 80 miles, which meant that one or sometimes two fuel stops had to be planned for the small tender. It was really kind of fun figuring out where we could stop for fuel and how to communicate with a pump attendant who did not speak English.
Between Naxos and Palermo, we anchored in Cefalu. I was on watch that night, but I did get to leave the boat and go to shore before dinner to take a walk for an hour. I split my time between the beach, the shopping street, and the piazza. Hauled anchor, and steamed to Palermo the next morning. There we cleaned out the garage and made room for the loaner tender that would be stored inside the yacht, via a door that lifts up inside the transom. The tender was delivered, it was started, and without any hassle it fit into the stands inside the garage. With our rental returned, the yacht was relocated to a town just East of Palermo, Termini.
Alongside at a commercial dock, we were position in a cool area. The main town was a few hundred feet higher atop at hill, and it was a brutal walk up there. A one story building painted flat red housed the only summer weekend gathering spot for young and old. Only Rob and I were out, the rest of the crew being tired had chosen to stay in and sleep. The bar was featuring belly dancers this night, and the dances were spaced out with one or two pop songs playing in between so the dancers could change their costumes.
The following day, my crew member Katie departed for a visit home to Florida. The yacht left the dock early and our crew cruise started in earnest. The yacht anchored off Fillicudi, next to the blue hole. Crew grabbed kayaks, paddle boards, and snorkeling gear. Taking to the water, we explored the cave and the multiple swim through formations of the site. The water was saturated with jelly fish, about the size of soft balls and with 5 foot long tentacles. All jelly fish in the Mediterranean sting humans, so everybody was careful to steer clear of the jelly fish. Still, anybody who went into the water snorkeling got stung, myself included. The stings weren't that painful, and wore off quickly.
That evening, after drifting off town to run for provisions, we steamed to Stromboli for an evening lava show. Once to the island, the yacht motored slowly along the shore. I sat out on the bow, looking up at the pitch black mountain top for an explosion of molten lava from the caldera. I spotted the lava first, but everybody else quickly looked because I could not contain my excitement and let out a yell. The lava shot out of the caldera in a violent plume towards the sky. It is difficult to judge distance, but I could guess that the lava was shot in excess of 200 feet above the visible part of the caldera. A thick plume of smoke was barely visible in the darkness, and it was only 10 minutes to the next eruption. We watched one more after that, and after went around to the other side of the island and anchored. The next day was sunny in Stromboli, and the crew took advantage with trip into the town on the volcanic isle. The narrow streets there are lined with caper trees flowering. Hotel courtyards are shaded by overhead grape vines, plump with ripe grapes. Citrus and fig trees reach high to the sun behind stucco and volcanic pumice rock walls. The beaches are fine black sand and smooth black stones.
From Stromboli the yacht came here once again to Taormina.

Taormina, Sicilia

Mt. Edna, last major eruption in 1991, looks over the town of Tao. She is tall, usually obscured by the hazy summer air here. This evening, the caldera was only able to be viewed at this distance after sunset and during the day's last light. According to written guides, the pyroclastic activity can be seen from some distance during nights without moon. Tonight though we have no moon yet arisen, the volcano top remains darkened. The mountain is lit only at much lower elevations by the city's lights. The city South of our anchorage and adjacent to Edna's shoulder is Catania, the departure location of our guests on Sunday. Above the anchorage, this picturesque town of Taorimina sits on the hillside. Visitors arrive via bus from the port on the anchorage side, or cable car from the beach just two small coves North of here.
Today, the yacht transited the Straits of Messina the second time, this time heading South. The swordfishing boats of this area are easily identified by the long bowsprit, often the same length as the boat. Another structure rises from the deck as much as 20 meters outfitted with a chair and controls where the boat's captain pilots and looks out for swordfish. The high bridge controls and long bowsprit both enable the boats to both spot and harpoon the fish without waking them up. The swordfish transit the straits during daylight hours, which is also when they sleep, and the boats are built and operated to sneak up on these deep ocean killers and harpoon them. The Straits are a busy traffic area, full of ships heading North and South and ferries traveling East and West between Italy and Sicily. To add the confusion of swordfishing boats doing circles around schools of swordfish makes it simply hectic while supremely entertaining. A mini swordfishing boat was off our beam, essentially a panga with a 10 foot pedestal with a spotter riding on a chair at the top. We laughed as we witnessed the driver take hands off the motor to pass the spotter at the high seat a lit cigarette.
I did some tender driving around this harbor. I dropped off some crew at the beach cove to do info gathering on the cable car tickets and so on. It was a fun beach landing, fully rocky around the narrow landing and water littered with swimmers. The ride around the two points over to that small cove was fun too. The tender was jumping the wakes and rollers that were coming in. Later in the evening and closer to sunset the many small boats were fishing around these points. The tides had the water currents swirling here.
Tomorrow we will stay here in Taormina before heading further South along the Sicilian coast to the town of Syracusa. In the morning, some guests will further explore the rock top house and cove beaches, as well as the caves in the cliff sides. This spot on the Sicilian East coast is great for vacations, which is why there are so many Europeans here doing just that.

Sicily and the Eolien Islands

We cruised past an active volcano today. The shaking of the earth could be heard from the yacht. The crater was smoking a thick white smoke, and in an instant I witnessed this smoke turn dark and was accompanied by black rock hurtling towards the sky in a sharp stream. The slope of volcanic material lead down to the sea. All this volcanic material had solidified, but was still steaming away. The volcano was on the Italian island of Stromboli.
Today we started in Panarea. Another Italian island in the Eolien chain. A lunchtime cruise around the island today revealed the sharp and jagged features covered with a mix of shrubs, grass, and wildflowers. The islands in this Archipelago are mostly close together, and therefore it makes for a popular destination for yachts and other boaters. Rental boats are easy to find. Mostly available are the inflatable tenders, and one will find that a lot of Italians take there vacations in these islands. The yacht rented one of these tenders, as we are still waiting on the delivery of our new inflatable tender.
The first pair of islands that we visited are the favorite as going around by word of our crew; Alicudi and Fillicudi . Fillicudi has a blue hole perfect for boating and swimming into. These waters are full of jelly fish currently so anyone in or on the water has to used extreme caution. Our guests were kayaking, paddle boarding into the cave. I have seen a postcard of what the inside looks like, pretty incredible. Yes, I said postcard. When the guests are playing in the water, we are not welcome to join them.
Amongst these island, a certain feature makes them feel less like the Mediterranean, and more like the South Pacific or Southeast Asia. The features that I am speaking of are spires of rock that are sticking straight up out of the sea. The one off the island of Fillicudi must have a climbing route to the top. The photographer shot the subject on top of tallest spires, the the setting sun backlighting and making a a cool profile of just one man standing atop the need feature. Four of us climb on the crew and we all showed a desire to climb this one.
Before leaving for the islands during this guest trip, the yacht was moored in Palermo, Sicily. Palermo is the largest city on the island, and clearly rich in traditions and heritage. I walked around in the city both the first and second night that we were docked there before guests arrived. The first night, I had no idea where I was, but I just left the marina and started walking. I found a great and inexpensive pizzeria, and devoured a pancetta pie with a cold beer. I walked on towards a restaurant district, and after asking a host found a cab ride into the city center. I started in La Champagneria. This street had a half dozen bars occupied mostly by futbol fans watching the World Cup. I chose a drink from the Aboriginal Internet Cafe'. This bar had 6 computers inside; explains the internet cafe' advertisement. I had picked up a flyer along the way for a music festival in Venice, and I did my best to ask the bartender if that festival would come to Palermo. She spoke much more English than I had even hoped for, and gave me a local music flyer and even gave me vague directions on where certain venues were located.
I continued my walk around the city center. Finding another skinny street packed full of bars, but catering more to the younger crowd. Tables on the street were full of college age young people drinking and smoking. Most of the bars were fairly empty, and the taxi driver explained that during the summer most Sicilians and tourists are found on the beaches day and night. The beach towns were a far taxi ride from the city, so I made my way back to the marina.
The next night was Saturday night. This time all of my crew but 1 left for the city center together. Starting in the same Champagneria street, it was much more busy than the night before. Captain had cigars for us that wanted them; Cohibas from Cuba. Our group happened to stop at the same Aboriginal as I had the night before. The same bartender was there working, and I asked her about the venue holding Sicilia Jazz Festival. Our group was now off to find the Jazz Fest which was being hosted in the ruins of an ancient church. Despite the assurance that it was easy to find, and that every Sicilian knew where the location of the area that we were trying to get to, it did take some time and asking to find. Getting closer, our group got separated; it was now just myself and two others. Asking around for the place we met two Sicilian couples who not only showed us where the Jazz Fest was but hung out with us for the rest of the night. They proved extremely friendly and gracious, and at the conclusion of the night we were all friends and us visitors had gained a wealth of information about Sicily.

Santorini. Anchoring in the Caldera.

Santorini, Greek island of the Caldera. This entire island is what is left of a massive volcano that erupted. The ancient trading port that was built here was covered in lava and sank into the ocean. Ancestors built a new city on top of the cliffs that border this watery caldera. The result is a super deep port surrounded by a city on the cliffs more than 600 feet overhead. The town is reached via a 30 minute stair climb, donkey ride, or new gondola. Inside the caldera, the lava rock strewn island in the center is what is left of the still active volcano's cone. Villages are dispersed along the cliff tops of this half moon shaped outer island of
Santorini.
I felt strange stepping into the gondola this evening without my snowboard. Strange too being dropped off at the gondola lift via a tender. Views from the gondola car got better and better as we quickly ascended the steep cliff side. I snapped pictures away of the harbor, town, and surround landscapes. Once atop, the pedestrian streets stretched in various directions downhill toward the sea side of the island. My group meandered through the maze of stone paved ways past jewelry and trinket shops. Stopping at a bakery for a massive doughnut, then on to a restraunt that overlooked the beach town on the opposite side of Santorini. Pressed for time, we took a long cut back to the Gondola, and found our selves winding through alleyways past many ancient buildings. Throughout the smell of donkeys was persistent as it was the Santorinians mode of transit up and down the steep cliffs for centurys.
The ride down the cable car was a new view, it now being dark. The yacht was lit up with all her lights, and even the mooring line tying us to shore was sparkling with strobe lights. There may be a chance that we could bring different groups of guests here this summer. I hope for the opportunity to return to this awe striking Greek island.

Mykonos, Delos, and Kasadusi Turkey

I am in Kusadasi, Turkey! While arriving today, I could hear the call to midday prayer from the PA across the harbor. Tonight, we hired a pair of belly dancers and a traditional band to play for the guests. I saw the performance, it was cool and the dancers involved the guests which was fun for them.
We spent the last two nights at the island of Mykonos, Greece. I walked into the town there, it is a maze of pedestrian streets full of jewelry, clothing, and eateries. The town is also home to some famous all night clubs.
Yesterday, we anchored off the island of Delos. Delos is home to Greece's oldest ruins. The area was incredibly scenic, and especially filled with ancient ruins.
Last night, the yacht anchored in some extremely beautiful water. It was severely clear, the bottom could be seen even at night under moonlight.
Today's trip to Turkey was through the most incredible cruising areas I have seen here in the Mediterranean. Turkey is amazing, even though I've only just stepped onto the dock. I can already tell that this country has much to be seen.

An action packed trip to Idra

Idra does not allow cars, they do not allow motorcycles, they do not allow bicycles, the only modes of transport besides boat is donkey and donkey cart. Idra is one of Europe's two cities known as truly living museums. In an effort to protect and preserve the town comprised entirely of buildings more than 500 years old, the government and residents have decided on keeping the island completely pedestrian. We arrived Idra tonight at around 5:00 pm. I got a little time to walk around the town just after we arrived, the village is idealistic and seriously captures the essence of a historic Med island village.
Our journey here from Athens was eventful. The departure this morning was gargled. The radio talk did not go smoothly, and communication is a must for the crew when maneuvering a vessel of this size in close quarters. A strong wind just outside the harbor caught us with our awnings up, and we did break one support but fixed it in quick time. Next we anchored in a secluded harbor near to the island of Idra, in a spot that was a little too windy. The afternoon wind pattern gave way to an afternoon thundershower system moving by, and the wind shift force us back on our anchor and too close to shore. It took some quick thinking, and actions in order to raise anchor, get the yacht moving, and keep order of the jetski and kayaks trailing behind the stern on a line.
The trip to Idra from our cove was quick, and it was a crazy feeling tyeing up such a massive yacht in the little harbor of Idra. On the way over, the door to the Starboard side of the bridge broke, 2 of the 4 dogs that close the door tightly broke. It took us the rest of the evening to dissassemble the door, take it off the hinges, fix it, and put it back together and back on the boat in a working fashion. I have only just finished, and I can tell how tired I am getting by how much more I am hitting the backspace button. Ha, I may just cut this message a little short and get some sleep. Tommorow is a very early day with a 5 hour passage to another of the Greek islands. We will be off the dock early, but were enticed by a possibility to rest during the trip.