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.