LE CASTELLA

 

We left Rocella Ionica around 7am and set off for Le Castella some 48miles north. The trip was effortless with us arriving around 1.30 in the afternoon. Although the wind stayed constantly in our face, we managed to have a enjoyable sail with both main and genoa. Occasionally we hit 8kts, but of course, we were motor sailing. 

Parts of the day were so calm it felt eerie. The horizon became a blur and small boats passed as though they were floating on clouds.

We use the mobile now for all marina entry requests as it seems the only vhf used are short range, hand held types and no-one ever answers our calls. It appears that other sailors have the same experiences so we no longer feel that we’re not communicating correctly!

The marina is small but very well maintained. We feel safe, although the huge floodlights that beam above us all night could be annoying. The town’s success seems to be based on diving the local wrecks, visiting protected areas in glass-bottomed boats and wandering around the “castella” at the end of the town. 

The town is fairly bare except for the main street where dozens of tourist shops sell ‘Calabrian’ souveniers. Apparently, the hottest chilli now is recognized as “Viagro Calabra” and is marketed in every conceivable way. Must get David to try some some!

 

The Calabrian hot dip!

Today is Dave’s birthday and so we intend to live it up a bit in the local restaurant – maybe pizza and pasta!

We busy ourselves for much of the day doing small maintenance jobs and napping. It’s very hard to be more active as the temperature reached 40 in the shade of the cockpit. We did, however, finish installing the airconditioner outlet and so spent the hottest part of the day in the relative luxury of 26’.

ROCCELLA IONICA

After such a disappointing stop at Reggio Calabria, Roccella Ionica was a breath of fresh air. Our journey from the south was easy - little wind and no swell. The trip was long and took around 8 .5 hours averaging 7+ kts.

How the coast has changed. Now there are huge white cliffs of clay and plenty of farmland. Holiday houses dot the coast for miles and miles. We were equally amazed to see the HUGE bridges that spanned the valleys along the coast. Italy certainly has invested in infrastructure!

The marina is delightful. We were met by Francesco, the mooring staff member, who gave us plenty of help and information. Because the electricity was being 'maintained' we were given a discount on our stay. We got by, and anyway, we need to start toughening up for Greece where apparently most marinas don't have electricity.

REGGIO CALABRIA

 

We left Bagnara Calabra very early Monday morning and set off for Reggio Calabra. The trip to the beginning of the Strait of Messina was smooth and with very little wind, however once we entered the narrow straight, things changed. The sea became strangely forceful with a strong current pulling us along. Every now and then we could feel and see ‘eddies’ or whirlpools that formed part of the running tide that slowed us down. We’d chosen a very calm day to pass through the area so luckily all was ok. Once we came out of the narrow straight past Sicily and around the ‘toe’, the water returned to being calm with no swell. Some of the stories we’d heard about the area were very scary.

Around lunch-time we pulled into the rather depressing and somewhat unpleasant marina. Everything as usual was shut and we were struck by the isolation of the marina and the surroundings. The nearest coffee shop was more than a km away and only found after trudging up the highway, cutting through a very small dirty tunnel under the railway line and then walking, walking, walking.

The trains ran all night next to the marina and every so often the very loud garbled announcement was made on a loudspeaker that was impossible to ignore. That, and the ships going in and out made our night uncomfortable. Still, we did have free WIFI as a small compensation.

BAGNAR CALABRA

E30 p/n

First impressions were that it was a petite, compact little port with all services and relatively sheltered berths. 

The hills above the marina are covered in terraced vineyards

We set off to explore the local area and found it very disappointing. 

There seemed to be a problem with rubbish collection and general cleanliness. The stench from the huge bins along the promenade was awful. Rubbish was everywhere, as though the easiest way to get rid of unwanted hard and soft waste was to thrown it over the rocks or pile it up in every corner. It was such a pity as it promised to as pleasant experience as the ports further north.

There were very few shops and almost all of them were shut for lunch, however we found a good Gelateria. The prices were amazing. 

A beer for David, a gelati and a chocolate cream puff for me and all for just E2.50 ($3.50).How they make a living is beyond us!

What seemed to be a quiet little marina changed around 6pm. Local families in their huge power boats arrived and squashed into every available space, had a few disagreements about moorings and then disappeared on their bikes and in their cars.

We were amazed to see the huge swordfish fishing boats along the coast with many of them coming from this small harbour. The 2 men at the top of the tower were awe-inspiring to say the least.

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and at 8pm headed off to the local restaurant in the marina for tea.  As usual we ordered one pizza and had plenty to share between us.  The restaurant was booked for an 18^th birthday party  which did not giving us something to look forward to during the evening.  We managed to get some sleep by about 1.30am and we set off to Reggio Calabria next morning.

mooring E30 p/n

VIBO VALENTIA

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We had heard so many good reports about Vibo Valente, the marina, the Canadian lady who ran it and the pleasant town close by. We were not disappointed when we arrived. 

Everything was done to make us feel welcome from the very helpful staff to the coffee on the house at the bar. Angela, the owner, had made a point of making her marina business successful by being positive and friendly although we did feel her concern for the current downturn in the Italian economy.

We spent the day walking the small town's main streets, buying provisions and enjoying the atmosphere. With the weather warming up, gelati is now mandatory and still so cheap - 1E a cone!

 

CETRARO

An unusual lift to a hotel in the side of the cliff just out of Cetraro.

 We had heard many not so good stories about Cetraro and anticipated a rather unpleasant stay. The opposite  proved to true although we did have a humorous experience with one of the locals.

We arrived at the marina early afternoon in beautiful, sunny weather. We were immediately met by a staff member who indicated a berth on the outer section. Reluctantly, we took it and after hearing so many stories about the swell felt nervous about staying there. We ended up having a very comfortable night and were able to get away quickly next morning.

A few minutes after we arrived, a plumpish man on a bike turned up at our boat and wanted to offer his services to collect groceries etc from the village further on. We declined his offer but did ask whether there was a coffee shop at the marina. "yes", he said, "and a restaurant" (his).
10 mins later he arrived unexpectedly on his bicycle with two cups of the strongest coffee imaginable, in a specially shaped plastic carrier and a business card. So far so good......

We wandered through the marina, had a rest and later decided to grab a pizza for tea. So off we went to his restaurant. We ordered 1 pizza ( they are HUGE) and then had an argument with the man because "in Italy you must have 2 pizzas!!" This went on for ages until I said I was off-colour and anyway I was a 'donna'!. Grumpily he agreed and left the room. Then we saw him get in his car and drive 200 metres down the road and return 5 mins later with a pizza from the pizza shop. Crazy!

We actually felt sorry for him a bit because there are virtually no tourists and the last date on his docket was 5 days ago. How they survive is a mystery.

The marina

 The marina itself was pleasant, affordable (E35) and well maintained. We met two French couples who were sailing in the same direction as us and who had a lot of experience with places further on. As usual, we asked questions, laughed about the experiences and enjoyed their brief company.

The sun on the nearby town

Sunset in Cetraro

We left for Vibo Valentia next morning at 8 in near perfect weather.

MARATEA

The coastline continues to be amazing. Mountains and massive cliffs dot the whole of the west coast coast of Southern Italy. We appear to be one of the few boats out on the water which is incredibly surprising for such beautiful weather. we spend most of our time lazing about in the cockpit, occasionally trimming the sails and beetling along sometimes as fast as 8 knots. It's a hard life.
The Maratea marina is a delightful place to stop. The pace of life is slow, the coffee is superb and the locals friendly.

The main town is high on the hill above the marina. Very beautiful narrow alleyways and cobblestone streets.Again, we took the local bus and had a30 minute ride through the mountain villages.

 Great gelato!

We passed by a small hillside grotto.

The road back from the mountains gave us a glimpse of the local beaches. This one seemed quite busy, most of those we pass are empty of tourists.