Sicily

We spent about six weeks in Sicily and maxed out our tourist cards. Family and sailing friends visited so we packed in a lot of socializing, restaurants, and historical sites. From Agropoli we sailed overnight to Taormina on the east coast of Sicily. It was a rather epic 24 hour sail, taking us past an active volcano (Stromboli), through the straits of Messina, and a clear dawn allowed us a spectacular view of Mt. Etna. Hans hooked a massive bluefin tuna but as he was reeling it in we saw another big fish swimming alongside. It stayed next to the boat the whole time we were getting the fish onboard. We guessed they were mates so we released the big fish, much to the disappointment of Matilda who had already planned her sushi feast. But, karma! An hour or so later we hooked an even bigger bluefin tuna with no other fish in sight. The sushi feast was memorable!

Our friends on Esperance, sailing together at sunset toward Stromboli

hitchhiker

at sea biology lessons

We dropped the hook off the town of Taormina, went for a swim, and then hiked straight uphill to the town. It was very picturesque and very touristy. We didn't realize until after our visit that the TV series the White Lotus was filmed there. Hence the tourists. Hans's sister and family were meeting us in Syracuse (Siracusa) for a few days, so we hustled down the coast and tied up to the city dock. Free to moor for five days but with a daily 10 euro garbage fee. The Wunderlichs arrived a few hours after we docked and we spent a few days exploring the town, eating delicious food, and scrambling around an ancient necropolis.

Syracuse's cathedral, built on the foundations of Roman ruins.
You can see the old columns.

"The Ear," part of an ancient quarry where slaves and prisoners were put to work.
They slept inside this massive cave.

Cousins

The quarry is now repurposed as a sculpture park.

Syracuse

A few days after they left we had good weather to continue sailing down the coast. Sailing friends from our days on Whisper were visiting for five days and Hans was flying to work a few days after they left. We decided to base ourselves out of Marina di Ragusa on the south coast. We had hoped to anchor and do a little cruising with Mandy and Rob, but the coast of Sicily has very few (if any) protected anchorages. The marina seemed like an easier option. We anchored on the southeast tip of Sicily in a fishing harbour and walked into town for lunch. Freja had been dealing with some GI upset for a few days and as we were walking to town, I started feeling decidedly off. We continued on, ate the local specialty of raw red prawns and now I have a complete aversion to that particular delicacy. I made it back to the boat and went to bed for 18 hours. My stomach didn't feel right for days and it's taken me almost two months to have any appetite for fish or seafood.

A shrine in the fishing village.

Text at the shrine

Mandy, Rob, and their daughter, Abbey, rented a big (massive) 9 seat van and Rob very admirably drove the van all around Sicily for three days in a row. First stop was the medieval town of Ragusa, up in the mountains; second stop was the Valley of the Temples on the west coast of the island. Temple after temple were lined up on a hillside with dramatic views of the ocean, the surrounding valley, and the ridge to the north. Our last, most decidedly epic trip was to Mt. Etna where we took the gondola up, then rode in big 4x4 buses, and then hiked for hours in the snow and along the rims of craters. I thought we'd get to the top and just kind of stand there and look around but it turned out to be a multi-hour, high altitude trekking expedition. It was absolutely fantastic.

Ragusa

Valley of the Temples

Mt. Etna

We met the Browns in 2006 in Florida when we were rafted up with them in Vero Beach. We were on a 27' sailboat, their was a 32' boat and the kids were 7 & 9 (I think) and they also had two dogs and a cat on board. They had taken a year off work and school to sail from Toronto to the Bahamas and back. The boat was aptly named Snow Day. Abbey and her brother Matthew were the first boat kids we met and we were inspired by the family's adventurous spirit, friendly, relaxed attitudes, and the idea that kids can have this big adventure without having a fancy boat or years and years of time to do epic journeys. So of course when they came to visit on Positive Waves, we had to go for a sail! It was a glorious sail, upwind both ways but with very small waves so just generally good, invigorating sailing.

Mandy, Rob, and Abbey left Sicily and went to Morocco for an 8 day adventure; Hans flew to Wisconsin to work; the kids and I settled in to marina life--school, socializing, boat projects. We had some fun adventures in Ragusa, including a ropes course with some big zip lines, a birthday party at a skate park, and hiking in an extensive necropolis near Syracuse. We also celebrated Thanksgiving/ate a big feast with our friends on Farfelu, and I shared one or two (!) glasses of wine with other moms.

Touring a vineyard

animal cell sculpture

older siblings sitting on younger siblings' laps

Thanksgiving feast!

Stormy days

Decorating for Christmas, December 1

Pantalica Necropolis

Oops, Freja fell! You can see her feet.

Hans returned to Marina di Ragusa and after a few days we had good weather, or so we thought, to sail to Malta. The wind was forecast to be around 15-20 from the west-northwest, perfect to push us south. Unluckily for us, it was also incredibly squally, and we were caught on our heels with the first squall when the wind went from 20 knots to 45 knots in the matter of seconds. Thankfully our boat is built for this kind of weather and after a few frantic minutes scrambling to reef the sails, we were sailing along comfortably in 35 knot winds. It never ceases to amaze me how comfortable a sailboat can be, even in strong winds, as long as it is adequately reefed. The squall also contained a lot of thunder and lightning, something we haven't sailed in for probably 15 years. Matilda stayed down below, fully focusing on her screen and blocking out everything around her; Freja, unfortunately couldn't put her blinders on. She definitely added a few notches on her resiliency card on that sail.

Squall approaching. We're definitely a little rusty with our sailing routines.
Shoulda woulda coulda reefed instead of taking pictures.

We entered Valletta harbour in the late afternoon and were greeted by the crew of Kendra standing on the rocks and cheering us in. After a rough sail, especially and unexpectedly rough sail, there's nothing better than a welcoming committee. Especially ones that help us dock, and even better when they take us down the street to the bar that offers 2 for 1 drink specials.