The seas between Rome and Naples are busy, very busy. The Italians love their motorboats, July and August are probably the not the best times to enjoy remote anchorages. At between 90 and 160 euros per night, marinas are to be avoided too.
We have made the most of it though by slowly travelling South. Patty’s ankle is still not strong enough to do some serious hiking but we have done some longer walks ashore in the last two days. We hope when we reach Pompei in the next week that she will be strong enough to enjoy it. In the mean time, a strict physio regime is being followed..
I have been doing a bit of boat maintenance recently. Lady Cindy has two new solar panels so we no longer have to be careful over consumption. I have replaced the rear water tank bladder, serviced the dinghy outboard, I have also been working on a ships log app I hope to sell commercially.
Last week we hired a car, drove from Fiumicino, through Rome, across Italy to Barletta around Barletta and Trani and eventually back to Fiumicino.
As an ex driving instructor, I feel I am qualified to have an opinion, not just on Italian drivers but also the road system. For those who want a summary… it’s madness 😳… here’s why.
First of all let’s point fingers at the beaurocrats. Apart from the motorways, most roads are in dire need of maintenance being full of pot holes, raised by tree roots and no or worn out road markings and signs. The last one explains a lot of the Italian driver’s behaviour.
It’s difficult to keep to a speed limit if you don’t know what it is, giving way at a junction is optional when there are no stop or give way lines and pedestrian crossings? Good luck with that one. On that topic, Patty and I were harassed by a driver scowling at us and reving his engine. He was stopped on the crossing held up by traffic ahead. We started to cross in front of him and the traffic ahead of him started to move, he was angry we were holding him up more. Bear in mind Patty was limping with an ankle injury 😳.
On one section of road there was a speed limit that kept changing between 50kph and 80kph. This was a very straight, wide road in a rural area. The safe speed could easily be 100kph along the whole stretch. There were half a dozen speed cameras on that road.
Hi, everyone. This is Patty. There was some doubt (mostly on FB) as to whether I’d return to John and Lady Cindy (and Dotty 😁); but I made it back, as planned, and very happy to have done so.
As John mentioned on a previous post, we hired a car to drive to Barletta. On the way out of Rome we thought we would explore some of the famous sites. First stop was the Coliseum.
Right after refilling Dotty’s water bottle I turned around and slipped on the marble floor.
Ouch!! It’s not the first time I hurt an ankle, as sprains go, this was a bad one. So, we spent the week in Barletta hiding from the 40+ weather in the air-conditioned apartment (not so conveniently located on the 3rd floor, no elevator 😬) . John has been an absolute treasure😍, taking care of me and keeping busy working on his app.
Thankfully, the ankle has been improving daily. I can hobble around quite well. Sunday we returned to Rome and Lady Cindy. Last night we left the marina, and boy it was eventful. We had to wait for two bridges to be raised to go out onto the open water. The second bridge was a challenge as it only opened partially and we were already having difficulty with the river current and navigating at such low speeds. Once we got to open water we got hit with 20 knots winds, so we spent the 20 minutes trip to the anchorage in an intricate and forceful dance with the sea. The reward was that we slept with a cool breeze and zero mosquitoes!!
We are now waiting for another set of strong winds to pass by before we start heading toward Sicily. Today we got some swimming done and we are slowly making progress on turning Lady Cindy from a bachelor’s pad to a love nest🥰.
John will be writing about his driving experience in Italy. 😜 Initially we planned on sharing driving duties, but that’s one more thing I couldn’t do with my damaged ankle. I’m really looking forward to reading that post!!
Over the last couple of weeks I have sailed from North Sardinia, to Corsica, across to the Italian mainland of Tuscanny and then South to the Roma region. I am currently anchored at Civitaveccia.
Civitaveccia
After the remote and underdeveloped beauty of Sardinia, Corsica and Orbitello, it was a bit of a shock to arrive in Civitaveccia yesterday. It went from miles of beaches to a big industrial and cruise port very quickly. Last night there was a lot of town and city noise that I am no longer used to; cars, trains, planes, loud voices, even fireworks.
I am making my way down to Fiumicino which is the location of Rome’s main airport. I am booked into a marina there for a two busy weeks. I have some boat maintenance to do and have spent a lot of money on Amazon to be delivered there including new solar panels and charger. I have been working on my laptop a lot in the last couple of weeks and my current panels cannot keep up.
On the 14th, Patty flies back from the USA and we have booked a hire car. After a few days in Fiumicino we drive to her apartment in Barletta for about a week then return to the boat. We then sail South together toward Scicily.
The plan is to sail around the boot of Italy this summer and then over winter in Barletta. We can travel by land from there back across to West Italy to visit places from Pisa to Rome in the winter months when it will be less busy and cooler. That gives the advantage of having more time to explore places like Scicily.
I have left Alghora for the Northern tip of Sardinia. Patty has flown to the USA for a month, we plan to meet again in Rome. I plan to travel up the East Coast of Corsica, cross to Elba then the Italian mainland.
Of all the places I have been to so far in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has to be my favourite. It is not overdeveloped so keeps its natural beauty. Even Alghora manages to keep a quiet peaceful town atmosphere. I sailed all day yesterday and saw only two other yachts and very few man made structures on shore.
After spending a week waiting for the right winds to cross to Sardinia where I hoped to meet Patty, plans were changed (again 🙄). Instead Patty (who is Patty? You may ask.. be patient all will be revealed 😉) flew to Mahon and met me at the marina. After a few days at anchor in Mahon we have crossed and now anchored near Alghero.
Patty (Patricia) is a lady I met via a Facebook sailing forum and have been chatting to online for a few weeks. She responded to a post I put up about the realities of loneliness when travelling solo. Patty is also a solo traveller, originally from Argentina but lived most of her adult life in California but more recently in Italy. She wanted to join me for a few days en route back to the USA. We have found an instant connection, so she has sailed with me to Sardinia and will travel to the USA from here in a few more days.
Although that’s great news, there’s more… she will be back in late July when we hope to make more plans.
We will relax, sail and explore around Alghero for a few more days. After Patty flies off I will sail up to Corsica then across to Tuscany. I will then explore south down to Rome, Naples and Sicily. Patty will rejoin me somewhere along that coast.
I am still in Mayon waiting for the wind to be strong enough in the right direction to cross to Sardinia. I moved the boat to a marina for three nights mainly to pick up some spare parts for the dinghy engine and to get a passport exit stamp. Today I moved back to the anchorage.
The dinghy engine has been unreliable since I left the UK. It has suffered from various fuel problems. I have stripped and cleaned the carburettor numerous times and eventually decided a complete rebuild was needed. I did that yesterday with parts i got in Mahon and so far, 🤞 all looks good. She fires on the first pull and doesn’t hesitate on acceleration any more. Next door to the chandlery was a gin distillery so I have stocked up ready for a future tasting session.
The forecast is little to no wind Thursday and Friday but it starts to pick up on Saturday when I hope to start the 50 to 60 hour crossing.
I have sailed from Mallorca to Menorca and currently anchored in what to me is heaven. I am just outside the port of Mahon at a sheltered bay surrounded by post Napoleonic fortifications (1848). The bay is protected on all sides from the wind.
Anchorage below the fortress of Isabel II on La Mola in Mahon harbour
I arrived yesterday and went out on the dinghy this morning to explore and take Dotty for a walk. I was thinking I could come back to the fort later without Dotty to explore. No need, dogs are allowed in 🤗. It was fascinating and another example of humans spending huge amounts if money, time and effort in building weapons and defences that barely saw a shot fired in anger. It was built to house massive front loading cannons, just before breach loaded guns were invented with greater accuracy and range, making the whole place obsolete. It did continue as a defensive position but never as it was designed for.
Mayonnaise I hear you ask? Or did you not read the title of this post? Well a French guy named a sauce after Mahon when he returned to Paris. The same sauce we now call Mayonnaise. I love these little social facts you pick up in strange places.
Mayonnaise History
I am in no rush to leave here, I want to go and explore the town while I’m here. I may use the dinghy for that, or I may go to the marina next week. The winds are in the wrong direction to sail to Sardinia until at least the middle of next week.
Yes, I am living my dream of travelling the world in an affordable manner. But what’s the cost? This is going to be a hard post for me, it will reveal difficulties in my life that very few people are aware of.
Well financially, its affordable. It is costing more per month than I budgeted for but even with no further income, I can survive at least another year. I have a couple of small sources of income so in reality I can survive another 2-3 years before i have to go back to employment. I am working on a software app which, if successful, would provide regular long term income.
But what about emotionally? That’s a different story. The cost is contact with friends and family, you cannot put a price on that. Loneliness and isolation have, and continue to be a major factor in my life.
I have tried to do something about it and will go through some of what I’ve done and how it turned out. But, in summary, I have yet to meet that one person who is happy with themselves, knows what they want, and are brave enough to take necessary risks to get it.
Online messaging friends and family
I try to do this regularly but I have noticed this usually ends up a one way street. By this i mean I usually initiate contact and it eventually tails off until I spark it off again. It’s still worthwhile though, they have busy lives and time restricted. I have too much time on my hands.
Facebook Groups
I have had good new contacts this way, one turned into a very short term relationship. But mostly these are people who have their own plans and looking for somebody to join them or to discuss sailing issues. I did made contact with a lady who joined me as crew for nearly two months via one of these groups. But mostly these contacts are dreamers, curious about this lifestyle but not brave enough to do it for themselves or are recovering from a life changing event such as bereavement or divorce and are in the process of self discovery.
Meeting locals
I have had least success here, I meet other sailors at the marina and have made new friends that way. I have also met locals through Facebook groups. But they tend to be short duration contacts.
Dating sites
I have been registered on various dating apps such as Facebook dating, match.com, tinder and bumble. It’s a jungle.
Several times I have found what initially appears to be a good prospect, but what starts out well, has consistently hit a roadblock. Some of the dead ends I have followed are.. ladies who don’t know what they want and are disappointed in not finding it 🤔😳, a rich lady who wanted a companion to fit in her life, ladies who just want attention and are not serious about meeting, ladies who are actually men, ladies who have artificial intelligence, ladies who are scammers, I won’t give more detail but you get the idea. I am sure there are some lovely, perfect for me, ladies out there, but after 7 months, I am starting to doubt it.
What has prompted this post is my latest failure. I met a lady who is nearly perfect for me. But, through a combination of factors, it’s not going any further. I am hugely disappointed and having to seriously consider whether the cost (loneliness) is worth it. I will continue to travel this summer but I need to rethink my future plans. I have discovered how much I need human contact, how much I need to have somebody with me. Yes this is post is full of self pity, but it’s also honest.
So if there is anyone out there who thinks this lifestyle is for them, who can live in a confined space with a guy who although tries very hard to be the best person he can, will occasionally fail. Please contact me. Or, if this lifestyle is not for you, but have an hour or two to spare, or fancy a cheap holiday in the sun, send me a message to say hello. Sometimes that’s all I need.
I have been in Alcudia for a while now, its time to start moving again. I plan to leave on the 20th of the month and the route is Menorca, Sardinia, Corsica and then Tuscanny in Italy.
Last week I had some work done on my ship tattoo. I am really pleased with the design, the tattoo artist really listened to and encapsulated what I wanted which was to add some missing rigging lines to the ship, add waves and storm clouds around the ship, and place a kraken below the ship lying in wait. He has arranged the elements perfectly and as a bonus he added a compass.
I have a second appointment in a week to finish the kraken.
