Non australians will not understand part of the title of the blog. Off the coast of Perth, Western Australia, is a small beautiful island called Rottnest which in true Aussie verbal fashion is abridged to “Rotto”. Because of its proximity to Perth it becomes very busy at weekends and especially during the summer holidays when a sizeable proportion of Perth’s population make the short crossing to enjoy the wonderful beaches and sparkling clear water.
We moored off an island called Ponza which lies in the Tyrenhian Sea equidistant between Rome and Naples and about 20 miles off the coast. There are a few different small islands nearby (in a group called the Pontine Islands) and they all were originally the rim of a huge volcanic crater. Given its proximity to Rome, Ponza is the get away place for the inhabitants of Rome and apparently has been since famous Roman times, There are caves here which have swimming platforms carved out of the rock which were made by the Romans of old.
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| The island of Ponza |
Obviously the island is more accessible now and the of town Ponza is well established around a semi circular port in the south of the island. The town is typical old coastal Italian but without a fort. Pastel coloured buildings line the harbour and gradually terrace up the steep hillsides. The harbour itself is filled with fishing boats and tourist day boats used for visiting the various caves and coastal attractions. The island itself is slightly curved in a general north/south direction and is quite steep sided. On the protected east side the cliffs are all different colours of stone and with amazing shapes having been created by the erosion and weathering. Below the cliffs are sheltered bays of sparkling blue water.
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| The Roman swimming Caves |
We had sailed from the east coast of Elba a few days prior stopping off at an island called Giglio first and then a tiny island called Genutri which was so good we stayed a couple of nights just relaxing. We also managed to catch up with a couple running a Swan 65 called Uxorious which we had seen in Guadeloupe earlier in the year and then in Capraia. We left Genutri and sailed overnight to Ponza. The weather was very fickle and during the night we were caught in a patch of thunderstorms with the wind going from a pleasant force 3 to gusts of 40kts. It was pretty horrendous for a few moments until we got the sails reefed and under control. Then we just had horizontal rain and lightning. At one point we were running before the wind at 7kts with just the staysail and a scrap of main flying.
The lightning is pretty scary when you are at sea as the boats mast is the highest point for miles around. Luckily the lightning must have been centered pretty far away even though it seemed as if it was overhead. The next morning we anchored off Ponza in a bay just to the north of the town. There were boats of every sort anchored around us - from 30ft sailing boats and small runabouts to 200ft mega yachts. Ponza was busy both in the town and in the anchorage but it did not feel crowded. It was a delightful place and we stayed for a couple of days, just enough time to visit the town, have a look around and do some exploring with the dinghy.
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| Ponza Town |
Next we headed to the Bay of Naples. Nic was really keen to see Capri. We motored the whole way as the wind just never came in and passed the islands of Ventotene and Ischia which were spectacular but nothing like Capri. Capri is a beautiful island rising vertically out of the sea on all sides. It is a small island with a dip in the middle to form a saddle shape and the settlement is located there and accessed via a fernicular railyway from the port.
Our plan was to anchor off the harbour and visit the town for the day, the mooring fees in the marina itself behining prohibitive. There was so much traffic however that anchoring was not really an option. There were ferries going into and out of the harbour creating wash over an already unsettled sea. together with that were small pleasure craft moving about in all directions. We tried to move around to another anchorage but again the volume of visitors made it just uncomfortable. In the end we decided to see Capri another day and kept moving to make anchor off Positano on the Amalfi coast.
Positano is another beautiful spot. The anchorage was a bit rolly but the scenery took your mind off it. The coastline here is steep steep cliffs interspersed by ragged ravines. Every here and there the land levels off ever so slightly at the waters edge to allow a small pebble beach to form and small towns to spring up. Positano is one of these.
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| Swimming off Positano |
The town radiates outward from the beach with houses taking up more and more precarious position on the hills as they increase their elevation. All the houses are white or muted pastel colours. The beach is absolutely covered in beach umbrellas - not one square inch is left uncovered - so that its colour is now orange. Off the beach small local boats bob at their moorings and beyond them lie the bigger superyachts. Positano is a famous tourist spot and you can see why. The whole area around here is stunning but probably best veiwed out of the high season. At night the land takes on a magical appearance with the lighting of the houses making it look light the hillsides are covered in fairy lights.
The next day we pushed on to Salerno. Two reasons for visiting Salerno were as a stop to allow us to get off and visit Pompeii and to pick up Pete and Claire who are joining us for a couple of weeks. Entering Salerno harbour was a bit confusing and we asked a passing dingy where we could berth. He proceeded to guide us towards a private club, (which is called the rowing club) and let us moor at the end of one of the docks. Its a perfect location and the guys could not have been more friendly or helpful. Later Sam helped a guy berth his big power boat on the same dock and was given some pasta for his troubles. Turns out the guy owns a pasta company.
Yesterday we got up early, sussed out the local transport and headed to the ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii was absolutely amazing. Of course everyone has heard of Pompeii - Roman city buried in the ash from the Mt Vesuvius volcano erruption of AD 79 etc etc but what we failed to realise is that the archaeological site comprises of just that - the whole city! Not just a few buildings, or a section but the whole walled city. Because the ash that fell on Pompeii was so soft no further building was carried out on top of the site. Instead the town was rebuilt around the old buried city and hence the site is so unique.
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| Amazing Pompeii |
The ruins are amazing. You walk down old Roman paved roads flanked by high sidewalks through the different districts of the town lined with buildings which were shops, houses, baths, brothels etc. You can recognise each of them from the layouts, decorations, positioning etc with help from the guide book of course. Then there are the huge public buildings like the temples, stadiums, theatres etc which are awesome. Obviously the roofs are missing from most buildings except where they have been recreated, but the layouts of the buildings are clearly visible and many of the features such as ornate fountains, frescos and mosaic floors are clear.
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| One of the villas |
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| This looks like it was used only a few years ago |
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| Tired but happy |
We stayed in Pompeii for the best part of the day before indulging in a very late but well deserved lunch and then heading back to the boat. Pompeii is well worth a visit but should be done in the cooler months as it was very hot. The crowds were not such a problem except in some of the more popular houses where big tour groups would clog up the spaces. Outside the crowds actually gave the whole place a bit of realism by having people wandering the city streets. This is definately one of the trip highlights.
Today we get the boat ready for the arrival of Pete and Claire and will then take off tomorrow bound for points south.
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