CEFALU, North Coast of Sicily

Looking inland from Cefalu Marina

Looking across the bay from Marina - rocky headland with ancient ruins 

Beautiful views on our walk into town. 

We anchored off these rocks for an afternoon of swimming 

Cefalu town dominated by La Rocca, Cathedral spires to the left

Our first view of La Rocca with town on far side

Our arrival at sunny Cefalu was a fabulous gift after weeks of unseasonable weather and choppy seas.  We arrived from the east and our first view was of the enormous rock, La Rocca, which dominates the town.  The marina was tucked away to the east of La Rocca, in a quiet scenic bay, just a short walk around the rock face took us into Cefalu town.  

Parts of the film Cinema Paradiso were filmed here

Cefalu  is a very pretty medieval town with golden stone buildings, narrow alley ways, large piazzas, a small fishing port and a very long stretch of beach.   It was a relaxing place where Alan could buy a Herald Tribune and then we would enjoy a coffee in the Piazza del Duomo, before wandering back and buying provisions at the tiny alimentaris.

Cefalu Cathedral in the evening sun

The silver side altar 

Cefalu’s cathedral is one of Sicily’s 'Arab-Norman' treasures, built by Roger II in the 12^th C.   The exterior is hugely impressive and dominates the Duomo Square.  Inside -  the central apse is covered by  a huge golden mosaic of Christ.

Cathedral interior

A panel of the Cathedral door

The right aisle of the cathedral was being refurbished.  Above old baptismal font.

Old Arabic inlaid marble panel 

So sunny I had to buy a hat........

Farewell Cefalu

The South Calabrian Coast to Straits of Messina

CALABRIA to SICILY

From St Maria di Leuca, on the tip of Italy’s heel, our aim was to reach Sicily as quickly as possible.

Crotone marina with Moody B'Lou in the distance

Our first stop in Calabria was at Crotone after sailing across the Golfo di Taranto (the instep), the town provided a good harbour  and a welcome sunny weekend .   It’s obviously a popular transit stop for boats heading to Greece, we seemed to be the only boat going west.  Crotone was once a thriving ancient Greek town and Pythagoras lived here for 30 years – nothing remains of the ancient splendour and today Crotone appears to be a pleasant working town.

Small harbour at Le Castella

Fortified Castle of Castello Aragonese

The next stop was at Le Castella, we managed to squeeze into  a berth alongside the harbour quay, luckily a friendly old chap helped out with our lines.  This harbour was mainly for small fishing boats and pleasure craft so we were lucky with our mooring.  The town is named after the Castello Aragonese, a fortified castle which lies on a small headland beside the town.  Each day it attracts coachloads of tourists who are catered for by lots of rather down-market souvenir shops.

View from the boat with Pizza restaurant on right

Long stretch of white beach at Rocella Ionica

From Le Castella we sailed to Rocella Ionica which was a very pleasant and relaxed place.   The marina was situated 3 km outside of the town, so our bikes had an airing.  The bicycle path stayed parallel with a long white beach eventually leading us into the centre of R.I.  It was quite busy and obviously the last day of the school year as students honked their horns and cried out in excitement.  There was ample opportunity for provisioning in the quiet little alimentaris, also a good cafe over looking the square.

Old fortifications being restored at R.Ionica

The marina had an excellent restaurant and was famous for its pizzas which were sold by the meter!  We were able to share a half meter of a really delicious thin crispy based pizza, Alan's choice with chilli at one end and my end with Rocket.  I also must mention friendly Francisco who ran the marina, he was so helpful and even drove me to the laundry.

Early morning light off Capo Spartivento

Our last stop off mainland Italy was at Capo Spartivento.  We anchored overnight anticipating a lengthy and challenging voyage up the Straits of Messina to Messina Town.

SICILY

 

Messina Marina looking deceptively calm, Italy in distance

Marina in foreground and Messina town

View from Marina

Our initial introduction was via the Straits of Messina, a narrow turbulent passage of water separating Italy  from Sicily.  Having rounded the toe of Italy’s ‘boot’ we fought our way north crossing over to hug the Sicilian Coastline.  Messina is the main port dealing with a non-stop traffic of ferries, cruise ships, freighters, fishing boats and yachts.   Alan kept in touch with the Radio Controllers – not difficult for an ex airline captain.   We moored the boat at Messina Marina which is north of the main harbour.  The strong currents, winds and wakes from the passing boats made it an uncomfortable berth, we have never  used so many ropes to tie ourselves to a quay.  

Messina itself was pleasant enough with many tree lined boulevards and impressive public buildings including a grand theatre and the Cathedral.  The roads were like race tracks – Sicilian traffic will take a bit of getting used to.    We enjoyed a very good lunch at the Osteria del Duomo where not surprisingly we were in the company of several priests.

North of Messina town, coastline was all developed, mostly with apartment blocks

North of Messina - Sword Fishing boat with tall mast on left

Travelling north of Messina the coastline was densely populated with apartment blocks – it reminded me of a 1960/1970s Hong Kong – the buildings all jammed together albeit in a colourful way.  

Porta Rosa Marina

Church on rocky peak

Beautiful coastline between P. Rosa and Cefalu (N. Coast)

Once we rounded the NE corner of Sicily and cruised west the vista changed giving way to ranges of dark green hills (surprisingly tree covered).  Our first stop on the North Coast was at Porta Rosa, a marina incorporating holiday homes and a hotel.  We managed to avoid the crowds having secured a mooring near the Marina Entrance.  The seas were calm, the sun was warm and there was a dramatic coastline to cruise along.

Voyage to the 'tip of the heel'

MONOPOLI

A small town on Puglian Coast between Bari (North) and Brindisi (South), we enjoyed a couple of rainy days here investigating the old walled town and finding an excellent restaurant.

One of many holy shrines

Unusual tower of seminary

Wooden hull being lovingly restored

Rainy Monopoli, Alan in distance returning to boatyard

We had driven through Monopoli on our journey north and inspected the little harbour which didn't appear to accommodate visiting yachts, however on our return we were given the telephone no. of Vicenzo who runs part of the boat yard and manages a small pontoon which we were able to use.  It was a fascinating experience to walk through a working boat yard and observe skilled ship wrights at work even in the rain.  Yes unfortunately it rained for most of our visit but we sought refuge in probably the best restaurant of our trip - Guazzetto which Vicenzo had recommended.  

During the day the harbour was in constant use by rowers, all age groups.

rowers training in the early evening

View from the boat with spectacular evening light on old Monopoli

From Monopoli we continued our journey south stopping at Brindisi and Otranto.  Our final stop in Puglia was on the very tip of Italy's heel - St Maria di Leuca - a true resort town.

ST MARIA DI LEUCA

This town sits on the southern most tip of the Salento Peninsula where the seas of the Adriatic meet the Ionian.  For many decades it's been a popular resort for wealthy Puglians as witnessed by the extraordinary Summer Homes dotted along coast.  

We spent a couple of days here and were quite overwhelmed by the villas (many Art Nouveau), it seemed they were all trying to outdo each other in grandeur.  In early June most were shut up but were undoubtedly due to be flung open for their Summer residents.

From the tip of Puglia we sailed across The Gulf of Taranto, our first stop in Calabria was at Crotone. 

VIESTE & THE GARGANO NATIONAL PARK

VIESTE

Vieste was to be the most northerly point of our travels in Puglia and also the final destination with sailing friends, the Garcias.  It is a stunning small town built out on a rocky promontory jutting into the Adriatic Sea.  

We moored the boat in a marina around a small headland north of the town and in the evening we walked into the centre catching a glimpse of white washed Vieste in the setting sun, it literally took our breath away.  

Alan and I ended up spending about 10 days here and enjoyed every minute.  The town was very relaxing, busy with people going about their day’s work, school children in their overall type uniform going off to school - it was wonderful to observe life going on as we sipped our coffees and best of all Alan was able to secure a copy of The Herald Tribune.  

View from outside the Castle Wall along the never ending white beaches....

A bank of poppies surrounding the old Castle

Interior of the Cathedral, originally Norman and rebuild in 1800

The opposite side of The Promontory

Of course Vieste also had a centro storico – most of which has been restored.  The old lanes lead UP to the Cathedral and finally to the summit where there’s yet another Frederick II castle; today this is closed to the public and used by the Military.  The views over the stunning stretches of white beach on either side of the promontory are wonderful.   It’s a fantastic coastline which hasn’t been spoilt by encroaching urbanization due to the Gargano National Park which surrounds the town.

Old Vieste and Alan enjoys a lunch of mussels and beer........

Another lovely lunch with Cathy and David in Vieste

Trabucci - a complex and ancient system of poles, levers and nets

Trabucci and restaurant on headland

This coastline is also home to the Trabucci – an ancient form of fishing.  The Trabucci are found all along the coast and I think a photo describes it better than my words……….  Some of the Trabucci are now restaurants.

One day we took a drive through the Gargano Park into the Foresta Umbra.  As we left Vieste we drove through rolling farmland, then gradually climbed tree clad hills eventually entering the forest.  It's called the Foresta Umbra, 'shaded forest', because the canopy of leaves is so thick very little light penetrates.  It forms part of the last of Puglia’s ancient forests with Aleppo pines, oaks and beech trees.  We saw deer but there are also wild boar, badgers, foxes and many varieties of birds.  It’s a popular place for hiking and biking. 

View of Vieste before entering the Foresta Umbra

Giant beetle on picnic bench

There are picnic areas where the trees are more sparce allowing dappled light to penetrate and it was in one of these spots that we discovered the giant beetle…………. 
The forest must be a great place to escape to in the heat of the summer.

Another day we took a trip on the regional bus with all the local school children to Peschici – another white washed village on the north side of the Gargano promontory.   It is built on a steep rocky headland – not good walking for Alan – but the village is dramatic and apparently in summer it attracts thousands of visitors to its huge expanse of white beach (sorry no photo!)

From Vieste we travelled south revisiting some of the ports already described - Trani, Bari, Brindisi and Otranto.  In addition we visited Monopoli which I'll describe in the next post.