Winter Port, Licata

We left Mareda in Licata’s Cala del Sole marina yesterday, tied down (I think) for the winter. A few days before we left, a gale blew through the marina with 50 knot gusts and Mareda rode it out smoothly without touching either of the neighbouring boats or the dock, and without too much whining from the springs.

This is the first time we have left the boat in a marina that has a large winter live-aboard community and the atmosphere was friendly and festive. We were sad to leave (more so than usual) and I think I have convinced Patrick that, although Mareda seemed to be tied down well for the winter, we really should head back to check up on her in February.

The re-entry to home life has not been as bad as usual this year, since the Brittany drought mercifully stunted the grass and shrubs, making our hacking-through-the-jungle routine a bit easier. I still have ethical problems with weeding - racism in my opinion, punishing the evolutionary winners, etc. - but Patrick wasn’t buying my philosophical musings and told me to get back to work. I also have problems dislodging the spiders (some quite large and beautiful), since I happen to like spiders and, truth be told, they live here more than we do.

As ever, the mail was stuffed with flyers from real-estate agencies wanting to sell our abandoned house for us. We are still getting used to the house again, trying to remember where we put things and why (the kitchen baffles me for days). I was very happy to be reunited with my bike, unlimited internet, and flush toilets, and we are both thrilled to be eating french food again. We were very disappointed with the bread in Italy, so walking into our neighbourhood bakery this morning was a wonderful welcome home.

And before the dust settles, we are off to Paris at the end of the week and Bordeaux the following week to reintroduce ourselves to the kids. And I’m thrilled to be meeting up with Kiwi sailing friends Viki Moore and Andrew Herriott from Astrolabe Sailing who are passing through Paris at the same time.

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Sciacca and Selinunte

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Sciacca at the Lega Navale marina, just across the harbour from one of the largest fishing ports in Italy.  The town was picturesque (I got tired of photographing all the baroque churches) and is centrally located between two major archaeological sites, Selinunte and Agrigento.  Here are some sights from Sciacca and Selinunte. 

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Marzara del Vallo

We thought Marzara would only be a brief halt, one of the few places along this coast of Sicily with a good anchorage to avoid an overpriced marina.  Thanks to our new favorite web site, Navily, we could see that there was plenty of anchor room with good holding, although the harbor behind the jetty is so large that you feel exposed.  We anchored in front of the Mazara cathedral, and our first sunset was accompanied by the muezzin from the mosque calling the faithful to evening prayer in a strange duet with Celine Dion blarring from the bar across the harbor.  We are closer to Tunisia than Rome here, and Mazara is a crossroads city with multiple Mediterranean influences.  We were so charmed by the town with its kasbah district, labyrinth of narrow streets, fish markets, and ruins that we stayed 3 nights. 

This is what happens when a cathedral is built on top of a mosque built on top of a greek temple, etc etc.

The Dancing Satyr, circa 400 b.c., hauled up in a fishing net off the coast.  

Dinner... if they would just stop staring so balefully...

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