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Sardinia-Ancient Ruins, Stilettos and Weird Rituals

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View of Cagliari Sardinia!  Where to begin? Coming into Porta Kalisi in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia,  I was fearful that spending time in a big city would be a major downer. I was wrong, my friends!  This place has it all and then some.   The people are fabulous, there are restaurants galore and it oozes with history.  My kind of place! First thing I noticed was that  women were quite fashionable and were not challenged by walking in stilettos on the cobblestone streets.  I always felt woefully underdressed no matter what I wore.  My best outfit is a linen shift with little sail boats on it.  Totally cool for hanging with my Cape Cod crowd but not high fashion enough to fit in with the Sardinians. Skinny jeans with pant legs that taper off above the ankle are raging here for the young men, complimented by a pair white sneakers. Fred is raging nylon shorts with faded t-shirts and old man sandals. We make the perfect pair.    Cagliari is old as dirt with artifacts found in and arou
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Sicily by Land and Sea

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Cefula Sicily Our first stop as we arrived in Italy was in a marina in the city of Reggio Di Calabria.  Our plan was to stay for a few days to recover from our two day sail from Greece.  Knowing nothing about this city, I consulted our trusted Italian Water Pilot book which informed me that, “Reggio is not the most attractive place but it is the safest and most convenient harbor of the East side of the (Messina) Strait.”  Sort of the way one would describe a pair Birkenstock sandals or a homely cousin you are trying to fix up on a date. (While Biff may not have it in the looks department, he does have a steady job, isn’t a drinker, has his own teeth and is thoroughly reliable and available. One could do worse!) Brief history of Reggio-invaded, pirated throughout history, heavily bombed in WWII, and lots of earthquakes. The most destructive occuring in 1980 which pretty much leveled the place. For us cruisers, Reggio’s most notable feature is a native named Saverio who is a taxi driver
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What Is Your Superpower?

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  Heavenly view from restaurant on island of Kefalonia  We departed Greece on June 22nd as we began our 48 hour non stop cruising up the Med to our next stop, Italy.  Reflecting back on our six weeks touring the Northern Ionian, it is easy to see why so many tourist flock to Greece each year and many of them, specifically, fellow Europeans decide to give up their homeland and settle in one of Greece’s many idyllic islands and quaint towns on the mainland.  I would consider such a move if there was a chance that a T.J. MAXX and a Dunkin Donuts franchise opened up somewhere there. I miss them both so much! Just an observation about the Greek people....damn nicest folks I have ever met! While I enjoyed meeting my Croatians, the yelling really scared me! The Greeks are chill and go out of their way to make you feel at home. They are also amazing cappuccino drinkers-hot, cold, with froth, no froth.  They drink it while sitting for hours in cafes or while on their motorbikes zipping up and
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Ladies Leap, Sailor Talk and More

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We have been in Greece for a month now and have a wonderful experience with the Greek people. Warm, helpful and a lively bunch they are! First off, some fashion observations- Women-skinny jeans are out/high waist jeans are in Men- are running tall dark and handsome If you are coming onboard- dress accordingly! Now about the Greek Islands. We are exploring some of the islands in the Northern Ionian. Each has its own charm and history.  Lefkada is one island I particularly enjoyed.  Some say it gets its name from the white cliffs (Lefko means white in Greek) on its southernmost cape or others believe it's named after Odyessus' friend Lefko. In Greek mythology, the ancient Greek poet, Sappho, jumped from the white cliffs because she wanted to rid herself of her love for Phaon. The Goddess Aphrodite also decided to end her life this way after she discovered that her love, Adonis, had died.  The spot where all this jumping occurred has a nickname of the Ladies Leap.  Keep this
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Don’t Cry for Me Croatia

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  Skradinski Buk water fall KRKA National Park Hello friends!  It has been awhile since my last blog.  This is due to me sustaining a major injury on September 9th while in Croatia that required surgery and a four day hospitalization in Sibenik.  I fractured my ulna ( bone ) in my right arm which not only resulted in making my right arm and hand inoperable for many months but also knocked the funny right out of me. I am not sure what hurt more! I know what many of you are thinking….Ita hit the wine too hard and slipped on the boat.  To avoid spilling her magic juice, she cradled her wine glass as she fell and broke her elbow as she hit the deck.  That would be a great drunken sailor story but, alas, it is not the truth.  The accident was really the result of wearing flip flops in a dark alley on the way to dinner. The front of my left flip flop got caught on the frame of a very weirdly placed small metal door in the road  we were traveling. Down I went, using both my arms to protect my
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Croatia - Land of White Pants and More

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  We sailed into Croatia just over a week ago.  Our port of entry was Cavtat, a beautiful town with shops, cafes and beaches dotting the coast line. On our journey to Croatia, I took the opportunity to do some googling  to learn about this country. I knew very little  about this country other than it used to be part of Yugoslavia. I did learn that there was a nasty war in the early 90’s that resulted in the Young Yugoslavian Army bombing parts of Croatia, including the Old City in Dubrovnik and even parts of Cavtat, which we encountered when we sailed to this little beach that had hotels, once high- end resorts catering to tourist from around the world, that are now shelled out concrete frames.     Aside from its history, which dates back to the prehistoric period and does include being part of the Roman Empire (You know I had to add that fact- no worries, I won’t go all Ancient Roman on you!), Croatia is a country rich in culture, traditions and superstitions. I am particularly fascin
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Albania Here I Come !!!

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  We made a decision to make a stop in Albania to give us an opportunity to get on land for a few days and break the monotony of sailing and motoring  for 48 hours.  If you are like me, you are thinking ALBANIA??? It definitely was not on my “must see “ list.   Saranda was the town that was our port of entry.  What I noticed first is it sits directly across from Corfu, Greece, which I definitely have heard of since I watched the BBC show of an English family who settled there during the 1930s.  Loved that show! Ferries transport tourists and locals back and forth from Saranda and Corfu multiple times a day.  Italy is also close and  brings vacationing Italians to the shores of Albania each year. Infact, Europeans love Albania.  Germans, French, Norwegians, along with the Greeks and Italians flock to this hidden gem to enjoy its beaches, restaurants, and nightlife. It’s estimated that 1 million tourists come to Albania to vacation each year.  The population of Albania is about 3 million
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