June
It is becoming a blur. i can't recall where i was yesterday or how long we were in that other place before...

we arrived "somewhere" today and it wasn't until the sunset that i realized i did not know where we were. Actually, it was when the chef asked if this was an island or the mainland. I went to the charts and looked around, confused: what do you look for to find out where you are? i finally asked the captain for the town name, he didn't know, just the marina name- but that is something to go on! We are on the Island of Ishia, off the Amalfi coast. The town name is still being debated. but it is lovely! yesterday we were in Gaeta (i thought an island, but after much hiking i found it was an ithmus), not found in any tourist book.
Ishia is great!!! part of "The Talentted Mr. Ripley" was filmed here, and i found the castle i want to live in. Currently Italy is using my future home as a tourist sight, 10 euro to visit (not a bad idea). so many photos i have to upload! i spent my day off lounging around the mineral baths. it was a park\resort with a dozen mineral pools of varing temperatures, access to the ocean, cafes, massage, and lots of older over weight itlians. An interesting culteral differnce: there is no weight or age limit for string bikinis or speedos. photos will follow!

days later... where am i?

I love (maybe it is lust) Italy

originally composed June 19, 2008
Back on Mainland Italy. We were in la-de-da Portofino for a few days. A highly over rated celebrity hang out, Portofino is a tiny pretentious village with little to do outside of the shockingly expensive restaurants. A glass of vino is 8 euros here, around 3 euros anywhere else. The good thing about it is that it is popular with yachts and I did get to socialize with other “yachties”. We will likely see a few of our new friends throughout the season. I made good friends with Captain Manuel from Genoa, Italy. He knows everything about the region, having grown up there and also has a degree in Marine Biology, making him a great tour guide. We rode down the coast on his vintage yellow motorcycle and did a lot of hiking and sigh seeing and visits to his grandparents. We saw real Italian prostitutes! I think a few were not really women, and his grandparents were extremely friendly and did not speak a word of English.
Portofino is very close to the Cinque Terre Villages- super cool! I spent a day hiking from town to town- the pictures barely capture the amazing sights. I hope to return to the area and kayak down the Cinque Terre Coast, back to my true love, Portovenere.
We did stop over one night on the way down and anchored off Portovenere, I didn’t get on land, but I did get to drive the tender around the island just off of the mainland- Great scenery and serenity. And I did get a quick swim in the Mediterranean ocean, the first so far, it is finally warming up! I am also sleeping on the flybridge now (very top of the boat, outside), the cool nights are perfect and I wake at the sunrise about 5am and can easily get back to sleep.
From there we cruised into Viareggio, known for boat building, home of Benetti and Mangusta boats- lots of boat yards. Although it was not a scenic stop, it was a lucky one- the air conditioning had stopped working. It didn’t take long for the captain to repair and I got a day off while there and visited Pisa and Lucca. Pisa is a tourist trap; I was there about 2 hours, delayed due to rain. I took the photos, had a coffee and back to the train. When I got to Lucca the sun had shown up and warmed the historic walled in city. Immediately I had a pizza and then rented a rickety bicycle for 2 euros and rode all over the village, i can't imagine a better way to spend the afternoon. In the evening I randomly found a youth choir singing Puccini. The town was in midst of the Puccini festival, he was inspired by the region to create his operas. To top off the day I shared a bottle of Chianti with a few locals, further evidence of how friendly Italians are.
The last 2 nights we were on the peninsula of Argentino at San Stefano and then Cala Galera, near Puerto Ercolas. All places I have never heard of and didn’t really get to explore. From what I saw it was beautiful. I had a few hours one afternoon to take a nap on a rock and a quick swim, tricky with all those fishermen around. Another evening I walked up to a castle, I am sure there is some interesting history behind it, I just enjoyed the sunset form the gate. In the King’s Bar I meet 2 American pilots. They have a similar life style working as private pilots for a gazillionaire. They were in Austin just 6 months ago, both of them really enjoyed it- the owner just went to play, no business.
Now we are arriving at Ostia, just for the night, then onto Gaeta tomorrow. Again, I know nothing of these places, but I am sure they will be wonderful.

Health Update: I have a bit of a flemmy cough, but the bronchitis is pretty much over with, lasting 2 months! i deserve an award. The rib is still painful, but my eyes no longer water when I cough or sneeze. The “Skin Cancer” has faded but left a mark, similar to a freckle. Now I am worried about my toe nail coming off.

i am in love with Portovenere

PORTOVENERE, Cinque Terre June 5 2008
Again, it keeps getting better. After a relaxing afternoon wondering around Portovenere, Italy I declared to the captain,"this is the most perfect village I have ever been to and I don’t want to leave”. He assumed I had meet someone and fallen in love, but it is just how great this spot is. A tiny village where the fishing boats pull right up to the buildings and sell fresh fish every morning. Just next to the boat, the Doria cafe opens early for coffee and stays open late for wine and sells gelato and focacia all day- what else could you need in life? a tourist website with good photos: http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/liguria/portovenere.html
If you ever get there i recommend the Hotel Genio, it is part of the castle, has a cute in-house bar that doubles as the reception desk, and sweet cats. http://www.hotelgenioportovenere.com/ in that hotel bar i met two couples that were sailing around the world, the younger couple (maybe 40's?) were from Kansas and the older (70's or more) were from Scotland. the two couples always plan to meet up in random ports, they have been doing it for 10 years.
They are living my dream. i hope to run into them again soon. i will eventually upload photos.
Today we are cruising up the Tuscan coast, past the Cinque Terre, to ooh-la-la Portofino. Cinque Terre is 5 villages on the coast spanning 3,680 hectares, a national park and on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The villages are connected by train track and hiking trail, no formal road system. Most of the villages are perched on cliff terraces created for olive groves and vineyards. Amazing engineering when you consider these towns where established during the 12th century. And much pirate lore across the coast. Yo-ho-ho.

Health Update
From my whinging and whining the Dr. accesses that I have most likely cracked a rib during the worst of my bronchitis. It happened a while ago, and the muscles have just been so swollen around it that I can just now distinguish the rib pain from the muscle pain. It really hurts when I cough, sneeze, laugh, lean over, or sleep on my back. The bronchitis has subsided to a mild chest wheezing.
The skin cancer is still there, I think it is changing color form pink to tan.