Picturesque Ponza, Madness Miseno

After morning coffee and breakfast in the cockpit watching the fiery sunrise reflecting on the fantastic rock formations, we lifted anchor and moved into the harbour so we could row to the beach and wander the town. Of course things don't always go smoothly or easily but after an hour of sweat 🥵, Bob fixed the dinghy and off we went. The harbour traffic was something to behold with every boat size, shape, power and noise and all going in every direction on the compass! Little did we know...
We wandered the town and had Tiellas in a café above the harbour where the Italian Mamma recited her menu and told us in her limited English that she was born in Ponza and has a sister in Sudbury! Like many, she imagined Canada/Vancouver was cold like Sudbury! We anchored back at our previous night's anchorage and had a glorious swim but with all the weekend boat traffic, decided we'd move to a quieter spot. It was a clear, starry night but spoiled at 5 a.m. when a power boat motored in, anchored and played music! At 6:45 a.m. we decided to get going to Miseno.The trip took 12 hours sailing and motoring: stopped the boat and had a brief dip in the middle of the deep, dark sea, had a visit from a pod of dolphins 🐬, and a heart stopping last hour dodging ferries and power boats, while pitching and rolling in their wakes 🌊. We thought last Spring's gauntlet at Capri was bad; this was much worse! It's hard to imagine what it's like in high season! 😱 The power boaters have no consideration of their speed, wake or proximity to others. It's frightening. I have no photos of the maelstrom as I was too busy holding on and praying!
We arrived hungry and with frayed nerves, but a small, calm harbour, dinner and a quick chat with Nicholas, Ella and Alexa soon calmed us.Read more