Orbetello

We were up early and hoped to find a grocery store for supplies so we hopped into the dry dinghy 😉 and Bob rowed us ashore. It was before 0800 so we wandered around the walled town, the Citadel and popped into a church. The little grocery store didn't have much that we needed but we managed to get the essentials: 🧀 and 🍷! We set off motoring past lovely villas, hotels, terraced gardens and spectacular cliffs. The sails went up and the rest of the day was further out so not too much to see. The wind and swells kept increasing and we reduced sail and surfed along. Not unlike the day to Marseille but not as wild! Civitavecchia is a major cruise port and we saw 4 cruise ships, 1 ferry and 1 riverboat cruise ship. There were also a number of freighters anchored out. We went into a marina a bit further on. Fortunately, it was calmer in the harbour and there was a fellow directing us to a spot and helping us to dock stern in with a mooring line at the bow. What a relief that I didn't have to do any leaping! It was a long 9 hour day so we got settled, had a drink then walked along the harbour to find a restaurant for dinner...and everything was closed!😪😡 We walked back to the boat wondering what we could eat for dinner besides the cheese and wine. I found a can of ratatouille, sliced the last of the bread and made salad. It sufficed. I was prepared to be disappointed at the facilities but found they were spacious, clean, with 🔥 water and a normal shower head. It felt luxurious! My mood improved considerably! However, I find it baffling that there were a number of restaurants, cafes, bars and boating stores at the marina but no grocery store and everything was closed! We used to joke on our bike trips that Mondays in Germany were always "ruhetag" /closed so maybe it's the same here! The wind continued its 20 knot blowing with a bit of rain but with a spectacular sunset and we called it a day's end.Read more