Onboard the Andrea Cay: Sicily

After 40 hours crossing the Adriatic in fairly calm seas, we arrived in Siracusa, Sicily and anchored in a beautiful bay Sunday morning. John and Peter went ashore to clear immigration and check us into Italy. Back 45 minutes later, the port authorities had summarily dismissed them and told them to come back at 5pm because they were much too busy participating in the All Saints Day festival that was taking place in town -- complete with parades, military dignitaries, bands and a marathon. With permission to roam about the city as “illegals”, we wandered the medieval streets of the small island of Ortigia (connected to Siracusa by two bridges), which is said to have the most beautiful piazza in Sicily. We explored the churches, the narrow streets, the town fort, and strolled the waterfront promenade, having a delightful lunch at one of the many outdoor cafes. We then stumbled upon a local wine bar where we had a very entertaining afternoon. The proprietor brought 6-8 bottles of wine on a tray and proceeded to fill only one glass at a time for tasting and handing the glass to John only. I’m sure she was horrified as we passed that one glass around the table, and then did the same things with the other five “tastings”. After giving extensive details of the wines in both Italian and Sicilian (with all the appropriate hand gestures), she eked out a few words of English to give us some idea of what we were drinking. After we each made our selection and ordered a glass of wine, she came to appreciate having 4 wine aficionados (or, lushes…) at her establishment, and we parted as friends with a large bottle of our favorite wine.

Unable to clear customs at 5pm, as we’d been instructed to do, we were told to return the next morning. John and Peter left bright and early, but after being gone for 3 ½ hours, we assumed they had been locked up and that we were going to have to pay a ransom to get them back. (Carol and Nancy spent some time considering what they were worth.) They did finally manage to escape, but shortly after they returned to the boat, we were shaken down by the Italian mafia (whose decedents moved to the US and started Waste Management). Instructed to pay a 180 euro ($250) per day garbage pickup fee (although we had no intention of dropping off any trash), John accosted them with his relentless negotiating skills and finally reached an agreement where we could stay on the town dock that night and pay only 120 euros total for the previous 2 days. Before pulling anchor, John and Joc got even with these government bureaucrats by cleaning the Andrea Cay’s smoke stacks and covering their lovely bay with a cloud of soot (… just kidding… kind of….)

We did manage a 4 hour walking tour of Siracusa and the ancient walled city of Ortigia that afternoon once we had established our temporary residence. This city was one of the most important in the ancient world, settled by the Greeks in the 3^rdcentury BC, and rivaled Athens in culture and military might. After a devastating earthquake in 1693, the Romans rebuilt the city in the Baroque style, which is manifest throughout the old city in the many beautiful churches and public buildings.

One of the days we were in Siracusa, we rented a car and drove to Taormina. Probably the most breathtaking town in Sicily, it is perched on a hillside overlooking the Ionian Sea, with Mt. Etna looming even higher behind it. Usually over-run by tourists shopping the very expensive shops, we were fortunate to be visiting late enough in the season that it was not crowded. John stayed behind for “boat projects” (i.e.…he was not interested in shopping). Peter accompanied Carol and Nancy for a fun-filled day of sightseeing and shopping… (fun for us because he carried all our loot).

And now…what can we say about the election (that we got the results of at 5:00am Wed. (11pm EST Tues.) Some of us were more disappointed with the outcome than others, as one might discern from a photo below…

We have played a lot of bridge over the last two weeks, especially on the days that we have been at sea. Rather than keeping a cumulative score, we keep track of who has won the “day”. Had we finished this blog yesterday, we could proudly report that the girls were ahead, but unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e. bad cards), the boys are tied (temporarily) for the Andrea Cay World Championship Bridge Tournament title.

We’re currently on an 18 hour run to the Amalfi coast and should arrive about midnight.

We picked up a friend on our Adriatic crossing (he couldn't make it across by himself)

Siracusa

Military parade in Siracusa

Marathon -- check out all the runners packing into the the narrow street of the old city

The fort on the island of Ortigia

More happy tourists

Interior of the castle/fort on Ortigia

Wine tasting in the funky little bar we found

Ancient Roman amphitheater in built in the second century (Siracusa)

John's ready for his wine lunch (enough sightseeing)

Our Lady of Tears Sanctuary, the tallest building in Siracusa, built in 1993

It houses a statue of the Madonna that supposedly wept for 5 days in 1953. Chemical tests showed
that the liquid was the same as real tears and attracts many pilgrims. The church was built in the
shape of a teardrop. The interior is amazing as you look up at the vertical windows stretching skyward.