A taxi from the Naples airport to the port of Salerno and we arrived with time to spare. We were immediately welcomed by Captain Andreas who remembered us from last year, as did most of the crew. It felt like a family reunion. The advantage of a small ship.
Our Italian adventure began inauspiciously at CDG when the captain announced a 1 hour delay to our already tightly programmed itinerary because a passenger had lost his mother at the airport. Since baggage can’t fly without a passenger we had to wait until they could locate and remove his luggage before embarking.
A taxi from the Naples airport to the port of Salerno and we arrived with time to spare. We were immediately welcomed by Captain Andreas who remembered us from last year, as did most of the crew. It felt like a family reunion. The advantage of a small ship.
Over welcoming cocktails and dinner we sailed to Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian Islands followed by a nighttime passage through the Straight of Messina, the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 mi) in width, though near the town of Messina the width is some 5.1 km (3.2 mi) and maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft).
The strait is characterized by strong tidal currents, that established a unique marine ecosystem. A natural whirlpool in the Northern portion of the strait has been linked to the Greek legend of Scylla and Charybdis.
Due to unusually high swells (the sea, not the passengers) we arrived in Catania a major seaport from where we were transported by bus to Taormina that clings to cliffs over the sea.
Our next stop was Siracusa where an excursion will take you to the spectacular 15,000 Greek amphitheater or like us you can stroll the streets of the Old Town and pause for a Spritz, served with a small meal of olives, chips, nuts and a mini-pizza-4 euros the glass.
We were awakened early the next morning by Captain Andreas to enjoy the stunning entry into Malta’s Valetta harbor, flanked by the setting moon and rising sun-a sight the captain had never experienced in 50 entries.
St. John’s Cathedral with its stunning interior and art treasures such as the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, a masterpiece in oil by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio, Flemish tapestries and silver artifacts is a must in this English-speaking city that had its origins in prehistory.
Before heading back to Salerno we stopped in the charming village of Cefalu with its Norman cathedral and sandy beaches.
After a farewell reception and the sad but fond farewells to the Captain, crew and new friends we packed anddisembarked the next morning for our return to Paris, We had plenty of time before our flight from Naples so Alan & Marie-Paule Marty, M and I hailed a taxi who took us O’Chiaiese for a seafood dinner. I kept imagining Lucky Lucianio at a nearby table.
Mario greeted us effusively as one should expect in Italy. Having achieved a level of “arrogance” in my use of Italian I shmoozed him into preparing a meal that would have pleased Charlie “Lucky” himself.
To accompany bruschetta and a seafood broth with mussels and lupini we were served a dry white from the region. We continued to enjoy the white with friture di triglia-grilled bite size fish.
We ordered another bottle while Mario prepared the whole grilled dorato, fileted a table with linguni and seafood broth.
A grappa for the road and we were properly sedated for our return flights.
