S/V Aphrodite

According to legend we have been following many portions of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, as we sail through this area of the world.   The Ionian Islands are frequently mentioned in The Odyssey.  Ithaca is generally accepted as the homeland of Odysseus, to which he was returning after the Trojan War.  Other areas sited in the [...]

We enjoyed a day sail to Pantelleria and a free berth along side the wall. We were close to everything and stocked up on vegetables and foods that just were not available in Tunisia. Our first meal included pork chops and Italian pasteries for desert. Brisa seemed to grow about an inch a day and [...]

We have been in Sicily for 3-4 weeks now and have only seen about half of the country. We have been dealing with winter weather patterns which are more immobilizing than we expected. Near the end of Oct. we started having a few days of terrific blows followed by 2 weeks of calm which allowed [...]

The Amalfi Coast is one of  Italy’s jewels, a dramatic, rugged, craggy mountainous region with sheer wall cliffs plunging into the sea, similar to the area around Cinque Terra. The difference being that the entire area has developed into one of Italy’s most popular tourist destination. It includes Capri, Naples, Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, the [...]

We have just completed a 2-day whirlwind trip of Rome, a treat which I did not expect or plan for since the city of  Rome is about 30 miles inland and there aren’t any safe anchorages in which to leave Aphrodite during the day.  At the last minute we decided to go into a marina [...]

The sinfully creamy rich yellow mini custard tarts of Portugal.  Long ago young women were sent to the Catholic convents to become nuns if they angered their father or refused an arranged marriage.  The young nuns were not pious or committed to God, but were often rebels and troublemakers.  So, in order to prevent too [...]

Anchored off the Cinque Terre area south of Portofino, gave us several days of calm seas and bright blue skies and we felt comfortable and confident anchored in the unprotected area.  About 2 am of our last night, the wind shifted and started to build.  By 7 am when we could see to move we [...]

Corsica
We departed Barcelona on 9/16/07 and sailed across the notorious Gulf of Leon to Corsica, which is a group of French islands about 100 miles off the French coast, tucked in closer to Italy than it is to France. The high jagged mountains are an impressive sight. Dorothy Carrington, author of Granite Island, describes her [...]