We left Palermo a week ago although time seems to have stretched. Our first port of call was the town of Cefalu where we anchored just beside the tiny marina, an idyllic spot surrounded by incredible rock formations, and spent a very peaceful night. It was so beautiful that it was difficult to leave, but the wind was turning and another night at anchor there might not have been so calm. We had a good weather window for a passage to the north east, and the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea were beckoning. By mid afternoon we made landfall at Isola di Salina and headed for shelter in the small marina as the wind had picked up and was now on shore making anchoring more tricky.
The Aeolian Islands are stunning and feel like a volcanic version of the Scillies. The harbour of Marina di Salina is tourist brochure pretty, as is the surrounding village, filled with stylish clothing stores and delis offering delicious Sicilian fare. We had a lovely evening there and then decided to head off to explore some of the other islands. Our first stop was Isola di Lipari where we stayed for the night of our wedding anniversary feasting on wonderful seafood – oysters, langoustine, octopus and squid.
We only stayed one night in Lipari as we were keen to explore and anchor elsewhere whilst the winds remained light. We spent a few nights at anchor in Porto di Ponente on Isola Vulcano. Vulcano is a constantly active volcanic island with sulphurous clouds rising from breaches in the hillside, volcanic mud baths and even sulphuric acid seawater. Although constantly active, it has not erupted for several thousand years. We were intrigued by guide books advertising bathing in the mud pools (the advice being for no more than 15 minutes). We went ashore thinking we might possibly give it a go, but once ashore decided it was definitely not a goer! The stink was absolutely vile – hydrogen sulphide, methane and numerous other noxious fumes. The pools were fenced off and not in use, and anyone who did use them would have to be completely bonkers. We returned to our smell free anchorage and had a wonderful swim in clear deep water. We were then treated to a stunning sunset over Isola Panarea.
After a few days at anchor the fumes seemed to be creeping below decks so we headed back to Isola di Lipari. We moored in lovely Porto Pignataro just north of the town and filled with fishing boats, some of which will sell fish as you wander past. We have had the most wonderful, super fresh swordfish and tuna, just seared in the pan with a dash of wasabi. The walk into town is alive with brightly coloured flowers and the market stacked with fabulous fresh fruits and vegetables.
Guide books all highly recommend the Aeolian Archaeological Museum and we were not disappointed by our visit. The museum has a staggering number of artefacts dating as far back as the Neolithic era, Copper age, Bronze Age and Greek and Roman conquerers. Many of the earlier exhibits are shards of pots and tools made from obsidian, the sharp glass like rock formed from lava. The rich stores of obsidian and sulphur made these tiny islands a great centre for trade over several millennia. One of the most impressive exhibits was from Greco Roman times and showed stacks of hundreds of amphorae, the huge storage pots retrieved from shipwrecks around the islands. Our brains duly filled we headed off to the beautiful harbour for a beer!
We’ll be heading back to the mainland tomorrow and then from Sicily on to Southern Italy over the next week. I’ve gone a bit mad with all the pictures but it’s so stunning here that many more have had to be left out.
