yaknow, i've never actually SEEN a 140' sailboat,.,, and to be honest, i couldn't actually even IMAGINE what it would look like. But, tonight, in Portoferraio, Elba (back in Italy now), there was a brand new (appearing) 110' RED sailboat. There were 6 sets of crosstrees on the mast and hydraulically controlled gangways on each side of the boat.



As we were licking away at our yummy gelato ice cream cones, getting into our sort of beat up 10' dinghy at the inner harbour, we tried to imagine what the job was really like for those 5 crewmembers, who were busily polishing the chrome and stainless steel and hosing down the mast and boom. i sure could use some of that labor doing the same thing to Chaliventures.... yea right!! Of course, the boat had a Cayman Island flag, like most of the giant pleasure vessels we've run into (i guess there's no tax down there or something.???). We always assume that these superduper boats belong to Russian drug dealers.... but maybe not. At least it didn't have a helicopter on the back of it, like one of the motor yachts we saw in Ajaccio, Corsica.



Other than that little observation, i'm happy to report that we've been delighted with our visit to the island of Elba, which is about 12 miles away from mainland Italy. the best part about Portoferraio is the little restaurant we found on our 2nd day. a real mom and pop place that serves just scrumptious food, we basically order what the owner/waiter tells us. that plus, looking al what other tables are getting served, Pointing and saying That, Yes, Same thing, please... in our best Italian of course. so, in my typical style, i order the same thing i ordered the first time. steamed mussels for primi piati, and the best fried calamare i've ever had for my 2nd piati. chuck, contrary to me, always wants to try something different. and he has enjoyed spaghetti with either pesto, or shellfish or meatsauce topppings, and a veal (i.e., smaller) porterhouse steak, he loved

it. The owner loves zoey and gives me a hard time about her muzzle, in my non-existent italian, i can't make him understand that it really is for her own protection.... he has a fat-ish old chihuahua and a black and white cat on the premises..zoey will lie across my lap and usually stay settled. if there are pigeons walking around though, look out! yesterday, when chuck was touring napoleon's exile palace (eat your heart out, saddam!) and Zoey and I were walking around waiting for him, zoey was attacked by a very aggressive, vicious cat. she still has 2 claw holes in her snout, my poor baby. she really was minding her own business.... REALLY.



Then there's our challenge with vodafone italy. you know what a royal pain in the ass it is to deal with cellphone companies, even when you CAN speak the language. Just try to imagine taking advantage of a temporary promotion with a cellphone company where you don't understand the language. i had a lot of wine tonight after our visit to the vodafone store.

We still haven't decided where we're going from here. to the mainland for sure...maybe to the extreme west coast of Italy, San Remo.... or due north to Genoa. depends on which way the wind blows (literally!) the challenge is that starting now, there are 400 trillion italians and french sailors who take their vacations exactly where we want to go. all the marinas charge at least 3x their normal cost, but that hardly matters, because we can't getinto the marinas anyway. way too crowded. so, it's all about 1/going to places that have a good anchorage (like here in Portoferraio, Elba) or 2/going to places that no self-respecting Italian or frenchman would go to for their vacation, like genoa. or marseilles. the kind of cities that are described as "dirty, gritty, noisy, cant-wait-to-leave" places. they're also "dynamic exciting, historically rich places. actually we LIKE those kinds of places. they tend to be REAL cities, where REAL natives live.... not the beautiful vacation destination places which are full of non-natives. i mean.... we like those too, but i think we'll have to wait til september to really be able to enjoy THOSE places.



Since my last "Chali-comm" from Bonifacio, Corsica, we went up the west coast of Corsica to the capital Ajaccio, then Calvi, then around the top to Macinaggio on the NE side. we LIKED corsica a lot. the scenery was just spectacular. we arrived in Calvi during their annual Jazz Festival and got to enjoy the music from our anchorage. it was great at 8pm; it wasn't quite as welcomed at 3AM. Thank goodness for the fan in the V-berth where we sleep. it created enough "white noise" to block out all the other sounds. i think we liked Ajaccio the best. it was a major city, with lots of services, facilities and, well, the feeling of being in a real city, not a tourist creation. From Corsica we hopped over to Elba. We're hoping to be able to rendez-vous with some friends who are visiting both Italy and France, so we'll be doing a bit of zigzagging during july and august from the italian to french rivieras. Rough life, i know. For the sailors among you, you'll be interested to know that the wind around here is totally unpredictable. in spite of the 5 different weather products we receive every day, the wind will suddenly blow up to 24 knots from any and all directions..., then an hour later It'll be back to 4knots of no-wind. ahhh this mediterranean.... it can be very frustrating! crossing the atlantic looks easier and easier!



We had a little fiasco where i tripped with a bucket of water and accidentally "washed" both of our computers. chuck's screen is now black, and my AC power adapter shorted out and broke. BUT, we had a spare monitor which chuck is now using, and he actually FIXED my power adapter... inspite of all of Toshiba's dire warnings about not splicing with or messing around with the AC adapter cord. So. for the moment both of our computers are sorta working. we're holding our breath.



Remember to let us know if you're planning a trip to france or italy.... ya never know where we might be! and a rendez-vous would be lotsa fun.



Alison, Chuck and.... zoey of course.



Aboard SV Chaliventures III

Living the Dream in...EIba, Italy