So...we'll now be in 'slow news day mode' for awhile....unless something horrible or fabulous happens. Ken and I are making our way around the boot of Italy (we may make it up to the toe today) on our way to Rome where we will meet up with friends. Since we always like to post a pic, this was the best I could do today.....the Captain plotting out a route on his iPad...an invaluable device.

We left Cotrone yesterday morning. Cotrone got short shrift in the blog so I'll give you a little info on it. For us, it was a business stop..and we accomplished all that we needed to. That said, the cruising guidebooks tell a slightly different story. It was "once esteemed for its beautiful women, art and wonderful architecture. Today it has virtually nothing to show for its ancient glory. Pythagoras made his home here in the 5th century.....".

While we didn't see that ancient beauty, the women (and men) were quite good-looking (not that we were looking). In our wanderings, we did see the remnants of the old walls. Obviously, Pythagoras is long gone. However, the guidebooks indicate that it is gradually reviving with gas platforms bringing in jobs and the downtown area getting a facelift. We did see that. Yes, there is little to attract tourism, but there was a lot of good going on. On our way back from the Vodaphone store, we came upon the farmer's market. I have been working on my Italian so...I picked up three gorgeous tomatoes and said 'quanto costa?' The merchant rattled off the price...way too quickly for me to process. In that totally ignorant tourist mode, I took out my euro coins (ones and twos) and opened my hand for him to take the right amount. He took 1 euro ($1.15) and then put 3 more gorgeous tomatoes in the bag. The same thing repeated itself at another stand. I picked two ginormous red peppers. The merchant took 1 euro and told me to take a few more. And...they were to die for!!!!! It is noticeable, though, that there is precious little English spoken here. This is a first for us on this leg of the trip. In Greece, Croatia and Montenegro, virtually everyone spoke very good English. I know that as we head north, this will be the case as well, but down here in the boot, a translation book would have come in handy.

On our early morning walk to get to the Vodaphone store as soon as it opened, we walked along 'la passeggiata' (think paseo in Spain)....the walkway along the waterfront where we encountered many walkers, joggers, strollers, bike riders, etc. The sandy beaches caught my attention (a rarity in the Med) and even at that early hour, there were bathers. As I've indicated in past blogs, the locals love their 'beaches' even though they are rocky or, worse, concrete. On a less favorable note, the streets at 7 AM were littered with trash. I hate to see that. We were early for the 8 AM store opening, so we did the 'local Italian thing'....sat down at a patisseria and had wonderful capuccino and delicious pastries. Obviously, we lucked out and picked the best place. They were baking these beautiful pastries in the back and bringing them out in trays. The locals all were known to the servers, and it was a friendly, neighborhood joint.

We did our Vodaphone business. On the way back, I was delighted to see many, many street cleaners out, cleaning up the littered streets from the night before. OK....it was 1960's style with brooms and dust pans but...it did the job.

Back at the marina, as we were leaving the dock, our friend, Franco, ("whatever you need, I can take care of for you") waited around to help us off the dock (that never happens) and took Ken aside to ask him to recommend the marina on the Internet. Obviously, they're all on the same 'team Crotone' page. I like it.