PLACES TO BE VS. PLACES TO SEE
31 July 2015 | MARINA DI STABIA, NAPLES, ITALY
LIL
In my travels, I have always differentiated between places to see (the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, the Gaudi towers...check...take them off the list) ) and places to be (Paris, Barcelona, NYC) where you just feel good, like the ambiance, the food, the people and can go back any time.
We left Agropoli on Thursday, headed for Capri, which was on the list of places to be for a few days. Both Ken and I had been there (separately) in our prior lives and, not to sound jaded but, neither the Blue Grotto nor the funicular to the top have probably changed much in the years since...so we were just going to hang out and enjoy our time there. As we approached around 2:30, there were dozens of yachts in each of the two anchorages we had sussed out. We looked at each other and decided this might not be a great idea. With Naples only 3 hours away, and plenty of daylight ahead, we switched direction (actually got to raise the head sail...an additional bonus) and started calling ahead for a reservation at a Naples marina. Our cruising guide is from 2013 and mentioned several new marinas in progress. We picked ones which indicated boat services, but apparently they were victims of the GFC and never opened. Finally, we made contact with an English speaking woman at the Marina di Stabia, who confirmed a berth for us.
Not to get caught behind the airplane (so to speak), i tied up the fenders, lines, etc. Just as I was finishing up, 2 dock hands appeared in a high speed dinghy and escorted us to...a finger dock, side-to tie-up. OMG. We haven't seen that in forever. I was hoping the CaptaIn hadn't forgotten how to do that maneuver. He did not. So, in the pluses and minuses of boating, it is really nice, easy on, easy off, to have a finger dock. The downside? The marina is spread out over acres (do you measure water in acres?) to accommodate all of these spots. It's not for no reason that the deckhands forgo bicycles for dinghies for transport around the marina. They took the Captain to the reception office to register, and brought him back. Nice service.
Today was the day to get our boat projects started. My first chore was laundry..considering that our new crew will be arriving. With one washer and one dryer 500 steps away and the machines in use, I put my Fitbit to work recording 10,000 steps just to get the three loads done.
Our slip is in the 'middle' section. There are about a dozen sailboats, about our size. All of the other docks are filled with 20-35 foot motor boats...until Ken and I walked the 1000 steps to the reception office. That's where the big boys hang out!!! We're talking 200-300 foot mega yachts. Ken didn't tell me how nice the reception office is but it's gorgeous...in a beautiful building...with an elevator!!!! Obviously, they are catering to the high end types. Almost all of the mega yachts have British flags, but registries in the various tax havens like Georgetown and St Vincent. I guess the British billionaires are no better at paying taxes than the American billionaires are.
Just to wrap up about this marina, it is an interesting place. It looks as if the property was bought on the cheap since it is bordered by rundown, abandoned warehouses (which make Pompeii look like a palatial estate). However, it is surrounded by beautiful mountains and Mt Vesuvius, if you look in the right direction. It does have shower buildings, but from the outside, they look like barns with horse stalls...although they are clean, and well cared for on the inside...and then there is the aforementioned reception building.
There is no doubt we are in Italy. In Greece, Croatia and Montenegro, all we had to do was mention that we needed boat services or parts, and within minutes, people appeared to meet our needs. Here, we put in our order early this morning, and it is almost 5 PM and no one has appeared. I'm glad we got here earlier than we planned. It might give us a fighting chance.
The picture above is of Mt Vesuvius overlooking Moonbeam. I was going to take a picture of the mega yachts but...in this heat, I didn't feel like making the 2000 step round trip hike...and I already have 13,000 steps recorded.