Swallow's adventures

Thursday 28 October 2017

Today’s the day we will berth at our winter home town, we have heard nothing but glowing reports on Gaeta marina and the area itself so we’re very optimistic.

After a pain free slipping of the lines at our alongside berth in Nettuno we departed at 0700; the sun was coming up and hopefully we would make it across the bay and past the firing range before 0800 when, apparently, firing practice starts; mission accomplished! Due to an extremely light wind on the nose we have just the mainsail up and the engine on, we hope to complete this 49 mile passage in daylight; we weren’t prepared to wait for a windy day as there was a lot of rain forecasted for the next few days. Once not far off our half way mark we could see the 541m striking promontory, Monte Circeo, which could easily be mistaken for an island; only one more headland to go around and we are now aware that we are entering earthquake and volcano territory- probably best not to think about that too much! We now have a wonderful flat sea and are looking at the greenery on the rugged mountains which are surrounded by blue sky with the odd fluffy white cloud, so serene. We are passing the area of the Appian Way and can see an old fortification, terraced on the side of the mountain, with a boundary wall on either side and a turret at the bottom. The wind has now swung behind us so we have just the genoa out; we’re feeling very relaxed now, chugging along at 5k and admiring the autumnal colours of the beautiful mountainous coastline edged with sandy beaches; we would have liked our last sail of the season to be without the engine, but hey, you can’t have everything! Many yachtsmen do carry on sailing on throughout the winter but we prefer to spend the unsettled months land exploring and soaking up the different cultures. Finally we round the high rocky promontory where Monte Orlando stands, which we would be exploring soon enough, and have Gaeta in sight, so exciting! We made good time and arrived at Base Nautica Flavio Gioia, a family run marina, at 1715 and wow what a fantastic welcome; the port officer, Jayne, had been in email contact with us for some months advising us on routes, areas of interest, etc and she had organised welcome drinks with other live-aboards: Prosecco and antipasti on her terrace, followed by great Italian pizza at the marina restaurant- we’re definitely going to like this place. To top it all, we had a contract set up from the 1st November and the marina told us that they would not charge us for being three days early. By the way, for those of you thinking of over-wintering here, they offer 30% Cruising Association discount.

We spent the next few days settling in and getting to know the other live-aboards, of which there were only a handful, being of all nationalities; however, this is a lively marina, there are plenty of Italians coming and going to their boats and we have made lots of new friends. There is also an American warship based here, Mount Whitney, so there are a few English speaking inhabitants around. If you’re after an ex -pat community with lots of activities being organised then this is not for you. It is here that we met Val and John aboard SV Scarlett, they got here about a week before us and gave us a guided tour of the town.

The marina itself is situated right in the heart of everything having a backdrop of beautiful, sometimes snow-capped, mountains. Opposite the marina we have Via Indipendenzia, a cobbled, medieval street which is full of life, except for the afternoon of course, when everybody retreats inside after their massive four course lunch! This street caters for pretty much every need: butchers, green grocers, bakeries, coffee shops, delis, pizzerias, a hardware store (where you can get your camping gas bottles refilled), grocery stores, pharmacies, gift shops, clothing and shoe shops and even a Chinese shop, which sells all sorts of useful bits and bobs. The area surrounding this street has lots of other shops, fishmongers, banks, a post office, launderettes, dry cleaners, seamstresses and supermarkets. There is also a daily fish market and a weekly market selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, local olives, home-made wine, honey, cold meats, hot chickens, clothes and household items. Paul has managed to source all sorts of electrical and mechanical sundries for Swallow’s winter maintenance. There’s a chandlery at the marina and others further along the seafront towards Formia. The marina can point you in the direction of various tradesmen too.

On the evening of 30th September we experienced Le Vie di Gaeta, the cultural food festival along this old street: all of the shop and restaurant owners, and also residents, who are adorned in traditional dress, set up stalls where you can try small samples of the local dishes and wine of Gaeta in exchange for Follaro- the currency of the 10th to the 13th century; we swapped our euros for some of these old coins and filled our boots! We tasted tiella (local pie), fried calamari, anchovies and courgette flowers, soups , stews, olives , donuts and cakes; the red wine and prosecco were wonderful at 50 cents a cup; there were also several musicians along the way, entertaining us whilst tucking in! Young and old had turned out for this annual occasion and the atmosphere was wonderful.

The following few days were spent unwinding, swimming (yes the is water is still warm) down at the beautiful, sandy Serapo beach and exploring the national park up to Mount Orlando .There is so much to discover: The Turq’s cave, split mountain, mausoleum, old batteries, beautiful churches, the medieval town with its windy alleyways and steps leading up to the mountain, an art gallery, museums; restaurants and cafe bars are abundant and Christmas is crazy- I’ll save that for another blog! There are places of interest a bus ride away too, such as the famous Montecassino Abbey; the marina have given us a 130 page booklet, which they have compiled themselves, on all of this and so much more.

I cannot recommend Base Nautica Flavio Gioia enough as a marina for winter live aboards; the location is great too, being half way between Rome and Naples transport links are great- either city is an hour away by train. I would also say that Gaeta is a great place for a summer holiday, although I have been told that the bus routes in and out to Formia train station (15 minutes) might be rather congested in July and August.

Now I have a quick visit home as my daughter has been ill and needs some help with our gorgeous grandson- can’t wait to see them. In November they will be visiting us, their first trip to Italy, I’m sure they’re going to love it here as much as we do. Watch this space for more stories from Gaeta.