(06/29/05) It was hard to get out of bed today, but we
made it to breakfast and caught the tender to Lipari at 8:30. We had an
interesting bus ride a
round
this small island (14 miles square) in the Aeolian sea – also suffering from a
25% unemployment rate and relying heavily on
the growing tourism dollar. Their major exports are sweet dessert-type
Malvasian wines (we had a tasting), capers, grapes, and pumice stone (they have
the largest mining operation in Europe). Because it was unseasonably HOT with
no breeze, we skipped the optional walk up to the Archeological Museum and
returned to Le Ponant to relax before indulging in a wonderful Italian lunch
buffet.
The Aeolian archipelago consists of seven islands – Lipari, Salina, Volcano,
Panarea, Alicudi, Stromboli and Fillcudi. At
2:00 we set sail along these islands toward tomorrow’s destination – Salerno –
133 miles away. A smaller vessel, The Flying Dutchman, gave the crew a
scare as it attempt
ed to anchor... came within inches
of bumping us. Laetitia, an adorable and hard-working member of the staff gave
a useful 30 minute Italian lesson in the lounge a
t
3:30, leaving time for just a quick nap before cocktails and dinner. Then most
of us waited
on the top deck for the “show” from the volcanic island of Stromboli – but this
steadily active volcano only treated us to a few bright plumes of fire and
occasional puffs of smoke. However, the sky was clear and full of stars and
the weather was perfect, so we spent the evening relaxing with our fellow
travelers.
Continue at Amalfi Coast
