Alexanders in the Mediterranean: Syracusa to Marzamemi

We left Syracusa at 7:30 am because we were tied up at the gas dock – and we figure that when you’re poaching a spot you should be willing to get out early. We motored casually away from the dock, kids still asleep, and headed down toward Marzamemi – Marina liked the sound of this place because they have SHOWERS !!! Now if we could only find a place with Laundry facilities. When your 15 year old boy starts complaining that he needs to find a place to do laundry, then you know that it’s time to do laundry.

Well, there was no such luck about laundry, but we did hit the jackpot in terms of local Sicilian hospitality. We stayed at the Marzememi Yacht Club … a newly minted YC that uses a marina and has a couple of temporary buildings on site. They’ve got about 50 members and it looks like a wonderfully social place to be. Marzamemi harbour has a very tight entrance and some of our charts are not exactly high detail – kind of like Vancouver Island all on one chart would be a reasonable approximation – so we rely on the Italian Waters Pilot. The harbour had changed since that was printed so we were a bit on our own … the only thing we did know is that we had plenty of depth for Tara’s 2.3M keel. We were directed to a slip between two 50 foot powerboats and very deftly (if I do say so myself) Tara was maneuvered into a hole about 2 feet wider than her beam without a touch on either side. We tied up with laid moorings and totally relaxed. Showers, Internet, and a town nearby – what more can you ask for.

What we got was way better – we met Frank and Valeria – a couple that were staying on their new Jeanneau 45DS a couple of boats down. Frank helped us tie up the boat and was cleaning some fish. Later that afternoon he asked us if we wanted to take a ride with him into town to get some provisions. He first took us to the winery – where we filled up 2 liter water bottles with red wine – for 2Euros a liter. In a gesture of his generosity, he paid for our wine. Frank then took us to the supermarket, the bakery – where he arranged a tour of the oven, then to a local store that specializes in delicacies from Southern Sicily. On the way back to the club he mentioned that they were having a meeting about match-racing that evening and were going out for dinner at a local pizzeria at around 8:30 and asked if we’d like to come. We jumped at it and left the kids behind with a movie and some pasta while Marina and I dressed up a little and went out with about 20 Sicilian sailors. We had a great meal, Calimari, we shared some of Valeria’s fried anchovy – (you snap the heads off, then batter and fry them, and then eat them just like French fries – except with a tail) that are always really good. Both Marina and I had pizzas, there was lots of beer, some champagne and at the end some Grappa – that tastes a lot like tequila to me.

We wandered back to the boat and said our goodbyes. How can you thank someone for a chance encounter like that … we will probably not see them again but they made our lives much richer by their generosity and giving nature. Much like others we’ve met along the way – that’s what travelling is all about.