It’s been a busy and yet relaxing week on Elba again.
I had the opportunity to go on a day trip with a great friend, Carolyn, and climb the tallest peak on Elba; Mt Capanne. What initially was sold as a bus ride to Marcianna and then a lovely 6.3 km roundtrip hike, of course, turned into something a little more. Those that have joined me on hikes in the Rockies are well aware of this phenomenon.
The hike had us climbing 625 m (or 250 flights of stairs per my watch). There is a “gondola” you can take but really it’s just a metal basket that barely fits two people at a time. Where’s the fun in being carried up the hill? After a quad burning ascent, we reached the peak just in time for the clouds to settle in and we had no view of the surrounding area but it was still completely worth it!
On the descent, we elected to try a different route out that would take us to Poggio with the plan to catch a return bus from there. It was a lovely path and we quickly reached our destination. However, we found that the return bus wasn’t actually due for another 3.5 hours. We had the option to sit in this lovely mountainside town, have a drink, eat a pizza and wait it out… or walk the 8 km back to the beach where the boat is anchored. Any guesses what we might do?
Fortunately, the walk was mostly on a beautiful, quiet, tree lined road. Had it not been for the slight 2 km detour that had us descending 400 metres and then having to turn around and climb back out, it would have been a quick and easy return. Needless to say, we were thrilled to find that a giant pot of spaghetti carbonara was being served right when we returned to the boat.
To make up for abandoning our husbands with four young boys on the boat for the day, we encouraged them to take an afternoon off and get another dive in. They seemed very happy about this agreement and sounds like they had a great time.
The rest of the week was really spent hopping from beach to beach as we circumnavigated Elba. Our favorite by far is Marina del Campo. On our final sail out of the bay we were delighted to again be joined by a small pod of dolphins playing at our bow.
Sadly, after a week that breezed by with the bliss of beaches, sunshine, gelato, and pizza, we had to drop our guests off on shore in Follonica so they can continue their epic travel plans. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a motor passage due to lack of wind, initially was a lovely reach in 12 knots that quickly deteriorated to a close haul in 25-30 knots of frontal squall. Remember the bay where we did not have a good anchor experience due to a plethora of sea grass? Well, that’s where we now anchored to drop the dinghy and transfer 2 adults, 2 kids, lots of backpacks and a stroller to shore. We were unable to say a proper goodbye and thanks to everyone in these conditions, but we truly meant to.
We now find ourselves back in Elba (we kind of love it here). We have provisioned, completed some boatwork projects, explored town, tried out the boys new adjustable fins at the local beach, and played lots of soccer. We are ready to cross to Nice in a couple days when a Southerly is predicted. We are hoping to do a day trip to Monaco to be able to scratch off another flag on our map.
- Next Stop – Nice
- Miles sailed this week – 103
- Percentage under sail – 80%
- Boat projects completed – generator oil change, replaced watermaker filter, replaced kitchen vacuum, mounted safety lights on spare buoy
- WTF Moment of the week – dropping friends off in Follonica during a squall and James being stung by a jellyfish.
- Days until I return to Canada – 14
Thanks for the pictures.