April 23^rd

We sail from Salerno to Agripoli

We left at 9am and by 9.30 the wind picked up and we had a wonderful sail to Agropoli.

We arrived to the beautiful little port of Agropoli where Edwardo was there to greet us.

John’s ‘Bows-In’ invention works a treat again and gets the coast Guard’s Attention!

We went ‘bows-in’ which was just as well as our depth sounder said “00” but we were floating.  

It’s much better being ‘bow- in’ than ‘stern-to’ as is the norm because when it is potentially shallow towards the dock the rudder is kept out of harms way being in the deeper water.  The adaptor for the passerelle to put the passerel on the bow of the boat that John made worked so well it was the talk of the village. Even the coast guard came and checked it out. It was a bit disconcerting at first. He arrived, stayed and looked at the boat forever.
“What does he want?” We all thought.
It turns out his father also needed some way of getting of the bow of his boat so he was intrigued by John’s invention!

We dropped the dinghy half way down to the water and then had a great view of the town and harbor to boot. Again, if you moor ‘stern-to’ you just get a view of the dock and your dinner is very public!

Hey, if you need anything just ask me to arrange it!

Edwardo was a character to say the least. Although we had previously negotiated a price via our friends at Salerno I think on seeing our boat he could very easily have changed the price!

We recounted our fingers and arranged a two night stay.
Edwardo suggested making the most of our visit by taking a taxi to the famous ruins of Paestrum.  He also arranged and got a fixed price for us to have a minivan arrive at 10am the next morning to take us and bring us back. He also arranged for a restaurant in town to collect us for dinner  - he thought it would be a little far to walk, difficult to explain where to go and they needed the business anyway!

Edwardo was a character and we were learning fast. Everything is negotiated in Southern Italy.

Our taxi for dinner arrived at 8pm and took us to the restaurant. Bob tried to pay him but he insisted it was not necessary. A few minutes later he started taking our order!  The chef there was another character – just as you would expect a chef to look like on a packet of homemade cookies!  We knew we hit the jackpot here. This was real home cooking. After our meal the owner suggested he drive us back to the marina. Great service!

...just what we needed. Another ancient monument!
Paestrum

..just kidding.
The ancient Greeks and romans built some amazing building!

The next day our taxi arrived to take us to Paestrum.
This another internationally important Greek settlement to 6^th century BC. It is famous for its magnificent Doric temples, the basilica and temples for the Gods Neptune and Cerere.  Later, in the Roman era shops and a market were added to the forum.

We continue to be totally amazed by the engineering feats of this era. Not only are these structure HUGE and sophisticated but they are also incredibly detailed with carvings and colour wherever possible. The museum attached houses all the fine pottery and more delicate items found during the excavations.  It was so interesting we had to ring our taxi to give us another hour there.

This has got to be better than hangin’ in a shopping mall!

That night we walked into town.
What a lovely atmosphere. The main square was bustling with all ages. These Italian piazzas provide great focal point family life. Grandparents, Mums and Dads, kids and teenagers all having fun kicking balls, running, sitting, drinking and chatting. Town architects could learn something from here.

 Cathy and I had our first Italian Spritzer drink which was soo good we just had to ask the bar staff for the ingredients so we could buy some for the boat!   

Of course we had to walk back to the restaurant from the night before! He was shut!
Although we ate at another good local restaurant it wasn’t the same!

The next day we were to throw off our lines and continue our southerly journey!