Arrived in Skathioss last night. Now preparing the boat & collecting supplies for two weeks around Aegean with good friends Lynn & Steve and Chris & Denise..
Skathios:
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Here is the boat – sorry, catermaran. It’s huge. Four cabins, 2 in each hull. And that is captain Steve fiddling about with his ropes – a essential skill. I am told and one I will have to learn if we are not to loose fenders. Yes, it has proper sails!
See you when I can find WiFi.
Have a quick espresso while waiting for the midday ferry at the port at Sorrento
What an ancient city Naples is! ! Full of narrow, haunting streets, full of history & stories. From the sea, domes and crosses compete with tall, elegant, apartment buildings, those flaking & crumbling in juxta position to renovated classy restaurants & shops, for sky space. Layers of muted coloured buildings, all between four & seven stories high, stretch up the hills around the harbour.
A walk around the corner and crowds are watching power boat race around the bay. A real spectacle.
I cannot say goodbye to Naples without leaving you with an image of Vesuvius!
Some images of the hotel – highly recommended in all aspects. Good inexpensive but high quality restaurant, friendly, helpful staff, wonderful roof top pool and scenery to die for overlooking the island of Capri.
A few more images of Sorrento.
From Sorrento buses dash around narrow windy lanes hugging the coast or clinging to hillsides. The driver eats a choc ice in one hand and steers & blasts horn at every bend with other. Then he sorts out his headphones!
Two local buses, change at San Agata, takes you through Termini to the stoney beach at Nerano. Plush hotels & restaurants hug a small bay of pebbles and stones shadowed by tall cliffs at each end.
Amongst the sunseekers and sun loungers some locals still find time to work & fish.
Just an hour down the coast from Naples – the coastline jewel around Sorrento.
The view of Capri from the hotel. It’s the same from the balcony that greets the morning as the shutters open.
Sunset last night over the Bay of Naples & over the island of Ischia.
Sorrento.
Last night we cruised into Male, passed the airport terminal and moored about 30 minutes away.
In the morning, we have our breakfast, move to the quay right outside the terminal with trolleys on the quayside and say goodbye to the crew.
There’s the room boy Ahmed – nice hair!!
The waiter Assadh who kept an eye on me from the inflatable cause my mask kept leaking when in the water – nice eyes, eh?!!
Bablu the cook, from Bangladesh, who worked wonders in his little galley – the one with the white T shirt.
And Captain Laray
And this was our route –
Leaving Fulidhoo we start to make our way back to Male. On the way we meet up with & snorkle alongside 3 manta rays like huge beating carpets & a large pod of dolphins who are clever enough to lead us on a merry chase around the boats.
The Embudhoo reef & sandbank was a bit scarey. Whilst some snorkled along the reef a group of us were off loaded from the small boats to explore the small sandbank for an hour. The single feature was this 2 metre high cone of dead coral. From the sandbank 3 reef sharks were spotted gently swimming around about 3 metres from shore. Each was about 3 metres in length. Needless to say none of us chose to go into the water at this juncture.
The pace of life on Fulidhoo is like on all these isalnds: very laid back with lots of sitting around, fishing & chatting.
The boys are in town!!
School sports’ afternoon on the beach including high jump
Say no more:
After a day spent eating & cruising & snorkling, as dusk approaches, we anchor beside a large inhabited island called Maduvvari with school, police station, magistrate’s court, mosque and a population of 1,000 or so people. By large I mean it takes 15 minutes maximum to walk very slowly around the island.
Not a lot to do here but sit around & pass the time of day – husbands with wives, men with men, women with women, children with children & mothers, boys with boys and girls with girls.
And the high spot – watch the sunset:
My Travel Adventures 
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