Day One Hundred Seven - April 22

My second day of touring solo was in Acona. We arrived at 08:00 with all aboard at 17:30 and Departure at 18:00.

As like the previous two days, rain was the theme of the day. As we entered the port I noticed three Viking ships under construction in the Fincantieri Shipyards.

The city with its population of roughly 102,000 is a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy located on the Adriatic Sea. Ferry traffic is important to the city with its links to many of the surrounding countries - including Greece, Croatia, and Albania.

Our ship tour today was to the Historic Republic of San Marino. While driving to the Republic our guide explained that shipbuilding, oil refinery plant and tourism are major industries in the region. The producing of wines and olive oil is also important.

The Republic of San Marino is a landlocked country with San Marino as its capital and located on Mount Titan. There is no border control between Italy and San Marino however if you want proof of your visit and your passport stamp then there is a charge of five Euros. I did not bring my passport on this tour but if we return then this may be a possiblity.

San Marino is not part of the European Union as it believes it will lose alot of its charm should it join the Union. The Euro though is still used as its currency.

An interesting fact for Trivia is there are two heads of state which must be elected every six months. The Captains Regent as they are known serve concurrently and hold equal powers. During of our walk yesterday, I found two Audi Cars with the license plates PM001 and PM002 for each Captains Regent.

Our large tour group prevented us from hearing the guide explain the history of the country so Kathy and John (my Trivia team members) and I left the group to explore San Marino on our own.

One stop was made to a wine shop where I found Pinot Grigio, three bottles for five Euros. What a bargain I could not turn down this price. Lets hope the wine is good.

Our next port is Kotor, Montenegro 240 nautical miles away. I have been told the sail into Kotor is magnificient. Hopefully Janice will be able to see it from our stateroom as she is in quarantine for another day.