We messed around in the Malfatano area for a few days waiting for weather. It was fun trying the tender out as a ski boat - it went really well and Peter managed to get up after 40 plus years since his last efforts!

The trip to Marsala, Sicily, was a great overnight of calm seas and little or no wind (hello motor boat not sailing boat) and we arrived to a warm welcome from the marina there. After we had settled the boat down it was mid afternoon and we decided to be lazy and get a taxi to the old town for a late lunch (about a 20 minute walk). Well, we made a real mess of it! First we rang Salvatore from a advert on our map and thought he said in Sicilian to wait 30 minutes. After 40 minutes he still had not arrived so Melissa asked a nearby hotel to call us a cab. The receptionist called Peppe to get us in 10 minutes. After 15 minutes there was no Peppe but Garabaldini turned up so we went with him. We felt bad about Peppe so sent him a text explaining. In the meantime we found that Garabaldini and Salvatore had the same phone number but different cards so we weren't sure who we had let down. The situation was rescued by Garabaldini coming across our marina manger quite by chance who explained all to all and found us a late lunch place (by then 4.30). We never did hear anything more of Peppe, he was probably off making cement boots for all or us. We had a great lunch and explored a bit around the old town Marsala where we found a Marsala wine store and stocked up. Veal Marsala coming up - mm mmm.

We stayed in Marsala for two days when a good weather window came up for a trip straight to Pylos, Greece. This is a check in port - you need a cruising permit for Greek Waters.

We had a dream trip across the Ionian Sea. Full moon, clear skies and calm water the whole way. We arrived just after dawn and tied up to the town dock. Almost immediately the authorities were there to tell us to check in, even though they didn't open till 10am!. it took Pete all of 2 hours to get through the officialdom, 8 carbon copied pages right out of the 50s. Who knows where they store it all or do any cross referencing on who's where etc.

Pylos is a very pretty town. It's two main claims to fame are: a naval battle that decided that independence of Greece almost exactly 200 years ago (Oct 28th) and there are flags going up everywhere and I'm sure there will be celebrations, albeit, Covid style. The other being the home of the Temple of Apollo which is the largest, the oldest or the best, I'm not sure which and I haven't found where it is yet.

Last night Michael and Melissa took us to the Taverna Koukos for a super Greek meal. The Taverna served up tasting samples of local Pylos/Greek starters, mains and desserts. All made with very fresh local produce. Delicious, with a Pylos merlot.

Today we all jumped in the water with noodles and the lily pad. A bit cool but not too bad for this time of year. We're now looking for a chance to hop down to the first of our island hops heading towards Turkey over the next two weeks.