The Prinsendam maneuvered between several of the seventeen Aeoliian Islands this morning. Out on deck, we watched the steam rise from a still active volcano on nearby Stromboli Island. Laying down anchor, we tendered ashore at Lipari, our ninth port using the bikes. This little Sicilian port town stretches along two inlets separated by a mountain. We biked through a tunnel to another fishing village on the next cove. The narrow cobblestone streets were barely wide enough for the Vespa scooters and very tiny Fiat cars. We walked along a black volcanic sand beach and picked up a handful of sand. (We have been collecting envelopes of soil from every stop to add to a collection for Naz’s Montesorri school.) Ancient stucco and colorful stone homes filled the town- we thought only the Disney set designers could create and imagine! Washing hangs everywhere from second floor balconies. Again, we are clearly “off the beaten track”, although “room for rent” signs suggest that they are ready to welcome travelers arriving by island ferries during the summer. Another nutella gelato, a few (attempted) phone calls and we were ready to sail away. This evening we’ll be out on deck as we transverse the Straits of Messina that bring us past the toe of the boot of Italy on our left and the big island of Sicily on our right, for our landing in Siracusa, Sicily in the morning.
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” –Helen Keller
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