Hotel Speraesole Olbia

... day. There weren’t many boats around us so we turned up our music, and just had a great afternoon.

That evening, after dinner the crew pulled up anchor and we began our cruise to Naples. After dinner I got a group together to play Rock Band, the Xbox Video Game in the upper salon. It was a fun day. It’s always nice when guests finally relax and unwind and really let go and enjoy themselves. They’re at their best at those times.

... that it has a lot in common with the planned community that Disney built, or the planned suburbs of Orange County in California with their gated communities.

There’s nothing wrong with places like these. It’s just not my style. I prefer the unexpected, the genuine, and the gritty. I love the variety of life that a master plan takes away. I prefer the rollercoaster of life over the merry-go-round.

I came up for breakfast this morning to see the coast of Corsica off the starboard beam. The rugged coast is lined with little bays backed by sand beaches and little villages with a scattering of small island thrown into the mix. Bonifacio is an amazing town and cruising along the coast toward Bonifacio is stunning. It's a beautiful city all perched up on the cliffs. It also has ...

... but beautiful area. Upon arrival they showed us to our "cabin" which was basic and had a bathroom, kitchen area, living room and bedroom loft. It was simple, clean, and comfortable. We had a great porch with an amazing view over the valley. We enjoyed having coffee out there in the mornings and reading out there in the evenings. All the food was raised and prepared on the farm (cured meats, cheeses, vegetables, eggs, etc). Breakfast was coffee and homemade bread along with ...

... it is the least interesting example of it. Its murky interior has three aisles separated by pillars and columns recycled from Roman constructions, and even the stoup for the holy water was formerly an urn that held cremated ashes. The church is the venue for Olbia's biggest festa, six days of processions, costumed dancing, poetry recitations, traditional games and fireworks around May 15, commemorating San Símplicio's martyrdom in the fourth century.

... to meet a friend of Pam and Greg Reed's who is back packing around Europe and would love to come sailing. Zach is from the USA and has been away for almost a year. He met up with both Somala and Hayley in their overseas travels and was keen to jump abouard and see the Baeleric Islands and Spanish coast with us as we head out of the Med.

... What a beautiful place, calm, clear blue waters with granite boulders surrounding the shores. It was still too cool for us oldies to swim but the boys had a go at knee boarding behind the dinghy. Our last night was not to be a disappointment as on sunset the dolphins came to play around us and Jack caught a couple of amazing photos on his camera. We also had a homemade birthday cake cooked by Jack for Gill because a birthday should last more than one day!

... weather lasted for 4 hours before the wind came up a little. Then a little more and more until we were half way across and our breeze had turned into a strong breeze on the nose, with the seas becomming very choppy with a short steep swell. Unfortunately the Sutho's found this most unpleasant and between vomoiting and death threats to the captain they were forced to endure 24 hours of this torture. I believe Gills comment after reaching Olbia was ...

... shop where a lady working there is from Eugene Oregon. Back to our room to dress for dinner at the Grand Dining Room. What a great experience. This is the 4* on the ship. Perfect presentation and food - will go back there again. Of course there was too much food, and yes, we ate it all! Back to the room watched some TV on Hurricane Ike and off to bed-tomorrow is another early day.

Well here I am in Oblia Italy. Last week was spent in holiday spirit in Munich, Germany. But I will detail that later. Basically, Christmas, Sebastians birthday and New Years and off I was on New Year's day to catch my flight to Olbia, Italy, which is on ...