Tuscan Archipelago & North to Pisa
We stayed an extra day in Ostia, Rome before heading north. The goal was to get to the Island of Elba before the next storm. When we checked out of the marina the woman at the office said “you have ONE day”. We took it.
We had long, slow, one meter rolling waves when we left the port. They were mostly behind us so they weren’t uncomfortable. I’ve learned that after really rough weather it’s best to wait at least one day for the seas to settle down before a departure, and waiting two days if it’s been severe weather is better yet. Furthermore, the period of the waves, the time it takes for two successive waves to pass, is as important as the height and direction. The longer the period relative to the height of the wave, the smoother the ride.
Within a couple of hours the seas had settled further and the rest of the day passed easily. We spent the night in the small village of Porto Ercole on the southern end of Tuscany. It is dominated by its fortress on a hill above the town and its beautiful beaches. We had arrived late in the day however and were not up for exploring. We would depart early the next day for the island of Elba.
We left the marina early once again. This time as we exited the breakwater we discovered our port engine was not running. It can be difficult to hear the difference between the purring of one or two engines. I steered into the waves as Tom went below to assess the problem. We bobbed around for about half an hour before turning back to re-enter the marina. The excellent staff came out to assist us in tying up given the wind on our beam and the tight maneuvering necessary to slip in alongside another vessel with only one engine. It took but 20 minutes for Tom to scan the engine manual and determine that perhaps the shifter wasn’t quite seated in neutral which could prevent the engine from starting. A simple fix and we were off - thanking the marineros (marina staff) as we left a second time.
We headed north once again in a relatively calm sea, turned on the water-maker, took turns at the helm - each of us listening to our preferred podcasts, and arrived in the small fishing village at Porto Azzurro on Isola d’Elba at 3:30pm that afternoon.
Tuscan Archipelago National Park
Elba (#1 on the map) is the largest (86 miles²) of the seven islands in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park situated just off the coast of Tuscany. According to Greek mythology, the Tuscan archipelago was the necklace of Venus, goddess of beauty and sensuality. She lost the necklace while emerging from the Tyrrhenian Sea and the seven islands of the Tuscan archipelago symbolize the pearls she lost.
Porto Azzurro is a charming little seaside town beneath a massive 17th century fort on the east side of Elba. The central piazza along the waterfront was lively even in early March and we strolled the narrow streets stopping in shops and markets, cafes and restaurants. The east side of the island is the most ancient part, dating back 400 million years. It is mainly hilly and famous for its gorgeous beaches, hiking trails and its iron deposits. After more than 3000 years of working the iron ore veins; the economic boom and the arrival of tourism, competition, strikes and negotiations that failed, caused the closure of the mines in Elba in 1981. Apparently the mining area of Elba is studied by geologists from all over the world.
One day we took the local bus to Portoferraio, the capital and main port on the northeast side of the island. We traversed the mountains stopping in a couple of hilltop villages along the way. I saw alder, chestnut and yew trees, and what I believe was likely hornbeam (I looked it up later). The smell of the forest was wonderful and I wished we could return in summer when the flowers would be in bloom.
From the actual port in Portoferraio you have a fantastic view of the the Villa dei Mulini, the winter residence of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1814 he landed in Portoferraio to take command of the small kingdom which had been assigned to him in exchange for his abdication as Emperor of France. He lasted only 10 months on Elba but he gave the island its historical renown. Admittedly, I knew very little about Napoleon’s life prior to our visit but learned a great deal reading up on his military strategy and, naturally, watching the epic 2023 film documenting his relentless ambition and his stormy relationship with his first wife, Josephine.
I found Isola d’Elba to be an understated alternative to the flashier tourist destinations in Italy like Capri or the Amalfi coast. I think a summertime visit to hike and enjoy the beaches would make for a terrific vacation.
After a few days we continued on to Pisa. We had a gentle cruise up the coast and found a berth in a small marina at the mouth of the Arno River. It would be an easy bus ride from there into the city. We had a couple of rainy, down days where we relaxed aboard, strolled the marina and did a few chores. Our sightseeing excursion was also quite relaxed, I think we were still recovering from Rome! We meandered around the attractions, poked into the shops (I’m obsessed with Italian leather) and sampled the street food.
Meanwhile, about a week ago back in Rome, we’d begun experiencing some electrical issues aboard. We were unable to draw shore power from the marina and the issue was on our end. As a result, we needed to operate the generator for several hours each evening before going to bed to keep the refrigerator, heater, etc. running. This also meant checking ever few hours to insure we did not drain our batteries. So we would awaken during the night to check the battery charge and sometimes we had to run the generator for a couple of hours in the wee hours. The constant worry (and disrupted sleep) was beginning to wear on us. Tom spent hours and hours diagnosing the problem, dialoging with the electrician at the factory in Turkey, and checking every fuse, breaker, component and wiring in our system. Eventually they figured out what was wrong and created a temporary work around. It’s not ideal, but I can’t tell you what a relief it is to plug into shore power and have all the systems running! I can once again use the stove and oven and washing machine without running the generator along with all the fans and blowers that need to run simultaneously! It’s quiet once again AND we can sleep through the night!
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