David's Diary: Saturday, July 13, 2002

Lipari, Italy

After two days in Panarea, we made the short hop to the island of Lipari. After refuelling Dragonsinger, we took a look at the public quay, but between the ferry boats and the megayachts we decided to moor elsewhere. We found a private dock run by a mother and son duo who, by Italian standards, charged us a reasonable price for the night.

Unlike us, most tourists' first view of the Aeolian Islands is the town of Lipari. Lipari is the largest and most developed of the Aeolian Islands. The town is sandwiched between two yacht harbours with a cliff-top castle overlooking both.

Lipari Main Street

We had not done any shopping since we left Salerno, so we quickly found the supermarket and proceeded to fill up a basket of food. The market did not deliver, so we just pushed our cart, overflowing with groceries, down the main street of Lipari. For the tourists, we made a curious sight, but the locals didn't give us a passing glance. We even parked our buggy outside the butcher where we stopped to get enough meat and chicken to last us the next three or four days.

Laundry Day

When Karalee signed on for our adventure, she did agree to do the laundry. What none of us realized is just how rare a washing machine would be once we left France and Spain. All summer Karalee has had to do the laundry by hand in the galley sink and afterwards our colourful clothes are arranged on lines around the deck for all to see. Karalee works on a technologically modern boat while feeling like she has gone back to her Grandmother's time on the farm. At least she's still smiling.

All of this preparation is to get the boat ready for our longest passage ever. In the late afternoon, we take one quick tour around the town, then feed Kevin and Allen. We leave the boys with a DVD, while Karalee, Jocelyn, and I go out to the local trattoria and enjoy our last meal in Italy for some time to come.