David's Diary: Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Bastia, Corsica to Marina di Pisa, Italy

We arrived in Corsica on May 17th. We have had a great three and a half weeks exploring the island. We started at Bonifacio in the south, made it all the way up the west coast, saw Calvi, then rounded Cap Course and visited Bastia. Much as we like Corsica, we are ready to head off to our next country. The Arno River in Italy is the goal today. We are up at first light as we snake our way out the narrow entrance of Bastia.

Arno River

We sail a little, but spend most of the day motoring the seventy nautical miles (130 kilometers) to the Italian mainland. In the late afternoon we arrive off the mouth of the Arno River. The Arno runs through both Florence and Pisa, but today we slide over the entrance with only a thin layer of water under our keel.

We motor upriver passing numerous small marinas with wooden docks laid out. We find an empty spot and tie up. Our marina looks like it was a former summer home for wealthy Pisans and is run by a son and father team. The marina is beautifully kept, complete with lots of flowers and a pet squirrel that the children enjoy talking to.

Sunset at Marina di Pisa

After dinner Karalee and I wander up the road towards the mouth of the river. With work over for the day, all the fishing nets along the river are pulled up and put away for the night. We watch the sky turn from blue to red to magenta as the sun sets and we congratulate ourselves on making landfall in yet another country.