It took two overnight sails to get from Corfu to Italy. More accurately, to get to Reggio Calabria, where we intended to check in. Before we get into that story, here is a picture of the sun peeking through the clouds on my 2:00-8:00 a.m. watch:

We’d already hoisted the Italian flag next to the Women Who Sail the Med pennant:

And now, back to our story.

We hailed the Reggio Calabria port authority numerous times before they finally answered. After talking for some time, it was clear that we needed to go to a marina to check into the country. So, we moved a bit farther down the coast and called (on the phone) the marina, as advised. They answered and told us they didn’t speak English and we should WhatsApp them. So we did. Then we waited. Then they told us that they didn’t have room for us and suggested another marina. So we called them. They answered and told us they didn’t speak English and we should WhatsApp them. So we did. Then we waited. An hour had passed by this time and we decided to head out and check in at Salerno instead. It was our next stop, anyway, and a Port of Entry. So we did.

After we’d been underway for about 10-15 minutes, the initial marina contacted us to tell us that they now had a space for us. But we were done with Reggio Calabria by that time. LOL!

The story doesn’t end there, though, my friends.

We got to Salerno and found a good anchorage right near the town. It’s open to the wind on most sides and there is rather large swell from time to time, but the anchor is seriously dug in in 10 feet of water, so we are okay. We are about 200 meters away from the dark sand beach, which also happens to have a beach bar right next to it. Nice. This is the view from Seahike, looking towards the beach and vice versa:

Back to checking in.

We had not been able to find any information about how to check into the country in Salerno, and we could find no Coast Guard or Port Police office on Google Maps. So we did what from our experience either works or leads you to where you actually need to go: we walked to the Port Authority. After walking a kilometer, we arrived at the Port Authority. We had a bit of a time explaining what we were trying to do. When they understood, they told us we were in the wrong place. We asked them to show us on Google Maps where we were supposed to go. Turns out it was just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the anchorage! Ha ha! Oh well, we accumulated steps. I headed that way while Michael went another direction to buy a SIM card.

When I arrived at the building, I told the person who opened the door what I was seeking to do. That person seemed very confused. Then another person came to the door. He was also confused by what I was saying, but he spoke English. I told him that we always have to check into a country when we first arrive and that we are typically asked for our boat’s registration, proof of insurance, a crew list, and sometimes other documents. He asked me to follow him inside, then he talked to some of the other employees. I gave him the documents I thought they needed. He came back and asked for the insurance document and I showed him the one I had already given him, and he went back and talked to the other employees some more.

After a bit, this very kind gentleman told me that I needed to pay a fee at the bar. The bar? I was confused. So this very kind gentleman walked with me to – a bar – and I paid the fee. Then we walked back to the building and he talked to the other employees some more then told me to return at 4:30 (1.5 hours from then) because they needed to create a document for me. I later figured out that he meant the Consituto, which is basically a cruising log.

Well, I now knew where a bar was (!), so I went there and had two glasses of wine plus peanuts and another snack that looked like tiny doughnuts but was more of a hard bread. Michael was still shopping.

When I went back to the building at the appointed time, the doors were locked. I sent a WhatsApp to ask Michael where he was and started walking back to him. We met, and turned around to go back to the building. I showed Michael that the doors were locked. He hit a buzzer near the door and the door opened. Yeah, I felt a tad dumb. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Any who. . . from here on out, everything went smoothly. We got our documents, the Consituto, and went on our way.

I don’t think many yachters check into Italy in Salerno. Hee hee.

We visited Salerno the next day. We had planned to visit the duomo, Minerva’s Garden and the Arechi Castle. We achieved one goal and accomplished an entirely different one. 🙂

The duomo, also known as the St. Matthew Cathedral, was much more beautiful than I expected it to be. Here is some information about it:

The Duomo, for which construction began in 1080, was founded by Roberto the Guiscard and consecrated by Pope Gregory VII. It officially opened in March 1084. It was built upon the ruins of a 9th century Christian church and, beneath that, a Roman temple. The cathedral was dedicated to Saint Matthew the Evangelist by its Norman founder, and the remains of this evangelist saint are still contained in the cathedral’s crypt.

An earthquake in 1688 destroyed much of the cathedral, and the architect Ferdinando Sanfelice remodeled the interior of the Duomo in the Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo styles. A restoration in the 1930s brought it back to an appearance similar to the original one. The Duomo was damaged in World War II when, as part of the Operation Avalanche, the Allies landed in Salerno in September 1943.

The Duomo has continually been seen as a symbol of the Italian Renaissance because of the tomb of Pope Gregory VII, who began Italy’s rejection of German Holy Roman control. The main entrance has been altered and the courtyard is surrounded by a covered walkway supported by twenty eight plain columns with arches and a series of Roman tombs around the walls. On the southern side of the cathedral stands the bell tower which dates back to the XII century.

Time for pictures!

It felt like these dudes were looking out their windows at us:

We then walked to Minerva’s Gardens and discovered that it was closed. Dang. So we decided to go to the castle. The next bus didn’t leave for about 90 minutes, so we decided to take a taxi. We walked to the taxi stand and waited. A woman saw us standing there and told us that we needed to call for a taxi. She gave us the number. We called. A recorded voice spoke in Italian for some time, then the phone started ringing. After a few rings, it was disconnected.

So, seeing the castle that day didn’t seem to be in the cards either. We decided to have lunch and take a ferry to Vietri sul Mare.

The ferry ride to Vietri sul Mare was only about five minutes. Vietri sul Mare is primarily known for its ceramics. I thought we’d do a bit of shopping and walk around a bit. We didn’t see anything we wanted to buy – and the one store that seemed promising was closed – so we walked to the ceramics factory. There wasn’t a lot to see there, but we took a picture of the exterior because it is kind of artistic.

Before leaving the cute little village, we stopped for a drink. We met two lovely young Swiss women – sisters – who were on a month-long vacation. We had a delightful conversation with them before catching the ferry back to Salerno.

It was a nice day. We didn’t do a lot, but we did just enough to be satisfied.

We will share our visit to Amalfi and Atrina in our next post.