Calm Milazzo

From: Milazzo, Sicily, Italy
To: Capo Calava, Sicily, Italy

The Milazzo castle looked promising and inviting. We badly needed to stretch our legs, lest they atrophy into useless noodles. We brought along our shopping bags. When you go ashore, you want to do all the things — culture, shopping, garbage disposal — because taking out the dingy is always a bit of a hassle. We usually visit places of interest loaded with shopping bags and backpacks, looking a bit like homeless drifters. Actually, we literally are homeless drifters. Cruising isn’t as glamourous as some people think.

We climbed to the top of the hill, only to find that the castle is closed on Mondays. Every shop, bar and restaurant around it was also closed. We really need to start doing our research before we visit stuff.

Milazzo itself is a nice city, but the view is forever marred by the oil refinery on the other side of the bay. I sometimes fantasize about a post-oil world, where humanity has left this destructive energy source behind. Where all the oil in the world is used only as a stepping stone to a fully renewable economy, not to produce and move worthless plastic junk nobody needs. The engineer in me knows it will be very hard to kick this cheap power addiction, but the flower-power hippie still dreams.

Coming down from the hill — and my soapbox — we found a big supermarket. Everything conveniently packaged in oil-based plastic. We were a bit overwhelmed by the assortment, after weeks of small local grocery stores. Barbara shed a single tear of happiness.

We left in the afternoon in 10 knots of wind. I was hoping this would keep up after we rounded Cape Milazzo, but I should’ve known better by now. Behind every cape is a dead calm or a gale. This time it was a dead calm.

The windless gulf made for some very pretty sights by sunset. The whole world became pastel-colored as if we sailed into a grandmother’s dream.

Could we handle another beautiful sunset? Yes we could. Mail me if you want me to stop posting sunset pictures.