Southing it!

Turn, turn, turn: the season is turning from hot and balmy summer to the changeability of autumn, along with the rain, thunderstorms and the dreaded bora. So we little bunnies must scurry south while the going stays good. We are about 800 nautical miles distant from our winter home in Licata, so its time to make southing, and in good measure. We'd been dawdling up the Croatian coast, doing jumps of just a few miles, and idling away in lovely anchorages. But now its burn, burn, burn, doing 50, 60 and even 70 mile days.

Heading out of Venice, along the Canal San Nicola

Canal scenery

A building at the cross roads of two canals

Fishing huts near Chioggia

Town along the Venezian Lido

First stop was Chioggia, the southern-most port still inside the Venetian lagoon. We determined to go down to Chioggia internally, down the canals rather than go back out to sea. This was an interesting trip; lots of birdlife, unusual fishing shacks, and towns stretching all along the Venetian Lido, the long 'seawall' island that separates the lagoon from the sea. Now that we've experience at lagoon anchoring, we didn't bother with a marina, but just pulled to one side of a wide section of channel and tried to be inconspicuous to all the passing traffic.

Megan is beaming: an alongside berth at Marina di Ravenna

Italians like their marinas fancy, too.

Great idea; tiny keel sailing boats for the handicapped.

Central park and cathedral in Ravenna 

Next stop was a long haul to Marina di Ravenna, a coastal port about 10 km away from the medieval town of Ravenna. We had no options on berthing here, it was the marina or nothing. So we entered this huge marina (800 berths) with Megan dreading another encounter with mooring poles. She indicated her distress to the marinaro, who promptly led us to a huge along side berth. Megan's dreams answered!

It isn't Piza, but it sure is leaning.

Early Christian church

Ceiling graffiti

Mosaic dome

Just beautiful: the Basilica of Saint Vitale

Man, those early Christians could do Bling!

More examples

The Baptistry of Neon

Mosaic and painting

Ravenna, in the commune of Emilia-Romagna, was the last hidey-hole of the decaying Roman Empire. While barbarian Ostrogoths pillaged the rest of the empire and picked over the bones of Rome, the last remaining senators and patricians retreated to the small muddy island where they ruled from 402 to 476 BCE. Ravenna is renowned for its early Christian mosaics, which are bright and colourful, unlike the dark and moody decorations in many Italian churches. We visited 5 sites that showcased these mosaics, and they were astonishing. Even the street signs in Ravenna are mosaics!

Ravenna town street

Just another church

Mosaic street signs

After a day visiting the sights of Ravenna, it was back to the grind. We set off down the coast to Pesaro. We berthed on a municipal dock, but had to spend about 60 minutes doing bureaucracy with the Capitainerie (Coast Guard). I must say that the Italians have been very helpful and polite in all our check-in dealings. Formalities are always slow and painful, but we have had none of the Croatian brusqueness nor the money-hungry attitudes. The river berth was free.

Pavlov on the municipal dock in Pesaro

Interesting sailing vessels

Love these protected river berths.

Trucking on, we spent a night in the not-so-memorable Porto San Giorgio. Another 50 Euro per night marina, but this one really offered no facilities, even the toilets were locked to us. Every onwards, we headed off at first light to the Marina di Pescaro. Since leaving Venice, we have covered 223 nautical miles in 6 days, with only one rest day in Ravenna. Not bad going for us slow coaches (but I can hear the sniggers from the go-fast crowd). So we've declared a rest day tomorrow, we're off to explore Pescaro (a city completely destroyed in WW2) and catch up with a bit of boat maintenance. Arrivederci!