Able was I ...

Of course, the famous palindrome indicates that we are in Elba. We crossed from Bastia in Corsica to Golfo del Campo in Elba. It was good to be back in Italy after the high prices of Corsica.

Evening in our anchorage in Marina di Campo, Elba

Corso in Marina di Campo

... the streets have no name...

Beautiful beach in Elba

After sampling the beach life in Campo, we headed up the Elba coast, trying for Porto Azzura. The wind was up and this anchorage looked nasty, with a steep swell rolling straight in, so we kept going around the island and ended up in Portoferraio, the main port and capital of Elba.

Spit, Megan and the main port of Portoferraio

Boulevard of Portoferraio

Elegant buildings in Elba, Italiante style

A wicker-work Mini, only in Italy

Portoferraio was a delightful town, with steep winding lanes and a different style of architecture to the mainland. It was the site of Napoleon's exile. We visited Napoleon's home, the Palazzina del 

Mulini.

Italiante style buildings

Part of the Fortress complex

Bonaparte's mail box

Exterior of Napoleon's palace

Palace drawing room, quite austere comparatively 

The bed of the great man

Belonged to Bonaparte's sister

Napoleon's camp bed

Palace gardens

The most appealing feature of Elba though, was the natural beauty of the island. It is heavily wooded with steep pine covered cliffs that plunge to the sea.

An Elban beach cafe 

Overlooking Portoferraio

The port and surrounding bay

Entrance to the port

Walking the cliffs

We tried to leave Portoferraio and head back to the Italian coast, but when we got there, it was unsheltered and quite ugly, so we promptly sailed back to Elba, and went into Porto Azzurro, the port we missed out last time. Now it was sheltered, and apart from a close encounter with an underwater wreck which required a diver to free our anchor, it proved to also be a delightful spot.