Ischia

Today's route: 23 miles.

In the morning we set sail for Ischia and spot some neat graffiti on the way out of the harbor.


Ischia's Castello Aragonese marks our destination.


We find a spot at the end of Ischia Ponte's harbor.

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An old fishing town still living each day as if time had never passed.

Fishermen sell their morning's catch off the docks.

Those leathery mitts belong to a working man's hand.


These guys were really fast at cleaning their fish!


This fellow seemed to be whittling away at some netting.

A mountain of nets.

(...and I thought the cords behind my stereo were bad.)

Castello Aragonese

The entrance to this century-old island stronghold was an impressive sight.
Standing on volcanic rock, this historical monument was built by Hiero I of Syracuse in 474 BC.

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A view of the Ischia mainland from atop Aragonese.

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Smile! You're in Italy!!

I scanned the harbor and found our boat lingering in the harbor.
(I hoped our crew wasn't busy eating all the fresh seafood they just bought off the docks.)

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We continued on to explore other areas of the castle.



Some kind of peek-a-boo window. It's purpose wasn't clear.

This was a creepy room.

Monks would place the recently deceased in these chairs and pray in front of them
while their bodies decomposed — eventually — through the holes in the seats.


I think this thing used to make wine or something.

If I had a wine cellar, it might look like this.

A view from outside the prison.

Those holes in the wall are the only windows to the outside world (and how oxygen keeps them breating).

IN / OUT

Kate prefers being on the outside of this prison.

Prisoner list.

One of a couple Duomos on the island.


The interior artwork was a little weathered, but otherwise pretty well preserved.



Despite its volcanic base, grapes grew throughout the island.

A few more random exterior shots of this place before we hurried our way out.


This long and ominous corridor led us back outside.

Farewell, you crazy island!

Streets of Ischia

We set off through the streets of Ischia to our next waypoint.


Andreas captures a nice turn on the beach with his helmet-cam.

A brief stop for another group photo.

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Say cheese!


... on the road again.

Some streets were pretty crowded.



At the top of a hill, a magnificent view overlooking Forio.

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Nearing the top of our final incline for the day.

Jutta and Andreas of Germany, whom we've stayed in touch with since our trip.

And finally, to our magnificent boat awaiting our arrival.

Our chef Marco is pretty excited for the meal he plans to cook us tonight.



While dinner is prepared, we grab a snack in town.


Before dinner, we catch the sunset at Sant' Angelo.

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Dinner is great, and so is the view from our boat.

Tonight I slept above deck under the stars and moonlight.