Underneath the Italian boot: Rocella Ionica
38° 19′ 40.512” N 16° 25′ 59.6676” E
May 9, 2018
Fast lizards run around our feet, as we walk the three kilometers from Porto delle Grazie to the town Rocella Ionica, and again we feel that our destinations are often more of a mood than a particular geographic location.
Freshly clean sea air mixed with the fragrance of spring flowers, freshly cut grass and small pine plantations. Kilometer-long beaches with – at this time of year – only one single red parasol that beautifully matches the turquoise-blue Ionic ocean. Old men are sitting in the shade on their plastic chairs and watch the world pass by.
After 12 hours of sailing – three hours for sail and nine hours for motor – we have crossed the Messina Strait and laid the majestic profile of Sicily and Etna behind us. We have sailed up under the Italian boot, where the mainland of Italy will become the framework for our next experiences, and we have seen – from the sea – how the landscape has changed from Sicily’s lush green east coast to Calabria’s dry and rough mountain slopes. From dense residences to scattered residences. We have to go far up the mainland coast, before we find a real port.
The port of Rocella Ionica is called Porto delle Grazie, and it is large, well-protected and well-functioning. We are approaching Greece, which causes harbor prices to fall. “We have to be competitive, otherwise our customers will sail directly to Greece,” says Francesco, who in white shirt and jacket controls the guest harbor, while calling you for captain in every other sentence.
Ready for 1,5 meter of italian pizza and a british-danish sailor-reunion
We dine in the harbor’s excellent pizzaria together with two British crews, Claire and Derek from the boat “Red Rooster” that we have previously been with in San Remo, Genoa and Riposto, as well as Elisabeth and Ken from the boat “Pala”, whom we learned to know in Riposto. The specialty of the place is pizza by the meters. We order one and a half meters and have a really pleasant evening.
Bonus info: If you are good at hackling the prices, then you should definitely use this skill in southern Italy, where we often experience that the list price for a berth for your boat can be negotiated significantly, especially if you can suggest, that you might stay in the port for several days if the price is good. Of course, it also helps us to sail outside the high season, but we have experienced the price in for one night in Riposto started at 55 Euros and ended in 42 Euros per night. And in Lipari the opening price of 40 Euros, was changed into 30 Euros.