The Voyages of Tra Bhui – Scotland to Greece by road
Friday 25th of March
After
a pretty manic morning of final packing and with Tra Bhui sitting snuggly on
her trailer behind the car we just made our target departure time of 12.00hrs.
As “passage plans” go allowing only three hours for the 160 miles to the ferry
at Newcastle was not one of my better ones especially as much of our journey
was cross country. We arrived late, but only by a few minutes and still in
plenty of time to catch board the 17.00hrs DFDS Seaways overnight ferry to
Amsterdam.
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| Waiting to embark at Newcastle |
Our
inside cabin – complete with bunk beds and cupboard sized toilet and shower was
more than adequate for one night aboard and luxury compared to Tra Bhui’s
onboard accommodation. After dropping our bags it was time to head upstairs to
watch the ferry undock and set sail down the River Tyne past the fish docks and
new waterside residential developments towards the open sea and Amsterdam which
lay over the horizon.
Saturday
26th March
As
usual I woke early and after lying restlessly in my bunk for an hour or so I
persuaded Kathleen that we should go on deck to watch our arrival. While DFDS
advertise the ferry as crossing between Newcastle and Amsterdam, the ferry
actually goes to Ijmuiden which is a city in its own right at the mouth of the
North Sea Canal which in turn leads to Amsterdam. Obviously DFDS use the
same atlas as Ryanair which lands at provincial
airfields many miles away from the capital destinations advertised. But as long
as the captain knew where he was going Ijmuiden would suit us fine.
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| Entering the North Sea Canal |
This
was in fact the second time that I had made this crossing with Tra Bhui having used
the same ferry when trailing her to Denmark in 2014 to take part in the Viking
Cruise.
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| Stowed on board |
As
the ferry entered the North Sea Canal we saw a number of oil exploration
platforms and drill ships tied up or at anchor. Presumably the lack of work for
them is a symptom of the current severely deflated global oil prices.
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| Aye Aye Sir! |
Just
after 9.00 hrs. all drivers were called down to the car deck, but it was nearly
10.00 hrs. before we were called forward to disembark under the supervision of
a number of deck hands, one of which had the specific task of watching to make
sure all vehicles cleared the intermediate car deck which was hung just above
the exit ramp.
While
not wanting to be critical DFDS or their staff whom I am sure are all very competent,
it would be better I would suggest to inform drivers that they are not going to
have enough clearance to pass under the intermediate deck rather than stop them later to tell them that
they have in fact hit it!
As
we descended the ramp the responsible crew member shouted to tell us that he
had watched the rear of Tra Bhui raise up towards the underside of the
intermediate deck and that the outboard motor had in fact hit it. Luckily there
was only cosmetic damage to the engine
casing, but it could easily have been worse. The lesson is not to rely on
someone else to watch your blind spots for you – Thanks DFDS.
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| Fuel stop in Germany |
By
10.30 we were clear of the port and took to the motorway which would lead us
through the Netherlands and into Germany. A days driving took us as far as
Hiedelberg in which is situated on the banks of the river Neckar in the south
west corner of Germany.
When
booking our overnight accommodation, I had chosen where we were going to stay
not by hotel stars or restaurant ratings although they were given
consideration, but by the available parking. Towing a 9 metre long trailer
rules out staying at a large number of hotels as there simply is nowhere nearby
to park.
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| Plenty of parking space |
Our
hotel in Hiedelberg – Leonardo Hotel Heidelberg - was just off the motorway,
but within easy walking distance of the town. It’s large car park was almost
empty so we were able to park car and trailer close to the front doors.
Having
been in the car all day we decided that some exercise was in order so after
checking in we set out to explore the older part of the town that was nearest
to the hotel.
The
old town was pleasant and although we did not get as far as the river or the
castle we did find sufficient back streets to wander and a historic German pub
for a drink before returning to the hotel for dinner.
Sunday 27th March
Easter
Sunday
A
pre breakfast run took us through a large but deserted high-tech office complex
which at first we thought was part of a university campus, but which we later
discovered was the world headquarters of SAP. We had never heard of SAP and
were surprised to find that it is the third largest soft wear company in the
world with a 2015 turnover of just under 21 billion euros. In fact Heidelberg
is home to Heidelberger
Druckmaschinen (the largest manufacturer of printing machines in the world), Heidelberg
Cement (the world’s second largest cement manufacturer), Capri Sun (drinks
manufacturer) and Lamu (manufacturer of pens). Surprisingly with all this
industry only 18% of the local population is employed in manufacturing. The
rest are employed either in the very buoyant tourist industry or in academia as
Heidleberg is also home to one of Europe’s oldest universities and to numerous
research institutes.
After
breakfast it was time to hit the road again, planning not to stop until we
crossed into Austria. It therefore came as a bit of a surprise to find
ourselves at the border with Switzerland. Today’s lesson would be about blindly
following your Sat Nav. To pass through Switzerland we had the pleasure of
having to buy 2 vehicle vignettes (one for the car and one for the trailer) which
contributed 80 Swizz Francs or 58 pounds to the Swiss economy.
Our
vignettes gave us access to the Swiss road network so we were able to enjoy a
shorter and very scenic route to Italy albeit one that we had not expected to
take.
Having
planned to stop for lunch in Austria we saw no reason not to simply stop in
Switzerland that is until we saw the prices of food in the service areas. After
using the facilities at one particular service area we marveled at the shops
that the area contained to satisfy the travel weary driver or passenger.
Whereas UK service areas are rather predictable with their fast food outlets,
coffee shops and confectionary outlets, the Swiss it would appear cater for a
wider market and rather than just providing a confectionary outlet to
compliment the restaurants and fast food outlets, they had provided a “sex shop”
which had it’s wares displayed for all to see.
For
lunch we reverted to water and mixed nuts that I had put in the car before
leaving home.
Driving
south we were soon in the foothills of the Alps, an area where road
tunnels become gradually longer and more
impressive to the extent where driving in daylight became a bit of a novelty
and our headlights remained on continuously as the tunnels were so frequent it
was not worth switching them off.
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| The Alps |
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Eventually
we passed under the alps and over the border into Italy. In need of diesel we
pulled into the first services where after filling up with fuel and affordable
coffee I carried out my usual check of the boat and trailer before driving on.
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| Stopping at first Italian service area after crossing from Switzerland |
Until
now each time I had checked the trailer I had found everything to be OK, but this
time I discovered what appeared to be a serious problem with the nearside
trailer axel assembly. Pulling further into the service area I extracted the
trolley jack from the boot of the car and removed the wheel to find that the brake
drum had cracked around the outer bearing seat.
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| Investigating the problem |
This
was a bit of a show stopper as it rendered the trailer unsafe to tow any
further. Face with no alternative I called our breakdown assistance provider
with a view to getting the boat and trailer recovered to a suitable repairer.
As
soon as I had confirmed that the combined length of the boat and trailer was
9m, the helpful if slightly clueless lady in the call centre I was speaking to
told me that the assistance insurance was invalid as the cover was only for
trailers up to 7m in length.
When
I pointed out that our trailer was just under 7m long she told me that if I
read the small print –(stated in the full insurance document, but not the
summary document that I had with me) I would see that the total length included
the load so my trailer was 9m long and not 7m, so unless I took Tra Bhui off
the trailer and left her in the service area there was nothing she could do for
me.
To
rub salt in it she would not even give me any suitable contact numbers for
local garages that would be able to help with the recovery and repair of the
trailer.
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| The damaged brake drum and collapsed bearings |
Explaining
our predicament to the manager of the service area we arranged to leave Tra
Bhui there under their watch until we could arrange for her recovery, well we
think that is what we arranged, as between Kathleen and I we have no Italian
and none of the staff in the service area spoke English!
The
problem was what to do now. Our planned overnight stop was to be at Simione over 100 miles away on the shores of Lake
Garda.
When
I planned our trip to Greece I had arranged our ferries and accommodation on
the basis that we had time to break the journey up a bit rather than simply put
our heads down and get to Greece as quickly as possible.
We
had stayed at beside Lake Garda twice before when the children were smaller and
when we spent summers exploring Europe by caravan. I knew Kathleen would
appreciate the room I had booked in a lakeside hotel as we would be spending
the rest of the summer sleeping on Tra Bhui’s cockpit the floorboards .
By
now it was early evening on Easter Sunday and too late to cancel our booking so
I decided that we should drive to Simione and make the best of our time there
with the hope of getting the trailer recovered and spare parts sourced once
Italy went back to work on Tuesday.
Arriving
in Simione it was immediately obvious that not having a 9 metre trailer behind
the car was a distinct advantage as the every car park and parking area we saw
approaching the old town was full to capacity. The Italians were obviously
making the most of the Easter holidays.
Simione
covers an island just off the south shore of Lake Garda. Whether it was
originally an island or not is debatable as the very narrow strip of water that
separates it from the shoreline was possibly excavated by early inhabitants to
provide a barrier to attackers.
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| Scaliger Castle |
The first traces of human presence in the area of Simione date from between the 5th and 6th centuries BC. By the 1st century BC, the area that is now Simione, was a favourite resort for rich families coming from Verona which at that time was the main Roman settlement in the region. The dominant Scaliger Castle which guards access to the town / island from the mainland was built by the Lords of Verona somewhere around 1200 AD. The castle remained as a garrison until the 19th century.
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| Scaliger Castle - again |
The castle is a rare example of a medieval port fortification which also housed the Scaliger fleet that sailed on Lake Garda.
After lunch we explored the town but nearly everywhere was closed because of the holiday. Later we caught one of the regular passenger ferries back across the lake to Simione.
Sitting
enjoying a coffee while looking out over the countryside towards the Adriatic
we wrote some postcards home.
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| Fortified harbour - part of Scaliger Castle |
Our hotel lay within the old town itself and before we could get to it we had to get approval to drive into the town, a process that involved the town security police confirming our booking before they lowered the automatic bollards which control vehicular entry.
Once past the bollards we had to deal with Italian pedestrians and a number of other drivers who had at the very best questionable vehicle driving skills. Without a clear idea where we were heading to we decided that the best course of action was for me to pull into the side of the very narrow road while Kathleen located the hotel and it’s garage where we had been promised a parking space. At this point we very were glad not to have Tra Bhui with us, not that this really made up for our earlier breakdown!
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| Our hotel from the ferry (third floor corner room) |
Our Hotel – the Hotel Eden – was all that we had anticipated it would be and our large 3rd floor corner room gave us excellent uninterrupted views westwards over the Lake.
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| View from our room |
A few beers and a good Italian pizza was the best way we could think of to end what had been quite a trying day.
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| Sunset over Lake Garda |
Monday
28th March
Easter
Monday.
Being
a public holiday in Italy and in the UK we were unable to do anything to get
the trailer recovered and repaired, so we set out after breakfast to explore
Simione before the holiday crowds arrived and then to stretch our legs with a
longer walk along the shores of the Lake.
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| Kathleen paddles in a sulfur pool |
Simione
is a pleasant place to stroll around, there are a few buildings and sites to
see, but the sheer mass of humanity which descends on the town during public holidays has to be seen to be
believed. So after exploring the town’s few streets and having walked as far
along the foreshore as it was possible to walk, we headed out of town (against
the flow heading in to town) to walk the 9 km to Desenzano del Garda which lies
on the south west shore of Lake Garda.
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| Desenzano |
Due
to shore side development there is not a lake side footpath until the outskirts
of Desenzano itself which is unfortunate, so we were forced to walk along the
side of the main road until we reached the outskirts of the town. Here we
rejoined the lakeside and walked the remainder of the way along the waterfront.
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| Exploring the town |
Arriving
in the town in the early afternoon we found a bar where we ate pizza cubes ???
and drank small black coffees. Inside the bar we found a few British school
teachers who were watching their pupils who were on a school trip to Italy run
wild in the square outside.
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| Leaving Dezanso |
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| Day visitors waiting for the ferry home from Simione as we arrive |
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Tuesday
29th March
After another splendid breakfast at the hotel and having checked out we retrieved the car from the hotels car park and squeezed our way past the first visitors of the day and out of Simione. The first thing on our agenda was to try and source spare parts for the trailer from the original manufacturer in the UK.
Before leaving the hotel I had called RM Trailers and spoke to their technical manager. Having explained the problem to Garry, he promised to call me back with some parts options within the next few hours. Ideally we would be able to arrange to have the parts shipped out so that we could affect some road side repairs and continue on our journey.
In the meantime we were heading to the small country town of Ceresara to collect a new roof tent that I had ordered direct from the manufacturers back in January. The Maggiolina MC/14 roof tent which is really a neat bit of kit would sit on top of the car and provide us with accommodation whenever we needed it. While I had no plans to use it on the way to Greece, it would give us more flexibility on the return journey and for our future travels.
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Collecting our roof tent
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Sat Nav decided to take us around three sides of a very large square rather than the direct route, which meant we were an hour late in arriving at the factory which was just about to close for lunch. The staff at the factory were excellent and quickly fitted the roof tent and sorted out the paperwork which allowed them to close for lunch and for us to get on our way again.
With our new roof tent securely fitted to the car we headed into nearby Ceresara to find somewhere for lunch. Ceresara is an unspoiled rural farming town. The traditional houses stand in quiet rows within an area which had at one time been enclosed by the town’s walls. Although the walls themselves have disappeared, a number of impressive brick built gateways remain.
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| Gates at Ceresara |
We found a small café below the cloisters running around the towns square for lunch.
A number of phone calls back and forward between myself and Garry at RM Trailers during the morning had established that the parts we needed were not immediately available as the manufacturer of the original brake drums had gone bust a number of years previously. With no immediate solution to our trailer problem to hand I decided that we should head further south to our next accommodation in San Marino rather than head back north to the trailer.
The reasoning behind this was pretty simple – if we headed north we had no accommodation and no internet access. Neither of us spoke Italian and we had no local knowledge. By heading to San Marino we would have accommodation, internet access and a host who spoke English. More importantly Kathleen could hopefully enjoy being on holiday while I tried to sort out the trailer. I could easily drive back north to affect repairs and bring Tra Bhui
Arriving in San Marino in the late afternoon we found our accommodation without any problems. We were staying in a newish self-catering apartment – Agriturismo Le Bosche - built in the grounds of a small farm. With splendid views across the valley which was covered with olive trees, grape vines and brightly coloured fields we could not have wished for a nicer setting. Our host was most welcoming and keen to help us with the trailer if he could.
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| The view from our apartment at Agriturismo Le Bosche |
On his recommendation we got back into the car and drove 17 km back out of San Marino to the nearby Italian town of Marignano where we would find Pima Trailers.
Pima trailers manufacture a variety of car, boat and material trailers. When we arrived there we spoke to the owner’s son Wiliem who appeared to manage the office side of the business. The parts we needed were not he told us available in Italy – this was not a big surprise as we had already found out through internet research that independent suspension units are virtually unheard of in Europe, however he was confident that they would either be able to carry out a repair that would allow us to continue to Greece or replace our individual suspension units with a beam unit if we brought the trailer to his workshop.
As we were unable to tow the trailer we were left with little alternative but to arrange for a haulier to collect the trailer and recover it to Marignano This was an unplanned for expense, but at least we had a solution and a solution that would allow us to hopefully enjoy our time in San Marino rather than spending our time repairing the trailer.
With a plan now in place we returned to Agriturismo Le Bosche as it had been another busy day and lunch seemed like a long time ago. Our apartment came complete with a small kitchen, but rather than shop for food we decided that we would just eat in the main building. The menu was either steak or lamb, both of which were home reared and slaughtered. We opted for the lamb which came on a large plate complete with home-made bread, home-made olive oil and wine made from the 20 hectares of vines which grow on the farm.
Wednesday
30th March
As
our morning was free until the arrival of the trailer later in the afternoon we
planned to visit the city of San Marino which was only a few miles away.
San
Marino is the main town in the Republic of San Marino, which is also known more
grandly as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. San Marion is we think the
oldest surviving sovereign state and one of the smallest at just over 24 square
miles. With a population of just 32,000 it is the continuation of the monastic
community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Arba.
The
country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism.
Despite having an extremely small economy for a nation state, it is one of the
wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure
comparable to the most developed European regions. San Marino is considered to
have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in
Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.
It is the only country in Europe with more vehicles than people – is that
a good thing?
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| Looking towards Agriturismo Le Bosche where we were staying |
After
a very filling home cooked breakfast – home reared cold meat, home-made cheese and
eggs fresh from the farm– we set out for the city which we could see on top of
a nearby hill. The drive to San Marino was along twisting and undulating roads
that wound their way through the beautiful countryside. The closer we got to
the city itself the more impressive it looked and soon it was hard to believe
that it could actually be reached by road as it towered above us.
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| Countryside around San Marino |
As
an attraction for many visitors each year, the city is well equipped with car
parks, virtually all of which are situated well down from the old city itself
which sits surrounded by impressively large walls on top of the hill.
From
the car parks the visitor has a choice of lifts, a taxi, a cable car or simply
just to walk up the steeply inclined streets and steps to reach the old city.
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| A view from the old city - Adriatic in the distance |
The
climb up to the city walls was well worth it as the views over the surrounding
countryside were spectacular. We could easily see all the way to the distant
coast of the Adriatic and due to the ground outside the city walls dropping
away so quickly, one could almost imagine that the view was from a balloon
floating over the countryside below.
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| I looked at modern sculptures wile Kathleen sat on the terrace |
Kathleen
spent a while just sitting on a terrace overlooking the town below while I
pottered around nearby after which we spent an enjoyable morning wandering the
narrow streets and walking around the cities walls.
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The walls capture three
peaks of Monte Titano- Guaita, De La Fratta and Montale – on which castles or
small fortresses have been built. The Fortress of Guaita is the oldest of the
three and the most famous. It was built in the 11th century and served briefly
as a prison. It is one of the three towers depicted on both the national flag
and coat of arms.
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| Choose your weapon - one of nany, many shops selling guns |
The
streets were lined with innumerable small shops aimed at visitors to the city,
with most shops selling similar wares – sunglasses, tourist souvenirs, or
weapons – guns, knives and crossbows. In fact San Mario is specifically
mentioned in many guidebooks as the place to buy the weapon of your choice
whether it is real or just a replica. The “in your face “displays of firearms was
a stark contrast to the attitude towards firearms and the gun control laws that
we have in the UK. It really was surreal!
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| Lots of narrow streets to wander |
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| Another fine view |
I
really enjoyed San Marino as being off season still it was very quiet and the
lovely weather and blue skies made it pleasant to walk around the old town. I
can imagine though that it would be a very different place in tourist season.
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With our trailer due to be delivered at 14.00hrs we had to cut our time in the city short. After a visit to the bank, I dropped Kathleen off at our accommodation and headed to Pima Trailers to meet the haulier and to see the repairs that were needed started.
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Tra Bhui and trailer arrive at PIMA
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The
haulier arrived at 15.30 hrs. – so much for the promise of 14.00 hrs. at the
latest! With Tra Bhui and trailer unloaded it was time for Wiliem to confirm
that he could repair or replace the damaged unit, however after quickly looking
at it Wiliem announced that it would be too hard to repair the unit and that he
could not possibly fit a beam axel. As far as he was concerned that was that.
Thankfully however his father who must have been in his seventies had other
ideas and set to the task of repairing the damaged unit with gusto. His gusto
included some very large hammers, two forklifts, a friend with a lathe in his
outhouse and a set of new bearings. After watching him strip the brakes and
support the suspension unit with a forklift, I watched him straighten the bent
stub axel with a very, very large hammer before I left him to it as I was
contributing nothing to the proceedings. It was a case of he would either
repair it or break it completely, but as it was unusable anyway we had nothing
to lose!
Dinner
was homemade sausage with home grown potatoes and salad
Thursday
31st March
After breakfast we headed back to Pima Trailers to see how repairs to the trailer were progressing and were very pleasantly surprised to find that they were in fact progressing well! After I had left the damaged brake drum had been taken to a friend’s house where using a lathe new bearing seats had been turned after which new bearings were fitted. The missing pieces of metal were replaced using an epoxy metal repair compound – I must admit to being a bit concerned about this part of the repair.
The trailer would be ready by lunch time we were told, but it would be best if we did not move it until late afternoon to allow the repair to set – not what I really wanted to hear as it increased my concern about using an epoxy to repair a bearing seat.
With the day to kill we decided to go and see Rimini which was only 10 miles or so away. Back on the motorway we headed north again along a stretch which we had now driven along 4 or 5 times going back and forward between San Marino and Marignano.
Rimini which is situated con the Adriatic coast and with a population of circa 250,000 it is the capital city of the Province of Rimini. Rimini is one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe and boasts a 15-kilometre-long (9 miles) sandy beach, over 1,000 hotels, and thousands of bars, restaurants and discos.
Founded by the Romans in 268 BC, throughout their period of rule Rimini was a key communications link between the north and south of the Italian peninsula, and on its soil Roman emperors erected monuments like the Arch of Augustus and the Tiberius Bridge, while during the Renaissance, the city benefited from the court of the House of Malatesta, which hosted artists like Leonardo and produced works such as the Malatesta Temple.
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| Arch of Augustus |
In
the 19th century, Rimini was one of the most active cities in the revolutionary
front, hosting many of the movements aimed at the unification of Italy. In the
course of World War II, the city was the scene of fighting and bombing, but
also of a fierce partisan resistance that earned it the honor of a gold medal
for civic valor. Finally, in recent years it has become one of the most
important sites for trade fairs and conferences in Italy.
We
were interested in finding the older part of the town where we were told there
were a number of ancient buildings and structures to see and from where we
could also walk to the harbour. More by
luck than anything else although I did tell Kathleen it was accurate navigation
we found the Arch of Augustus and a parking spot in a nearby side street.
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| Main street |
The
heart of Rimini appears to be centered around the old roman town. After walking
through the Arch of Augustus we wandered along what was once the main road
through Rimini used by Roman legions and what is now one of the main shopping
streets.
Rimini
boasts a rich historical and artistic heritage, which includes churches and
monasteries, villas and palaces, fortifications, archaeological sites, streets
and squares. This richness so the guide book told us, exists as a result of the
succession of various civilizations, dominations and historical events through
22 centuries of history: the Romans, the Byzantines, the role of medieval commune and
capital of the Malatesta seignory, the Venetian Republic and the Papal States
dominations.
The
city has always been a key gate to the Orient and the southern areas of the Mediterranean,
thanks to its geographical position and the importance of its harbour, and a
meeting point between cultures of Northern and Central Italy.
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| Rimini in Roman times |
Taking
guidance from tourist location map boards we stopped to look at a number of
buildings but none of them had the same presence or interest as the grander
stone buildings we had viewed in San Marino. Whether it was the architecture,
the fact that they were predominantly built of brick that detracted from their overall interest,
or whether we were saving our appreciation in anticipation of visiting the two colosseums that
were shown on the visitor boards it was hard to say, but they did not really
grab our imaginations.
To
be fair to Rimini though it’s buildings have been through a lot! The cities
Roman legacy has been modified by medieval transformations, earthquakes and the
suppression of it’s monasteries. Extensive bombing during World War II destroyed
the city almost completely which has been reconstructed and restored in order
to preserve wherever possible its historic sites and buildings.
Much
to our dismay and embarrassment, and having spent an hour or so close
quartering the city to find the colosseums we discovered that they were long
gone and that newer buildings now stand on their sites – the tourist board required
a certain bit of interpretation something that we did not realise.
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We
did however find the most impressive Ponte de Tiberio - The Bridge of Tiberius which
was started by the Romans in the last years BC and finished in 20AD The bridge features five semicircular arches,
each with an average span length of approx. 8 m.
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| Add caption |
The
bridge was the only crossing of the Marecchia not destroyed by the retreating
German army during the Battle of Rimini and is said to have resisted all
attempts at destruction.
The
bridge is still open to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with the exception of
heavy goods vehicles which is astounding given that the bridge is nearly 2000
years old!
We
were a bit lost as to what actually the bridge crosses as the river Marecchia
appears to have disappeared leaving in it’s place parklands and trees. I am
sure it is not lost and someone in Italy now knows where it is, but it was a
bit odd looking at a bridge crossing a watercourse which is dry and has
disappeared within 100 metres upstream
of it.
Having
seen the town it was time to see the sea so we walked from the bridge along the
side of the headless river to the harbour, passing on our way a massive marina
and a fair number of fishing boats, a lot of which had for sale signs on them.
At
the end of the harbour’s brake water we came across a bronze statue depicting a
woman and child. The writing on the plaque states “In memory of those women who
sat waiting on the benches of the port for their men to return from work and
the sea. So as not to forget those who never returned”. It was an interesting
statue and probably one of many with a similar theme on coasts around the
world. For us the one which we came across last year at Puuta Da Crucina just
outside Laxe in norther Spain was far better we thought.
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| Kathleen shows her modelling potential |
Walking
back along the breakwater to the harbour we stopped to watch the local boats
preparing and selling their catch. The boats which were mostly clam dredgers –
dredging for the Manila clams is still a big part of the Italian fishing
industry- appeared to catch an assortment of fish as well as clams, whether
caught in the dredge nets or netted in their own right.
Cutting
out the middleman, the Italians sell some if not all of their catch directly
from the boat. The boats we saw had the catch displayed in boxes of ice and a
member of the crew – mostly women – allowed locals who lined the harbour side
to pick which fish they wanted to buy.
If you wanted a fish for your dinner this was obviously the way to
ensure it was as fresh as possible.
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| Fishing boats sell their catch direct to locals |
Having
seen the harbour we headed along the sea front before cutting through a
residential district back to the city centre in search of the elusive colosseums
which we still had not realised where no longer there.
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| The crew has jumped ship |
Rimini
has miles of pristine beach, but walking along the sea front you would never
know it as the sea and sand are blocked from view by extensive and ugly timber
shacks, amusements and associated attractions all of which must be required to
amuse the thousands of tourists that flock to Rimini each summer, but which for
us simply spoiled the beach.
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| Rimini suburbs |
From Rimini we headed back yet again to Marignano to see how the repairs to the trailer were progressing, but rather than take the motorway we decided to follow the coast hoping to find a stretch of undeveloped beach on which to walk. This was a bad idea as we entered a world of congestion, traffic lights, roundabouts and continual multistory developments until we reached Marignano. Presumably this was why the motorway was built, so much for finding some un spoilt coast!
The repairs were complete – well complete enough we hoped to get us to Greece. Rather than trail Tra Bhui back to our accommodation 18km in San Marino we persuaded PIMA to store her overnight in her workshop. We would be passing in the morning on our way to the ferry which departs from Ancona further south of Marignano. By leaving the trailer we would avoid needlessly exposing the repair to the exceedingly undulating and poorly surfaced country roads between the motorway and our accommodation at Agriturismo Le Bosche.
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| How many forklifts does it take to lift a Gig? |
With
the trailer repaired our next issue was Kathleen suddenly became convinced that
our ferry booking was for today and not tomorrow and that we had already missed
the ferry. After assuring her that the booking was for tomorrow, I had cause to
check our documentation after receiving an e-mail from Angelbay where we would be initially staying
in Greece asking what time we would arrive on Friday which was in fact tomorrow
and not Saturday which I was sure I had booked. To my relief this e-mail was followed shortly
by another e-mail apologising
for the first e-mail as we were not in fact due to arrive until Saturday. I did
wonder for a minute!
With
things sorted out at last we could finally get back to a more relaxed state of
mind so we decided to eat out in San Marino to celebrate.
Arriving
at San Marino around 8.30 hrs. which is early by Italian standards we initially
found the town deserted and everything closed up, but eventually having walked
back to the top of the old town we found a restaurant which was open. Tucked
away down stairs we were at first a little hesitant to go in thinking that we
would be the only customers, but our fears were soon allayed as we found it to
be pretty full. Obviously the owners had cornered the evening dining market.
Full of pizza we headed back down to the car and on to our accommodation
Friday
1st April
Waking
before the alarm it was time to reload the car with all our gear. As we had
packed for the summer on board Tra Bhui most of our clothes wash kit cameras etc.
were being carried in blue plastic barrels or Peli cases. Anyone watching must
have wondered just who we were and what we were doing as I carried these back
to the car in lieu of more conventional suitcases.
After
our final home produced meal we were away before 8.30 in plenty of time we
hoped to collect Tra Bhui from PIMA and make our way sedately to the ferry at Acona.
The
journey to Acona was only 79km from PIMA’s workshop in Marignano. The road was virtually all
motorways which we hoped would not overstress the temporary repair. Keeping to
a steady 50 mph we arrived at Acona just before 11.00 hrs. and found the check
in kiosk with little trouble. Although the roads within the harbour contained
some of Europe’s largest potholes we arrived at the ferry intact.
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| Our ferry awaits |
We
had a slight concern that the roof tent which was now on top of the car may become
an issue as I had booked the ferry tickets before we bought the tent and the
additional height took us way over that shown on the ticket, but the check in
desk was in a building remote from the car park so no one actually looked at
the car until we parked in front of the ferry itself and even then no one appeared
to be bothered.
Having
checked in we were directed to wait in lane 16 (according to the boarding card)
but lane 16 turned out to be lane 14 which was just as well as there was no
lane 16.
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| Last check before boarding for Greece |
We
had a wait of about an hour which gave me chance to repack the car and check
the trailer, while Kathleen went to look at the other cars in the queue in
order to satisfy herself that we were in the right queue. At 12.00 hrs. we were
directed on board.
Vehicle
boarding was under the control of a madman who waved his arms like a windmill
and shouted at everyone. No one had any idea where they were meant to be going
which caused confusion and only added to his hysterics and caused him to shout
louder. Despite his efforts eventually everyone was on board.
While
getting our stuff from the car we were
approached by a fellow passenger who complained that he had hurt his head when
he walked into Tra Bhui. Given that Tra Bhui is bright yellow and hard to miss
there was not really much we could say to him or do for him. My lack of Greek /
Italian prevented me into enquiring if he had thought about a guide dog!
Disgruntled he went in search of a crew member to complain about our boat and look
for some sympathy.
When
we returned to the car the next morning we were amused to find that red and white
marker tape had ben draped along Tra Bhui’s bright yellow hull, presumably to
stop any with yellow colour
blindness from walking into her.
Having
travelled on Greek ferries before I had no great expectations for our cabin or
for the boat itself so the fact that we were on a fairly new ship and that we
were given a very nice bright cabin with a view outside was an unexpected
surprise.
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| Sailing out of a very misty Ancona |
Having
stood on deck to watch the ferry leave a very misty Ancona we retired inside to
play scrabble and have lunch. After a
very confusing discussion with the waiter about pies after the spinach pie that
we ordered turned out to be a ham and cheese baguette I lost yet again at
Scrabble to Kathleen
Out
of sight of land and with the rest of the day to kill I decided that I would
lie on my bed and read for a while as the world passed by outside our porthole.
Kathleen was to say the least skeptical of my ability to read without falling
asleep – but being wide awake I had no plans to sleep. Waking up an hour later
all I got was “ I told you so!!!”
To
make amends I challenged Kathleen to another game of Scrabble over a pre-dinner
drink. Needless to say I lost as usual!
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| Happy to be on our way |
Before
boarding the ferry we were unsure what the options for eating on board would
be. The popular choice appeared to be a self-service cafeteria which was not
cheap. While the menu looked OK it reminded me a bit too much of being at work.
I stay in a construction camp where all our meals are self-service and you have
to put everything you want on your tray at the same time.
Surprisingly
we found that a meal at the posher restaurant was cheaper, and with a very good
menu and excellent table service was far better value than the cafeteria
option. We had a window table, but with it being dark outside there was little
to see. After eating too much it was time for bed as tomorrow we would at last
be in Greece!
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| Tomorrow we will be in Greece! |
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