We’ve been here a week today, anchored in the bay next to the city of Siracusa in Sicily and off the historic fortified island of Ortigia. We’re waiting for the right winds to sail across to Corfu in Greece, but so far they’ve all been in the wrong direction. We’re hoping for a helpful wind on Wednesday. Our friends on sailing yacht Dizzie (Lynita, Justin, Kynan and Liora) have been here for over three weeks now waiting for the right winds, so a week doesn’t seem so bad.

Sacha had been doing boat jobs, fixing things on our long list and one that’s now got to the top was fixing the washing machine door. We now have a working onboard washing machine!!! No more trudging to the laundrettes around the Mediterranean.

To avoid the swell we’re experiencing in the bay, we tried to get permission to tie up to the town quay yesterday, but after protracted wrangling we were denied, despite hundreds of metres of free space. I just love Italian bureaucracy in full swing…

Here are some pictures of where we are:

The beautiful island of Ortigia joined to the city of Siracusa (Bottom of the image) by two old bridges

Below Ortigia island showing the bay above where we are anchored in the middle right of the screen

Below the fortified castle at the tip of the island as we sailed in

Sitting at a cafe on the town quay as the sun goes down, Yves can just be seen at the centre left of the image out in the bay

Some scruffy urchins we found on the town quay…