We had an incredibly full day among the Aeolian Islands. Overnight, the captain had brought the ship to the westernmost island of the archipelago, Alicudi, and began to sail east, passing Filicudi and Salina. At 0800, sailors hit the rig and raised all sails.
After breakfast, Lindblad Historian Tom Heffernan both educated and delighted guests with his talk on the decipherment of Linear B script. By this time, Sea Cloud was in the lee of Lipari Island; with little wind and very low sailing speed in calm seas, we could offer a Zodiac photo safari around the vessel. Guests were thrilled to get photos from the water of the magnificent Sea Cloud under full sail!
We had another tasty Mediterranean buffet lunch on the lido deck as the ship arrived at anchor below “The Castle” off the main town of Lipari.
After lunch, our Zodiacs whisked guests to the pier side in the picturesque small harbor where our two guides met us and brought us up through the colorful town to meet our coaches. We proceeded on a low-key and delightful tour around the island, stopping for beautiful views of steaming Vulcano, the rugged coastline, and other neighboring Aeolian Islands.
Returning to town, we climbed onto the Lipari Castle promontory and visited the large and surprisingly impressive Archaeological Museum. Guests then had time to wander the town with its many shops or to return to the ship. As an added surprise, Sea Cloud “Beach Club” opened for the first time this season, and twelve adventurous guests braved the somewhat chilly waters to swim off the ship’s gangway.
Following a beautiful cocktail hour sail-away from Lipari, we enjoyed a festive dinner on deck. Afterwards, guests joined the famous Sea Cloud Sea Shanty Singers to sing their salty songs of the seas.
The excitement was not yet over! By 22:30, Sea Cloud neared and passed close to the active volcanic island of Stromboli where we witnessed quite significant eruptions and showers of incandescent ash. What a day!
