THE ITALIAN JOB

PART 4: FROM PALERMO TO MESSINA VIA THE EGADI ISLANDS, MALTA AND GOZO

After a pause to attend a wedding in France, we head back to Palermo, Sicily, to continue our Italian cruise. However, strong winds keep us trapped in harbour for another day before we set sail for Trapani on the western tip of Sicily. We stop here long enough to take the cable car up Monte San Giuliano, on the summit of which lies the Castello di Venere, before heading to the Egadi Islands.

Despite the calm airs we have to push through an unpleasant swell left by the stormy conditions of the preceding few days. To top it off, the starboard engine is now reporting “low oil pressure” – just as our port engine did last year before we eventually solved it by replacing the oil pressure sensor. At least this experience means we now have the confidence to keep calm and carry on in order to reach our destination, a sheltered bay at the northern tip of Marettimo island. Here we pick up one of the visitors’ buoys below the Castello di Punta Troia – a dreamy location surrounded by warm clear blue water. We lower our tender and potter over to explore the caves, one of which is big enough to motor right into. Refreshed and invigorated by