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The
Castello Angioino - Aragonese, built between the 9th and 16th centuries, towers above the old
town of Gaeta. |
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View
of Base Nautica Flavio Gioia from the top of Monte Orlando. The
marina staff informs us that Flavio Gioia of Naples was the inventor of
the compass. |
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Sant'Erasmo,
the old town of Gaeta, is a 10 minute walk along the waterfront from the
marina. |
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Masts
of sailboats tied to the outer wall of the marina -- a location that is
too exposed for docking boats in winter months. |
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The
waterfront of the new town called "Elena" in Gaeta. Every
evening, people stroll along the quay. |
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Our
view of Base Nautica Flavio Gioia from the Gajeta Hotel where we spent the
night to watch the U.S. election returns on Nov. 4th. |
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We
see the flash of this lighthouse at night which is perched atop Monte
Orlando. |
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The
entrance to one of the homes in the old town of Gaeta. |
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View
of the Gulf of Gaeta from Monte Orlando on a glorious Sunday afternoon. |
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David
takes in the view atop Monte Orlando under the watchful eye of the Maria
Ausiliatrice statue. |
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The
pontoon where Gyatso is docked in Gaeta. |
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This
is our view from Gyatso looking toward the clock tower and tree-lined
piazza in town. |
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We
thought this car just might fit on our dinghy davits! |
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Serapo
beach is a 15-minute walk from the marina. Empty in the winter, it
is packed in the summer. |
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Castellonorato,
a hilltop town in the Aurunci Mountains near Gaeta. |
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Cats
stand guard over the sleepy hilltop town of Castellonorato. |
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View
of the Aurunci Mountains from Castellonorato. |
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During
a driving tour up into the Aurunci Mountains we came across an olive
pressing cooperative. Members of the cooperative brought their
olives to the press along with containers to bring the olive oil back home
with them. |
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Surf's
up on the coast to the northwest of Gaeta. |
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David
admires the surf rolling in along the Italian coast. |
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We
made a day trip to the medieval town of San Felice Circeo. |
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It
was a quiet day in the old part of town on a cool and cloudy day in late
November. |
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A
winding road took us to the top of Circeo where we were awed by the
Cyclopean walls. |
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David
stands next to the Cyclopean walls at Circeo. The walls are
surrounded with Macchia Mediterranea, an alpine vegetation protected in
this region. |
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View
from Circeo, looking southeast toward Gaeta. |
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Waves
breaking along the shore at Parco Nazionale del Circeo. |
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David
at the "wine fillin' station" at Sant'Andrea winery near San
Felice Circeo. |
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"Show
us some leg!" Lisa buys turkey from Natalina at the local butcher shop,
Da Natalino, in Gaeta.
Since a whole bird doesn't fit in our oven, we roast the leg and breast
for Thanksgiving. |
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David
pops the cork on a bottle of Proseco, starting the Thanksgiving
celebration. |
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Lisa,
Jayne and David on Thanksgiving. |
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Lisa
enjoys a rare break in the galley on Thanksgiving day. |
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Lisa
made a traditional pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin Jayne brought from the
U.S. and another one with fresh pumpkin from the local market using her
favorite recipe with a walnut
topping. |
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Not
far from Gaeta is Sperlonga, a medieval city perched on a small
promontory. |
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Tiberius
had a villa in Sperlonga which is now and archeological site and
museum. In the 1950's, they discovered fragments of Roman marble
statues in the cave -- a treasure trove of antiquity. |
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Every
day we marvel at the changing sky and reflections of light over the Aurunci
Mountains. This is the view from the marina. |
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Rain,
rain and more rain -- one front after another this winter. The
locals can't recall such rainy weather. |
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A
view of the Aurunci Mountains at sunset from Punta Stendardo in Old Gaeta. |
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This
is the same clock tower we can see from our slip in the marina (see
above). It stands watch over the main Piazza in New Gaeta. |
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The
USS Mount Whitney arrived in port again in early February. We
snapped this photo of the harbor with the sun reflecting off the ship just
before sunset. |
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The
light was beautiful as we strolled along the waterfront at sunset. |
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On
the same day, we took a night walk in Old Gaeta to see what the town was
like when the U.S. Navy ship was in port. In this photo, David walks
toward the 10th-century Church of San Giovanni a Mare (St. John of the
Sea). |
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During
our night walk in Old Gaeta, we saw the medieval city in a totally
different light. The moon peaked in and out of the clouds, creating
an almost magical setting for the Duomo's 12th-century bell tower. |
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Lisa
put her new digital camera to the test with snapshots like these taken at
night without a flash. Since her previous camera stopped working in
the BVIs in 2006, she had been frustrated by its temporary replacement.
She's a happy shutterbug once again. |
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This
chapel is nestled inside a bunker-like building near the NATO base. |
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The
Duomo's bell tower during the day. |
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These
steps lead from the Church of San Giacomo to Via Indipendenza, the main
shopping street in New Gaeta. "New" is a relative term --
this neighborhood, known as Elena, is only new relative to the older part
of town. |
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A colorful display at the weekly market in Gaeta.
|
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The
Temple of Jupiter with Mt. Vesuvius in the background at Pompeii.
|
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Vineyards
in the Campania region of Italy, |
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View
from Mt. Vesuvius of the sun setting over the island of Ischia and the Bay
of Naples. |
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The
Maccelum in Pozzuoli with Roman columns showing signs of uplift and
subsidence due to volcanic activity in the area. |
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We
rented this Fiat 500 for a week to explore the Campania and Lazio regions
of Italy. |
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On 25 February 2009, we celebrated the Tibetan New
Year (year of the earth ox) by flying prayer flags. As the wind
blows the flags, the prayers on them are carried away for the benefit of
all sentient beings.
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Moonrise over Base Nautica Flavio Gioia in Gaeta, Italy on 10 March 2009
(one day befoe the full moon). |
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David sands the brightwork in preparation for varnishing.
|
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Gyatso's
brightwork is all taped-up and ready to go. |
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Lisa and David receiving the Qualifier's Mug award for their Atlantic
Crossing in 2007 at the OCC Annual Meeting at the Royal Southampton
Yacht Club in England on 3 April 2009.
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View of
the Gulf of Gaeta from the marina, Base Nautica Flavio Gioia on a mostly
cloudy day in April 2009. We love watching the constantly changing
conditions at this time of year. |
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"Sybil's
Cave" at the Acropolis at Cumae which was built in the 4th-century BC
and was discovered again in 1932. |
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A thunderstorm rolls across the Gulf of Gaeta during the regatta on
Sunday, 3 May 2009. The race was suspended due to a sudden wind
shift and re-started after the storm passed through.
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