Savoring day-to-day life in a small, coastal Italian city
We spent the winter of 2008-2009 at the marina Base Nautica Flavio Gioia in Gaeta, Italy, a picturesque coastal city between Rome and Naples. With convenient train connections to both cities, we were just an hour or so by train to either one. We also used rental cars and the bus system to explore the surrounding region, but mostly we enjoyed day-to-day life during the off-season in a small Italian city.
Logbook Entries
Dates: 10/7/08 – 5/6/09
Lat: 41°13’N
Long: 13°34’E
Winter/Spring 2009
- Daysailing on Aorangi (5/03/09)
- Springtime Visit to Campania (4/27/09)
- Gulf of Gaeta View (4/15/09)
- Visit to England (4/07/09)
- Spring Equinox in Gaeta, Italy (3/20/09)
- Doing Battle with the ‘War of Wires’ in our Nav Station (3/1/09)
- Visit to the Campania and Lazio Regions of Italy (2/21/09)
- Market Day in Gaeta, Italy (2/12/09)
- Evening walks in Gaeta, Italy (2/5/09)
- Raining Again in Gaeta (1/26/09)
- Return to Gaeta (1/21/09)
Fall 2008
- Thanksgiving Feast Left-overs (11/28/08)
- An American Thanksgiving in Italy (11/27/08)
- Tyrrhenian Sea Coastline, Italy (11/23/08)
- Via Indipendenza, Gaeta, Italy (11/18/08)
- Overnight Passage to Gaeta, Italy (10/7/08)
Photo Gallery
Cats stand guard over the sleepy hilltop town of Castellonorato. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Rain, rain and more rain — one front after another this winter. The locals can’t recall such rainy weather. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Aurunci Mountains, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
A stormy day along the coast northwest of Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
The waterfront of the new town called “Elena” in Gaeta. Every evening, people stroll along the quay. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Masts of sailboats tied to the outer wall of the marina — a location that is too exposed for docking boats in winter months. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
This is our view from Gyatso looking toward the clock tower and tree-lined piazza in town. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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). Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Serapo beach is a 15-minute walk from the marina. Empty in the winter, it is packed in the summer. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View of the Gulf of Gaeta from Monte Orlando on a glorious Sunday afternoon. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
David takes in the view atop Monte Orlando under the watchful eye of the Maria Ausiliatrice statue. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
The Castello Angioino – Aragonese, built between the 9th and 16th centuries, towers above the old town of Gaeta. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
We thought this car just might fit on our dinghy davits! Credit: Lisa Borre. 
The entrance to one of the homes in the old town of Gaeta. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
The Duomo’s bell tower during the day. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Natalina, one of the shopkeepers on via Indipendenza, ‘shows some leg’ (turkey leg, that is) while Lisa did her pre-Thanksgiving Day shop in Gaeta. 
A view of the Aurunci Mountains at sunset from Punta Stendardo in Old Gaeta. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View of the Aurunci Mountains from Castellonorato. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
This is the clock tower we can see from our slip in the marina. It stands watch over the main Piazza in New Gaeta. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
A moonlight stroll in Old Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
This chapel is nestled inside a bunker-like building near the NATO base. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View of the Gulf of Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
A colorful market in Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
A full moon rises over the marina in Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Gyatso’s brightwork is all taped-up and ready to go. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Gyatso departs from Gaeta on May 6, 2009. Credit: Jayne Koehler. 
The waterfront of the new town called “Elena” in Gaeta. Every evening, people stroll along the quay. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View of Marina in Gaeta, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Sant’Erasmo, the old town of Gaeta, is a 10 minute walk along the waterfront from the marina. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
We see the flash of this lighthouse at night which is perched atop Monte Orlando. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Every day we marvel at the changing sky and reflections of light over the Aurunci Mountains. This is the view from the marina. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View from Circeo, looking southeast toward Gaeta. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Waves breaking along the shore at Parco Nazionale del Circeo. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
David stands next to the Cyclopean walls at Circeo. The walls are surrounded with Macchia Mediterranea, an alpine vegetation protected in this region. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
It was a quiet day in the old part of town on a cool and cloudy day in late November. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
We made a day trip to the medieval town of San Felice Circeo. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
David at the “wine fillin’ station” at Sant’Andrea winery near San Felice Circeo. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
A winding road took us to the top of Circeo where we were awed by the Cyclopean walls. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Jayne of Aorangi was our guest for Thanksgiving aboard Gyatso this year. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
It was another two-pie Turkey Day aboard Gyatso in 2008. 
David pops the cork on a bottle of Proseco, starting the Thanksgiving celebration. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Lisa enjoys a rare break in the galley on Thanksgiving day. 
Not far from Gaeta is Sperlonga, a medieval city perched on a small promontory. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
The Temple of Jupiter at the forum of Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Wintertime in the vineyards of Campania near Benevento, Italy. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
View of the sunset over the Bay of Naples from Mt. Vesuvius. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
Ancient market in Pozzuoli, which is also the site of an important geological discovery. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
We rented a Fiat 500 (cinquecento) for our driving tour which provoked a big thumbs-up from the local Italians. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
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. Credit: Lisa Borre. 
David sands the brightwork in preparation for varnishing. Credit: Lisa Borre.
