We arrived back in Italy on Saturday in time for a late lunch. It is hot and sunny here, just as home was beginning to feel quite autumnal. Still it has been a splendid summer to have spent at home and we have happily bothered John the gardener making changes to our plot.

On our arrival Lyra looked remarkably clean, no sign of the usual dust from forest fires during summer or red Saharan rain. We unzipped the cockpit cover and were met by a wave of hot, stale air, so the first job was to take the cover off and put the bimini up instead. It was cooler inside the boat, as a good part of the interior sits below the water line. We tossed in our bags, opened the hatches and headed for the bar. The barman shook John by the hand and welcomed us back. Cold beer, cold wine and pasta stuffed with aubergine followed by great coffee. We toddled back along the harbour and the Captain made the unprecedented decision that we could leave the chores till the following day. Naturally the shore power had stopped working, but John plugged into another supply and we set the fans going and fired up the fridges. Not that we have much to put in them, but John has checked Google and the supermarket is open Sunday morning. Scratch supper of tinned and dried goods tonight, but we won’t want much after such a big lunch.

We went back to the bar for breakfast today on our way into town to stock up at the supermarket with our trusty red trolley. Castellemara is looking rather smart these days, the trees on the road into town are a reasonable size now and the acacias were flowering pink and white. The railway line has been cleared of litter and there are some smart new planters with various cactus plants set at intervals. The sea front now has a wide modern promenade and the Edwardian bandstand is fully restored. Apparently the cable car has also started running again, but unfortunately yesterday was the last day of the season. After filling our trolley we walked back along the cycle path and so had done over twelve thousand steps before elevenses. By a stroke of good fortune the electrician was on the pontoon as we arrived back and he has shown John how to reset the fuses when they trip out. The shore power is under our control. Then came the usual deck swabbing and cabin cleaning. Caprese salad assembled from our newly acquired perishables for lunch and then on to engine and radio checks. Broadsword came through to Dannyboy, so if the nav lights are working when it goes dark tonight we will have completed the usual weeks build up in one day and are off to Ischia in the morning.