Only 2 miles North East of Ischia is the smaller island of Procida. This was recommended to me by my very good friend Carolyn. As we arrived at its shore we saw the pretty multi colours of the towns and fishing villages. We decided to stay at the marina on its northern edge “Marina Di Procida” a friendly modern marina with electricity and water. We paid €95 per night, but there is an extra cost of €1 per shower. There is also WIFI avaiable, although at the usual slow stream rate of marinas.

After the usual 2 hour of boat cleaning and filling of tanks and general boat maintenance and cleaning that can only be done in marinas, we then ventures to one of the recommended restaurants. A one kilometres walk to Marina della Corricella and a lovely resturant called Il Maestrale. Great sea food as usual.

We then took a walk to Marina Chiaiolella on the south eastern end of the island, a 6.5 kilometre walk. The streets and island was as described in the guide books, a normal working island, where the inhabitants go about their usual day withou bothering about tourists. This in my point of view is the Italy i was dreaming of, un spoilt and based on the life of the inhabitants rather the invasive tourists.

We caught a local bus back to the marina at a cost of €1.5 per person and after a brief siesta made our way to “Lampara” a fantastic resturant overlooking the harbour of Corricella. Great food and especially a fantastic Tuna.

The next day was spent replenishing our supplies at the local shops and fish markets. We waited until the fisherman cam in, about 15:30 for the fresh produce to arrive. The next blog will hopefully the delights we prepared. We slipped lines at 16:00 and sailed the 1 mile to Corricella harbour and anchored up for the night.