FrankingWorldTraveller

We arrived and splashed Amante in record time, due largely to a new fantastic crew, who had all the work done when we arrived.

We took advantage of all this free time to tour Fano and the surrounding area. Fano is our home town in Italy, steeped in history and filled with varied architecture. It was the end of the Roman road the Via Flamminia and is too noteworthy to spend time retyping what you should all go and read on Wikipedia or a better site. So here- fano.php

Fano is built atop the Roman city, and if you can find a guide, it is pretty impressive to tour Fano Underground. Sadly, we are often there before and after the main tourist season so there are no tours from the tourism office.

We found a guide the way I find everything in Fano- asking Gabriella, the hostess of Palazzo Rotati, our fano address when not on Amante. She connected us with a guide who showed us Fano underground and also the San Pietro en Valle church, one of the most beautiful baroque churches in the Marche region.

We also visited the Frassasi Grotte, an amazing cave found only in the seventies and thus very well preserved. 

For the second year in a row I was excited to return to the harsh and uncomfortable, but beautiful Black Rock desert. Burning Man is many things to many people, but my synopsis is that it is a celebration of creativity, freedom, acceptance and instant community. 70,000 former strangers come together for one week and get along despite any real government or law enforcement (exceptions do exist). Thousands of volunteers work year round to make this happen, then in late August, the hottest part of the summer, like Brigadoon, this magical otherworld manifests in the dry ancient lake bed that is the Black Rock desert, and LIVE. Google it, many people have spent more time writing better things about it, but just know, I will go back every time I can.

Bob Preger

Burners hijacking the Earth

Sunset on the Playa

The Man

Fire Dancer in Love- this man did his whole performance while gazing this beautifully at his fiancé. After his dance, he apologized for setting his hair on fire on their wedding day.

The Man

La Victrola by La Victrola Society

Helios by Kate Raudenbush

Medusa Madness by Reared In Steel, LLC

Helios by Kate Raudenbush

The Space Whale by The Pier Group with Matthew Schultz, Android Jones and Andy Tibbetts

@Earth #Home by: Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg

Awakening by: Ryan Elmendorf and Nick Geurts

We had been warned and even spent several days hiding from the Meltemi last year. But this was different. We knew a wind event was coming, so we found a harbor, on Tinos, Greece. On the second morning stuck to the wall in Tinos, I woke again to the creaking of the dock lines and the howling of the wind. Neal and I came up into the cockpit and while observing the wind speeds of 40-55 knots, Neal observed one of our seat cushions was missing. Seat cushions that we checked were snapped down. I looked to see it floating ahead, towards the crashing seawall. Mauro started singing the mission impossible tune while he and I jumped in the dinghy for operation Cushion Overboard. We went battling out to sea (the harbor 100 meters in front of the boat seemed like the middle of the ocean) and rescued the seat cushion, then turned the dinghy INTO the 45-50 knots winds for part 2- Operation Salt Water Shower. I then went boat to boat asking if anyone planned to leave today, as I imagine the anchors are all on top of each other and everyone laughed at me. No one is leaving!

We are stern to on the inner harbor wall 10 feet from the taxi stand and across from cafés, where I sit now to eat rather than have breakfast “at sea”. Amante is the biggest boat on the wall, so she gets no wind protection from neighbors, and we spent the night rocking and rolling as if on delivery. Mauro did a masterful job of docking in 25-30, fortunately stern to the wind with only a bit of cross breeze, into a space with less than a foot to spare on each side. Neal wasn’t sure the anchor set well, but since we are blowing off, it seems to be well enough, but we still squish the poor 40 foot Oceanis? to port. Sitting here having eggs and bacon I didn’t intend to order, merely to inquire as to their availability, I watch as the big charter sailing yacht’s headsail unfurls, and the scrambling and yelling that ensues. The older Greek men who sit in the cafes watch the morning’s second drama, our cushion rescue likely the first. The world goes by as it has for 2000 years, and the Greek men drink their coffee, smoke their cigarettes, and perhaps play a game of backgammon.
The postcard version of Tinos:

The reality:

Sept 25, 2015
We visited here by car while in the Kalamata marina. Lovely port town, perfect lunch stop.