November 11, 2024
After returning the rental car for our drive to Positano we took the metro to the port. We were hours ahead of the time to board but we decided to walk to the vicinity of the dock and look for a café to hang out at.
We found the small eatery inside the terminal building about 10 minutes from the boarding area. We started with a glass of pomegranate juice that reminded us of our visit to Turkey ion 2015. We fiddled on our phones, went to the adjacent bank ATM, decided what to have for a light supper, and watched the people come and go. I was amazed at the giant jug of Nutella with a large hand pump on it. But, Nutella is put in or on almost anything!!!
When the time came, we wandered over to the queue that had started about 630pm. Passengers had to show their passports and tickets prior to entering the boarding area. We marched along onto the back end of the ship and got into another queue to show our mobile ticket to get another ticket. We rode up an escalator to the reception area where we were given a key to our cabin.
Our cabin looked very comfortable. We dropped our stuff and explored the ship. We had around 90 minutes to look around and then ended up on the stern overlooking the giant on/off ramps. We watched as lines were loosed, brought in via large capstans just below us, and as the ramps were raised. It takes more than 2 minutes for the ramp to lift fully into place. I took a video that you can find here as well.
We sat in the “show” room where lots of people were sitting, chatting, reading, eating, watching the various TVs. We sat by the soccer match for a while and around 9-ish I went back to the cabin to shower and go to bed. It was fun!!!
That is until 5:45 when the announcements started about approaching the port….. Got up, packed up, headed to the stern again to watch the docking. It was very early!! Caught some photos of the approach to Palermo with a bit of a colorful sky from the cloud-dimmed sunrise.
The ship, with its deposited pilot, approached the docking spot and then rotated so to back in. It went very slowly. We saw the lines, after the heaving line was tossed, get thrown around large bollards. Several lines to each, and a number of different locations from along the port side of the ship. Once the lines were secured the two large ramps were lowered and trucks and cars started unloaded. There’s an enormous amount of room for vehicles. Some cars go into double decker type decks while the large trucks get the full height of the “garage”.
It was too early to check into our flat. We found a café close to the exit area of the dock, but away from the main street that was very noisy. We had coffee with milk, and savory bread with stuff. After a little while, and probably due to my being really tired, I had a hot chocolate and a wonderful, locally made, cannoli. It was REALLY good!!!
The time came when we were able to drop off our bags, after 10am, when the previous nights’ guests had departed. We couldn’t actually check in until the cleaners had left. We dropped our bags with the front desk man.
We walked to where we had seen boats on our way in on the ferry. It was a good walk, along the marina area where there were fishermen repairing their nets, and lots of boats. Towards the end, near the old City Gate, and wall, was the Coast Guard base. We sat for a while, enjoying the view and the sun. We were told we could move the luggage up to the flat after 10 when the cleaners had started. We had to speak to the cleaner’s phone that translated for us. He didn’t understand and thought we were moving in. We dropped our stuff on the sofa and left with shopping bags to do the initial provisioning at the nearby supermarket.
At noon we were notified that we could move in. We had groceries and snacks, and wine. We unpacked some, and were amazed at the view. The flat is named Top of the Port. It’s on the 7th floor and the walls of the space are nearly entirely glass. It’s incredible and enormous! There’s a wraparound deck and an outside shed space with a washing machine.
We enjoyed the views and napped some. We had a simple supper of salad, local produce, and wonderful local bread.
November 12, 2024
It was raining when we got up so there wasn’t much incentive to start wandering around Palermo. We are on/above a very busy and noisy street. It’s the port area and the boats are coming and going, At 9am an extremely large cruise ship docked. Very slowly. It came in bow first.
It’s the MSC World Europa – It’s massive – 22 decks and carries 6,762 passengers. Thom found the schedule and it’s here for a day, leaving at 5pm. It’s on a 7day mediterranean tour from Barcelona.
The dreary morning gave us a chance to relax, catch up of stuff, the blog, the bills, etc. When it started to clear a bit we decided to head out and see some of the sites. We found a few squares, fountains, The Four Corners, and several market streets. There are so many fresh fruits and vegetables offered. And tons of pomegranates! We stopped at a market stand with prepared things and fresh and prepared seafood items. Picked up some anchovies, an eggplant roll with prosciutto stuffing, and a few other things, including a few olives at another vendor. The smells from the food and the cafes was wonderful.
We got back to the flat just before 5pm. We were able to watch the monster cruise ship back out, spin 90 degrees and head out to the dark horizon. Several other ships are coming and going this evening. It’s so much fun to be this close to the port’s operations and ship traffic.
