In Portoferraio: dodging the rain

October 31, 2021

It’s Sunday morning, the first morning after the time change. We’ve forgotten it’s today and it throws us off a bit - that, and the fact that Sandro doesn’t arrive with breakfast at 7:30. At 8:15 we’re surprised when his mother shows up bearing breakfast, nods to the clock on the wall which is still set to the old schedule, and sets about preparing the table.

She speaks about as much English as I do Italian, so communications are imprecise and confusing. I think she said that her son is sick this morning - or maybe he went down to the disco that kept me awake until one this morning with its incessant, throbbing beat and is just hung over. Hopefully he hasn’t got The Virus, since we need a clean test to fly home next week.

Domatilla is a remarkable personality - extremely warm and outgoing, and with an urgent wish to communicate. It’s one of those times we really wish we knew enough of the local language to be useful, but we don’t. Among other things, she’s trying to get across that she learned from our passports that she and her husband are roughly our ages - he’s 75, and she’s 62. I think.

She’s also impressed by Rachael’s trim, healthy appearance, and pantomimes this by tracing her own heavier outline with her hands, pointing at Rachael, and saying ooh-la-la! Rachael is of course charmed and delighted by this.

It occurs to Rachael to break out Google Translate, and Domatilla can hardly wait to get her hands on the iPad to read our translated comments and respond with her own. We tell her the general outline of our travels, she ticks off places in Italy so beautiful that we can’t miss them, and then we go out on deck for photos.

Rachael with Domatilla, our exceptionally warm and outgoing hostess.

Rachael with her shaggy, wind blown partner in bad need of a haircut.

It’s wild and windy out this morning, but dry for the moment even though it was raining a few hours earlier. It looks like it will stay dry until early afternoon, which is both good news and a bit of a frustration. With perfect foresight we would have biked south today to Castigleone della Pescaia, the next stop on our planned ride to Viterbo.

We forgot to pack our perfect foresight on this tour though, and when it looked like the final week of our trip would be a complete rainout we made some last minute changes to the plan. They begin with staying a fifth day here in Portoferraio, under the belief that today would bring solid rain and strong winds from the south.

It’s dry for now, but windy enough that Rachael has no desire to go out on the bike this morning. She decides to repeat the hike out to Monte Enfola again, and see if she can’t make it all the way to the end of the trail this time, where it drops steeply off the end of the cape to the shore. She’s successful this time - knowing what she’s doing and where she’s going she’s more efficient and cuts two miles off the total length even though she gets farther out.

Later, she’s still very enthusiastic about what a fine hike this was. The walk at the end down to the water was especially beautiful, if a bit challenging. It’s steep enough that there’s a rope hand railing to help you keep from slipping. She was careful, but also took comfort from the fact that other hikers were around in case she suffered a fall.

The trail across Monte Enfola, and the start of the drop to the end of the cape.

For myself, I decided to run an experiment to see if it’s possible to get out of town to the south by sticking to side streets as much as possible. You can’t entirely make it all the way to the other side of the bay without getting onto the main road that we found problematic, which in spots really is the only option; but it looks like you could squeeze it down to only about a mile on the road if all of the potential alternatives are viable on a bike.

I wonder about that filament at the far end of the bay. RideWithGPS indicates that it’s navigable but doesn’t characterize the surface.

And, for the most part it works. Not the most scenic or interesting, but doable. Mostly unpaved, including a stretch on the sand, skirting the edge of what looks like a dump, fording a small stream, passing through a pair of gates that are ajar today but that look like they could be locked at times. Slow going though, and interesting enough for an experiment but not as a regular option.

There is a network of side roads that you can follow to avoid a mile or two of the road, but it’s pretty rough. This is the best of it; it gets significantly worse.

Looking back at town from the south end of the bay.

This small stream is narrow enough at the water’s edge that I could just make it across with one giant step. Probably not something that would work in all seasons or for all inseam lengths.

Here’s that filament we were looking at from our deck. I wouldn’t want to venture out there in stormy conditions but it looks manageable today as long as that pair don’t nudge me into the water when we edge past each other.

Well, maybe not this section in the middle though. I tested it out actually, by putting my bike out first thinking I could use it as a support - but the front wheel just slid straight sideways on the slick surface so I gave up and turned back.

There’s a fair amount of bird life here at the end of the bay - gulls, herons, a few ducks, egrets, cormorants, a kingfisher. And this peep of some sort. He reminds me of a solitary sandpiper, constantly ducking and bobbing his tail.

Looking across from the opposite side of Portoferraio’s bay. This shot gives a good sense of how large the Moby ferries are.

Another look across the bay, with one of the Toremar ferries just arriving. This shot gives you a good perspective of the two forts above the city - Falcone on the left and Stella on the right.

Finally I’ve exhausted the options and join back up to the main road. There’s only a half a mile of it before branching off again, so this is definitely an improvement. Today though it looks like this whole exercise was unnecessary because there’s very little traffic and no trucks. It really doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all. I guess the lesson here is that if you’re going out of town in this direction it’s best done on the weekends.

Once across the bay I explore in a new direction, the road that stays close to the bay and passes through a pair of waterfront villages before climbing up into the mountains. I’m not sure how far I’ll bike. It depends on time, weather, and legs. I make it past Bagnaia and am halfway up the next headland between it and Nisporto, the last village before the road climbs steeply for a thousand feet and drops into Rio Nell Elba. I’m toying with doing this climb and then riding back to town the way we returned two days ago when it occurs to me to check the weather.

Lying Weather.Com says that I’m fact it’s raining right now, and will continue so for the rest of the day. I’m not feeling it at the moment, but looking at the graying sky to the west I see the point and decide that it’s time to settle. I head for home, sticking to the paved roads the whole way this time and keeping a good pace. It starts misting after just a few miles, but the real rain doesn’t arrive until sometime after I’m back in our room.

Looking up at Volterraio Castle, the one we biked beneath two days back.

Bagnaia, a small village on the opposite side of the bay. You could stay here if you wanted a quiet experience - there are a very few lodging options and restaurants.

A good look at the eastern face of Portoferraio’s peninsula. Also a look up the north side in the direction of Rachael’s walk. At the far end is Monte Enfola.

For dinner we brave the rain and take the by now familiar mile-long walk along the bay to the far end where all the restaurants are. We walk strategically, sticking close to buildings and beneath overhangs and porticos wherever possible. We’re lucky in that the rain is pretty modest until we arrive, but soon after we’re seated it begins raining in earnest. Everyone after us comes in dripping wet and shaking out their umbrellas. Our timing is impeccable, because it stops before we leave and we enjoy a dry final walk back to our room.

One of the ports into the old city from the waterfront.

Back in Zucchetta for a second time, at the favorite of the restaurants we found open here. Is it too soon to brag on myself about not losing my glasses on this tour? Or my wife for that matter, which is of course even more important.

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Ride stats today: 19 miles, 1,200’; for the tour: 2,597 miles, 97,500‘

Today's ride: 19 miles (31 km)
Total: 2,597 miles (4,179 km)

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Bruce LellmanI think you should be doing some more research on that mysterious shadow.
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