May 20, 2012: Dubrovnik, Croatia
	The Noordam: The Ship and Our Stateroom
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From the Ship's Log:   Saturday, May 19, 2012 At Sea Position at Noon:      37°53'N, 015°50'E Weather:      Moderate easterly breeze, smooth seas, no swell. Partly cloudy skies, I016hPa, 18°C/64°F

We left Civitavecchia yesterday afternoon, and this morning we were cruising south through the Tyrrhenian Sea. This morning, the captain called everyone up on deck as we passed Stromboli and its active volcano. We'll continue south and go through the straits of Messina, and head on around Italy to end in Dubrovnik tomorrow morning.

Our Route from Civitavecchia to Dubrovnik  

When we left Civitavecchia and headed south, we were actually in the Tyrrhenian Sea, a hundred miles or so off the Italian coast. By sunrise we were nearing the north coast of Sicily, and shortly after breakfast we passed the island of Stromboli, where we got some good views of this volcanic island. We learned that on the return leg of our cruise, we would be passing the island much more closely, and should be able to get great views of its active volcano.

At noontime, we were heading through the straits of Messina (which was certainly a lot shorter than taking the trip all the way around Sicily). This put us in the Ionian Sea, which is the part of the Mediterranean between the southern tip of Italy and Greece, which is at the southern end of the Peloponnesian peninsula.

We will be cruising north through that sea, entering the Adriatic Sea after dark, and docking in Dubrovnik tomorrow morning.

Passing Stromboli  

Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands that form a volcanic arc in the southern end of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name "Strongule" which was given to it because of its round swelling form. The island's population is between 400 and 850, all of whom live in small settlements along the coast.

After we'd passsed the island on our way south, I got a good picture looking back along our port side of the ship, and you can see that view here.

Navigating the Straits of Messina  

Mount Etna

About an hour after passing Stromboli, the Noordam came around by the northeast corner of Sicily and began to pass through the Straits of Messina. We'll be back to Messina at the end of our cruise, and will probably get better views of the Sicilian and Italian coastlines then, but for now, we just went up on deck to watch as we passed along both coasts.

One of the highlights of the passing through the straits was the view we had of Mt. Etna as we were coming through to the south. We weren't very close to it, but Fred got an excellent shot of Mt. Etna that you can see at right. I also took a picture of the volcano that you can see here.

Out of the many pictures that Fred took in the hour or so it took us to pass by the Sicilian coast, I've selected just a few to include here, and you can use the clickable thumbnails below to have a look at them:

Moving away from Sicily, we could still see the Italian coast in the distance as we rounded the boot, headed north and night fell.

This Evening's Towel Animal  

Must Be a Manta Ray

We are pretty sure that this evening's "towel animal" was a manta ray.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	May 20, 2012: Dubrovnik, Croatia
	The Noordam: The Ship and Our Stateroom
	Return to the Index for Our Mediterranean Cruise