2022 Veneto

Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October 2022 We had to hand Caprice back at 09:00 on Wednesday morning and we agreed that we would return to the boatyard on Tuesday to make sure staff could check the engine time reading and we could settle up any paperwork the day before as we had a train to catch. There is a speed limit in the Laguna which the small motor boats and taxis seem to disregard totally. Even in the middle of the night, small boats would speed past, creating a disproportionate amount of wake. We were frequently awoken by Caprice being aggressively bounced and buffeted against the mooring dolphins so violently that it seemed as though we would surely break loose or capsize. As Liz commented, “We really rocked in Venice:” But not always in a good way. As we left the waters of the Venice navigation. . . . . . Martin, as Co-Captain, once again took charge of the mooring ropes . . . . . . and we went back through the lock which separates the salty Laguna from the fresh waters of the River Sile. Thankfully, the damage deposit was returned in full. Engine hours are […]

Sunday 2nd and Monday 3rd October 2022 Burano looked even better in the Sunday morning sunshine. We planned to go to the Venetian Ghetto on Sunday to respect the Jewish Sabbath. We took a slightly circuitous route via Arsenale as we hoped to get closer to the Building Bridges sculpture. Unfortunately we weren’t successful but our walk back took us through a park where we enjoyed seeing the turtles in the fountain. Still making the most of our vaporetto passes we travelled past the Palazzo Ducale again [it always merits a photo] on our way to the Venetian Ghetto. On 29 March 1516, the Venetian Republic created the first ever ghetto on a small island in Cannaregio, the north-western sestiere of Venice. Within a week, the residents were removed and replaced by the Jewish people already resident in Venice at the time. Initially the Venetian Ghetto was connected to the rest of the city by two bridges that were locked overnight and only opened in the morning at the ringing of the marangona, the largest bell in St. Mark’s Campanile. The Jewish community itself had to pay for the Christian guards who ensured they did not break the overnight curfew. There are […]

Friday 30th September & Saturday 1st October 2022 We had prioritised the places we wanted to see and decided that a three day vaporetto pass, activated at about midday, would give us the flexibility to go into Venice several times and also visit some of the other islands over a period of four days. Information displayed at all the vaporetto stops explains that ‘between September 15th and April 30th the local administration operates a Piano di Viabilità Pedonale [Pedestrian Mobility Plan]’ based on erecting temporary, elevated walkways in the case of Acqua Alta, or exceptionally high water. This phenomenon, caused by unusually high tides, used to occur approximately every four years but since 2000 it has become much more frequent as sea levels rise due to global warming. The temporary walkways are constructed out of the sort of staging that schools use for drama productions and these can be seen stacked around the city close to where they will be needed. The routes are apparently effective for water levels rising up to about 120cm but beyond this even some of the walkways may be impassable if they are either submerged or floating. Robert has met Cinza, a local Venetian guide, through […]

Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th September 2022 Leaving Chioggia, the day was overcast and windy as we crossed the Laguna, passed through the Moranzani Lock and turned up the Riviera del Brenta. Having passed through the lock, you have to ring ahead to the on-call teams to arrange for the swing bridges to be opened. At the first bridge, we met a pleasant Swiss family who had arrived in Malcontenta shortly before us and were waiting to be let through. We both assumed we had arrived during the lunch break. A member of the team arrived at the allotted time to open the first bridge electronically and once both boats had passed through he closed the bridge and drove to open the next one. We continued on up the canal in this way, in tandem with the Swiss family, leapfrogging the workman, who was joined by a colleague at one of the bridges which needed to be manually operated. As we waved goodbye to the workmen, we agreed to meet them the following day at the last bridge so that we could do the journey in reverse and head back to Venice. Robert suggested 09:00 but we were firmly told […]

Sunday 25th – Tuesday 27th September 2022 Leaving Casier, we headed south, leaving the Parrocchia dei Santi Teonisto e Compagni Martiri towering behind us [see GoPro video below] and motored onwards towards Venice. Rain had been forecast but fortunately this seemed to have all fallen overnight and by the time we set off, both Captain and crew could enjoy the sunshine. At Portegrandi, where the River Sile meets the Laguna, we negotiated our first lock. The term ’we’ is used loosely. This lock, unlike those on the canals of England, was operated by a lock keeper and required comparatively little effort from the crew. The Co-Captain took most of the strain. Once on the Laguna, we passed several casoni with the fishing nets hung out beside them. A casone is a basic fisherman’s hut or peasant’s house in the Veneto, but as we would see shortly not all casone are equal and some are more basic than others. Our route took us past the picturesque island of Burano, which is famous for its brightly coloured houses. The bell tower is no longer vertical and from some angles the lean is quite alarming. le boat has its own dedicated berths on Burano and […]

Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September 2022 The year 2022 has been very nautical in flavour: having spent almost three months on a narrowboat; returned from America on the Queen Mary and island-hopped in the Isles of Scilly we are now heading to Italy to spend 12 days cruising the rivers, canals and sea around the Venice Laguna with two of our regular TravellingHerd companions, Liz and Martin. We have one night in Florence on our way to meet them and pick up our boat. It seems Robert is back to his old tricks again and has booked a hotel near the station we will be departing from in the morning. Sometimes this has resulted in us staying in some rather disreputable areas. However in Florence we find we are just in the suburbs enjoying a balmy evening with the locals. After checking in to our hotel, a short walk took us to the Pin Up Beerstrò bar next to the Cinema Flora. The charming waiter [seen in the background between us in the photo above] clearly had the measure of Robert. Having scanned the QR code so that we could peruse the menu, Robert found that the beer we […]