ITALY!

The itinerary of Acts 28:12-13 of Syracuse-Rhegium-Puteoli, follows the Egypt to Rome grain-shipping route. Each of these three cities were powerful, strategic, wealthy seaports that display, in spite of earthquakes, occupation, the Mafia, and economic depression, vestiges of their former glory and power. The cuisine, the energy, the charm, the rugged beauty, and the romance of southern Italy are unparalleled in the Mediterranean. Janet and I have been enjoying our first visit to this region, especially with friends and family.

Like Paul, we have been meeting people along the way. Byron, Virginia, and Roanna Gingrich joined us in Malta and sailed with us to St. Paul’s Bay on the island, then on the next day to Syracuse, (modern Siracusa) Sicily. Our son David and his fiancée, Rebekkah flew down from Germany and met us in Siracusa. And at the very same time, our nephew Ed and Michelle Kropf from Oregon were in Siracusa as well, a veritable family reunion on SailingActs in Sicily. All nine of us ate Italian gelato in the cockpit until midnight, as noisy as our Italian boating neighbors for a change.

After spending a day hiking with David and Rebekkah around the active volcano of Mt. Etna, they caught a flight from Catania back to Germany, and Janet and I, suddenly and acutely alone again, sailed the next morning for Rhegium (modern Reggio di Calabria) on the toe of Italy’s boot. However, unlike the quick trip in the Acts story, when we had made slow progress within 16 miles of Rhegium we had to return to the coast of Sicily to anchor for the night. The headwinds, the current, and the huge waves were just too fierce to fight. The next day we tried again and flew across to Rhegium in favorable winds.

It was the Strait of Messina, the narrow channel between Italy’s toe and Sicily that had us worried. Made famous by Homer’s Odyssey, it was here that Odysseus had encountered the fearsome twin perils of Scilla, with her 6 long necks and horrible heads with which she could pluck dolphins, swordfish, and sailors from the sea on one side, and on the other Charybdis, a gigantic whirlpool that could suck down complete ships and crew. The passage through the Straits described in the Odyssey: ‘And all this time, in travail, sobbing, gaining on the current, we rowed into the strait – Scilla to port and on our starboard beam Charybdis, dire gorge of the salt sea tide. By heaven! when she vomited, all the sea was like a cauldron seething over intense fire, when the mixture suddenly heaves and rises.’ Clearly Luke did not write this.

As we approached this legendary place on SailingActs I wondered if the sailors on the Alexandrian grain ship sailing toward Rome in February of 60 had regaled Paul and the other passengers with the legend and tales of their own. But we hit the current and wind just right, flying through at speeds up to 7.5 knots even with a headwind and the motor idling. We were relaxing, after having cleared the heavy cross traffic between Italy and Sicily, and were emerging from the Straits when we suddenly found ourselves turned 90 degrees. We had experienced Charybdis! But it had become tame, a mere momentary thrill, much closer to Luke’s description than Homer’s.

Reading the final chapter of Acts the other day, I realized that we are in the final 4 verses of the voyage to Rome, the final verses of the sabbatical. In one month we fly to America. We, like Paul, are anxious to arrive in Rome, but also like Paul, we know this ends the voyage. Janet and I have been discussing how we will conclude the journey, what we will do with SailingActs when we leave, now that we have decided to keep her for at least another year.

Arriving in Tropea a few days ago, we made more decisions. These are the plans. On July 11 we will begin the voyage toward Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli near Naples). After spending several days in the area we will then sail back to a small marina in Tropea where we have contracted to leave SailingActs for the winter. Janet will stay in Tropea while I return to Puteoli to make the journey to Rome overland as described in Acts. I hope to hike at least part of the way on the Via Appia into Rome. I will then return to Tropea for the final week or so left to finish the manuscripts and get SailingActs ready for the winter.

Like Paul, we cannot bear to think that Rome will be the end.

See photos from July 10