Ships in Palermo Harbor

As we left Palermo Harbor I took the opportunity to take photos of the many ships we were leaving behind. This is a small coastal oil tanker.

Lirica's berth was now empty, revealing a passenger ferry still at the dock

This mammoth structure is called a Crane Ship. She is named Saipem 7000 and the number refers to the weight each of the two cranes can lift. Together they can operate in tandem and lift 14,000 tonnes!
She is used to assemble oil rig platforms on site, in deep water.

Sicilian Coast Guard ship

Coastal oil tanker

This is the wide basin that we shared with Lirica. We have reversed out and now have room to turn our ship around before heading to the breakwater

Neighbors in the next cabin watching the ship leave Palermo harbor

Saipem 7000 again and in the foreground (left) is an empty Wet Dock- a floating dock that can be sunk so that ships can sail in. Then the water is pumped out do the ship is in a "dry dock" for repairs.

Soon we were out of the harbor and heading for Sorrento....

Time to leave Palermo

Back on the ship and enjoying a cold beer by the pool, I met a few friends who had gone ashore on their excursions once the ship had docked and before the deluge of rain fell. Their excursions were disrupted by the rain and they spoke of flooding in the streets and the foul smell as the drains overflowed. I'm glad we missed that.

As we missed the opportunity to eat on shore I made my one and only visit to the buffet for lunch and ate it outdoors on the open deck behind the buffet. Everything was hot and tasty. Very enjoyable.

This is the outdoor deck at the back of the buffet, overlooking the stern. Photo taken in port in Civitavecchia early in the morning.

With the weather and the dirty appearance of the streets near the port not helping to show the city at it's best we now looked to the future and to tomorrow when we would anchor off Sorrento and get to visit Pompeii.

I had my cameras ready for our 4 p.m sail away from Palermo.

Lirica would leave before us (video)

A long video for the ship nerds among you but you can always fast-forward.

Our ship would leave later than expected as the shore men who let go of the ropes holding us to the dock were late arriving and when they did they were moving very slowly. So maybe 20 minutes late.

I watched them from the Promenade deck but would soon move back to our balcony where I had the camcorder set-up to record.

Promenade deck, starboard

Sad to say goodbye to the beautiful oil tanks of Palermo...

A school of fish swim close by the ship

Lirica leaving the harbor in the distance. The harbor Pilot is returning from the Lirica.

The camcorder is set to record

Palermo harbor is huge and there were  a lot of different ships for us to see. We love working ports like this. In most of the ports we visit we just see Cruise Ships. This would be different.

The mooring lines have been released from the bollards on the dock and winched back on board the Ocean Princess. We can now push away from the dock and head to sea....

Back from my walk in Palermo

When I came back on the ship I found Carol where I had left her- in the quiet of the ship's library.
Most cruise ship libraries are not as ornate and luxurious as this one though. It's the biggest and best I've seen so far.

A fireplace! But of course you can't have an open fire on a ship....

View from a window in the library

Ornate backlit ceiling

Just the place to relax, especially when raining outside or hot and humid.

Carol spent a could of relaxing hours here. Only one other person came in during that time.

Of course most people were ashore on organized excursions or wandering around as I was.

Here's a video from my hour ashore....

A walk in Palermo

Once the heavy rain ended the sun came out-strong and so the humidity climbed high, like being in a steam room. carol declined my invitation to go ashore for a walk so I went by myself.

I was wearing my money belt and had my camera bag around my neck and over my shoulder so it couldn't be snatched-too much to lose by being trusting and careless.

Within a few minutes of being off the ship I met a couple of friends from the ship who were returning. The told me they had been pestered by people trying to sell them tours. The people would follow them, still trying to sell, even though it was obvious they weren't interested.

As they left me this wild-looking young guy, unshaven and with very few teeth, came up to me speaking in French. Being polite and wanting to hear what he had to say I listened. I understood that he was trying to sell me a tour to a cathedral and so politely, in French, told him I was just out to take a short walk. He walked away which was exactly what I wanted him to do. The French lessons in High School paid off!

The ship....

....was berthed next to this thing. Looks like an array of oil tanks. A coat of paint would help make it more welcoming

 A man on a bicycle was trying to mop up the dock....could take a while as the mop was a piece of carpet, rather than a sponge with water-absorbing properties.

Lirica was docked nearby

I continued with my walk. Palm trees! Nice. Certainly hot enough for them

I love the architecture!

The streets are narrow and very busy with cars and small trucks. Crossing the street I had to be careful as cars are slow to stop and give way to a pedestrian on a crossing. You need to make eye contact with the driver and don't assume he will stop.

I found a nice quiet square where I could sit on a park bench

I noticed that the area was rather untidy and the trash hadn't been picked up.  Palermo had 3,000 tourists visiting today-a town should look it's best!

When I sat down I noticed a very strong smell and it wasn't bread being baked....

Right behind me was an area where grass wasn't choosing to grow. It emitted a fetid stench. The smell of a popular dog toilet! Really? Palermo dog owners- this is OK by you? No picking up the dog shit in a plastic glove and disposing of it in a trash bin or taking it home to dispose of? Just leave it here for the tourists and the office workers relaxing on their lunch break?

I had to get away from the foul odor and continue my walk but the traffic carelessness, the trash and now this were lowering Palermo fast in my esteem. Onward!

I walked back down towards the dock.

Somewhere along the way I was hoping for a nice outdoor cafe to sit at and enjoy a beer or an espresso but the cafes all had their tables under plastic tents by which I imagined they were used to getting heavy rain. I wanted to sit outside but there was nowhere suitable that didn't have a lot of car traffic right by the tables so I decided to find a store to buy a fridge magnet in and then head back to the Ocean Princess and cleanliness.

I found such a shop and got my magnet. Much of the souvenirs reefed to the movie The Godfather and I wished that Sicily would be remembered for more than the Mafia.

Back towards the ship if I can get safely across the street!

Some pedicab drivers were parked, hoping for customers so that they could show off their beautiful city....while the trash piled up next to them

Well, I was only ashore for one hour but it didn't look inviting today. I am sure I will be on another cruise ship docking in Palermo at some point in my life and hope to see the better parts of it then.
I was wondering how all the people who took excursions enjoyed their trip ashore during the heavy rainstorm?

I was happy to see my ship again! I'll see you back onboard.