Calm waters greeted National Geographic Orion as we cruised from Sardinia towards the Italian mainland today. A series of lectures, an outdoor lunch in the beautiful Mediterranean springtime, and wildlife watching filled the hours until early afternoon, when our first cruising destination came into view: the volcanic island of Stromboli, a 3,031-ft stratovolcano with two active craters that erupt continuously several times a minute! Fortunately, these eruptions are relatively mild, allowing our ship to sail by safely and take in the phenomenal landscape. Evening brought us to the Strait of Messina, a narrow and tumultuous gap between southern Italy and Sicily that made for formidable sailing for early Mediterranean explorers. Her terrors are now more the stuff of legend, most famously the story of Scylla and Charybdis in “The Odyssey.” Still, it’s never a bad idea to keep an eye out for sea monsters…
5/17/2025
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National Geographic Orion
Sardinia, Italy
Today was our first day using Zodiacs to get ashore. Fortunately, we had fair weather and clear skies, making our ride into port pleasant for all. Once ashore, we boarded buses and enjoyed the scenic ride through the Sardinian countryside. Our first stop was a set of ancient ruins created by the Nuraghe. These striking structures date back thousands of years and left guests with a sense of awe as we pondered their origins. Next, we ventured to our second archaeological site, Li Lolghi’s Giants’ Tomb. This structure is 27 m long. It was a symbol of land possession and asserted the importance of those buried below. The site is neatly nested below a large vineyard, which creates a dramatic backdrop. After a short stop in Baja Sardinia, we returned to port to re-embark National Geographic Orion . Once on board, we enjoyed some down time and a fantastic presentation from Benedetta Gori, a visiting National Geographic specialist.