22nd June 2015 (contd.)
We are to sail on MOBY LOVE this time, leaving at 6p.m. and heading for Portoferraio, the other port on the island of Elba, further west of Cavo; the sailing will take an hour, so there is again time to look at other vessels around us.
MOBY LOVE is slightly newer than MOBY ALE, having been built in 1975 at 7,657 gross tons, as Sealink's SAINT ELOI, and she seemed very spacious. We looked around for remnants of her life as KING ORRY but I didn't find anything. My friends said there were a few references to KING ORRY if you looked hard enough! Again there was a popular ball pit for the children, plus lounge and bar areas, and I noticed several Moby items around, including an inflatable blue plastic whale on a shelf in the back of Reception.
We arrived at Portoferraio at 7 p.m. and were interested to see that the small cruise ship AEGEAN ODYSSEY was waiting to go alongside in the bay.
MOBY BABY was also there, so it was interesting to see her too.
We disembarked and turned for a final photo of MOBY LOVE, to find that both her ramps were down - fore and aft - which made for an interesting view through the ship.
Now there was time to go and find a local cafe with freshly cooked food, which proved to be most satisfying and enjoyable. We are to return to Piombino on the mainland on the good ship MARMORICA, of Toremar, and as she had not yet arrived we had time to stroll around the harbour. I met four passengers from the cruise ship AEGEAN ODYSSEY and we enjoyed chatting about our ships and itineraries as we stood on the quayside in the dusk. They loved the size of their ship and the service on board, and were happy to be staying overnight in Portoferraio. They had been unable to land by tender in Bonifacio, Corsica, on the previous day because of heavy seas.
Ships seen: Moby Love, Aegean Odyssey, Marmorica, Moby Baby, Aethalia, Algerina Neri, Moby Cargo Luigi PA
To be continued...
