When we got into Lipari, we asked the harbormaster where we could rent a scooter. He pointed to the top of the hill behind the marina and suggested the Apinnata Hotel. We proceeded to enter in a cave-like opening at the bottom of the hill. And there we found an elevator! Who knew?

At the end of this short elevator ride, there was this beautiful hotel, nestled within the slope of a mountain, with lovely views of the harbor and of Lipari town center.

Time to take the scooter ride!

Hang a left here!

This is the strangest looking sailboat I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of the egg-shaped spaceship Mork landed on earth with! They should call it the NA-NU NA-NU

Thwarting the Polish-Sicilian war!

After our morning scooter ride, we decided to return to the boat and relax.

The charter boat to our starboard was filled with pretty, young Polish girls. The charter boat to their starboard was filled with handsome, blond Polish guys. They were friends sailing together the Aeolian Islands.

As soon as we got to our boat, we noticed that one of the girls had a bandaged arm…something had happened, and she had undoubtedly visited an ER. Claudio turned to me and immediately told me that she most likely fell off a scooter.

A few minutes after his comment, two young Sicilian guys came angrily down the dock towards our boats. They were the owners of a scooter rental place and were furious!

As soon as the girls saw them coming, they began to start the engine and prepare to loosen the lines! They were in a hurry to leave. Screaming began between the Sicilians and the Poles. The scooter rental guys were accusing the Polish girls of renting one of their scooters, of having been involved in an accident with the vehicle and of having abandoned the scooter on the side of the road. The girls denied everything but could not explain why their friend, who had rented the scooter, had a bandaged arm and was below decks hiding. And the more denial took place, the more anger rose. We had to do something.

Throughout all this happening, it was evident, by the expression on their faces, that the Polish guys knew nothing about what had happened or what was going on. But once the Sicilian guys uttered the word Polizia, the Polish guys panicked! I’ve never seen a boat so quietly but so quickly sneak out of a port! LOL

Meanwhile, Claudio in Italian and I in English, started to negotiate a ‘cease fire’ and try to make sense of the situation BEFORE the Police got involved. After a long, calming talk, we managed to get the girls to admit to the accident and the abandonment of the vehicle. Then we asked the Sicilian guys what would be needed to make the situation acceptable to everyone…after all, we reminded them, the scooters have insurance that come with the rental.

After a couple more negotiations, a credit card was handed over, 500 euros were paid, and everyone left feeling appeased.

I discovered there is a diplomat somewhere inside of me….strange…because typically, it’s either my way or the highway! 😉