The Island of Ponza

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Ponza is one of 5 Pontine islands scattered across the Gulf of Gaeta. They are all volcanic in origin and only one besides Ponza is inhabited. They were virtually unknown until the flood of tourists swept down on the Bay of Naples and people came to Ponza to avoid the crowds at Capri.

The town was small and very quaint. We enjoyed it because it was less commercialized than some of the other ports. We especially enjoyed the slower pace after Capri and the island's simple beauty.

We took a cruise around the island after lunch and then the activities director created and excursion he called the Zodiac Safari of the Grottos of Ponza. This was one of the most fun activities of the trip because we got to actually get into the Mediterranian Sea and experiece the blue water and caves on our own. I was the first of the ship to get in the water and soon everyone was following suit. Our friends Bud and Terry encouraged Kelly to swim through the cave and we all four went back for a second trip. Even a story of a black eel in the cave couldn't deter Kelly from her adventure. She did pick up the pace a bit, though, when Terry thought she saw a snake.

Kelly and I both had spa appointments in the afternoon. There were 6 girls from Thailand who manned the spa and they were beautiful and talented. Jack and Donna Beck, our travel agents gave us a $200 ship credit and I used a good portion of it to treat myself to a Thai massage. It last 1 1/2 hours and this little Thai woman just about pulled me apart. She did the treatment out on the sundeck and I had several people who just watched us for entertainment. They had me dress in a little pajama type outfit that must have looked pretty silly on me because all 6 of them came out to giggle at me. That was just the beginning of my embarrassment. She walked on me, stood on me, cracked every joint in my body and applied hot herbal compresses all over me. At some points during the massage, I felt like I was back on the wrestling mat in high school being tortured by an opponent only this time it was a 90 pound Thai girl! All that said, it was one of the most relax experiences of my life. When I was finished, I felt like a wet noodle and wanted to call for a wheel chair to take me back to my room. Kelly got a great facial too. Thank you Jack and Donna!

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Photos

View from the Cruise around Ponza
One of the cliffs on this volcanically formed island.

Ponza's Blue Grottos
After our short visit to this fishing town, we cruised to the other side of the island for a Zodiac Safaria of the Grottos of Ponza. This was an unscheduled free adventure that SeaDream's activities director came up with for us. These are the caves we went through on the ship's Zodiac boats.

Chuck in the Grotto
Part of the Zodiac safari was a chance to make like Tiberius and swim through the grotto. Kelly was too cold and too scared the first time, so she just let me do it. Later, after our friends Bud and Terry encouraged her, she went back and went through herself. She was quite the adventurer until Terry said she saw a snake and Kelly turned on her flippers and got out of the cave. You will not see any pictures of Kelly in the blog because we didn't use the digital camera on the second trip, but bought a diving camera to get better shots.

Bud & Terry Brown
These were probably the best friends we made on the cruise. They were from Newport Beach and very nice. We are pictured here after conquering the grotto swim.