You’ll have all heard our news by now, so I won’t dwell on that. Other than having to sort out insurance and getting a boatyard booked, we actually had a really nice time in Cagliari. R planned a lot of sight-seeing to keep us busy, and we certainly walked a good few miles, and up and down hills. The Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria was quite poignant, as it is a shrine to distressed sailors.
The restaurants were great, and we walked out to the main food market one day (quite a hike). I had visited there three years ago, and I returned to the same cheese stall and took a photo of the guy who had served us before.
The wind was strong, and boats were staying in port. Andreas at the marina very kindly let us stay on a few extra days. We watched one boat come in with everyone wearing waterproofs, lifejackets and harnesses. It’s better to be safe than sorry. A boat came in next to us with a single-handed sailor on board. We helped him park up and he gave us a bottle of prosecco to say thank you. It would have been nice to invite him for a drink, but we were off early the next morning, and didn’t want to be drinking late into the evening. Although we did go on the Ferris wheel, with its great view over the city, so we weren’t that early to bed.
And so, we headed back whence we came, around the bottom and up the east coast. We took two days to do the journey, 40 nautical miles on day one and 30 on day two. We booked the same transit marina on the way back (Porto Corallo), and it turned out to be very nice. We walked around to the beach and had a bob in the warm water, then went out for the first pizza of our entire voyage. Although wind strengths were low, we managed to sail a little as well. We are now on “L” for Limerick in the Cabin Pressure radio series, and have appreciated the humour very much.
On our second day, we passed by “our” rock, and you know us, we have started giving it names, such as Hudson, or Lobster. Suggestions always welcome. I’m going for RiEd, thanks!]. We passed by, and headed for the port of Arbatax.
The week before, when we were across the bay in Santa Maria di Navarrese, we thought how industrial the port of Arbatax looked, and rather congratulated ourselves on being in smaller village. [Ed, the cranes are there because the town is a centre for oil rig manufacture. So, someone is still drilling for the black stuff]
But actually, Arbatax is charming. The marina has a slight American clapperboard feel to it, a large bar and pizzeria. The staff are helpful and friendly, and there is a pleasing bustle as day boats come and go. We walked into town when we arrived, and found all sorts of shops we needed – a pharmacy for more face masks ☹, a small supermarket, and a great Pasticceria making wonderful little cakes.
There is a great bar at the marina, and we would head there in the evening to play a few hands of cribbage and have an apero (we have now decided we ARE on holiday for a few weeks). R would usually have a couple of beers and I would have an Aperol Spritzer; Aperol with a splash of prosecco and a splash of soda water. It’s quite a long drink, and with the soda water makes it very refreshing. They served lovely little snacks with the drinks, and to be honest, once R had ordered his second beer, we didn’t need to get dinner afterwards, and usually just had a coffee later on.
We walked over to the far side of the peninsula on one occasion and had a swim. On another occasion, we walked around to the boatyard where MB would be taken, but it was a long way around by a fairly busy main road. Just in case you’re wondering how they got the boat around there, there is a route through the docks area where the mobile hoist travels back and for. When we finally did have her taken out of the water, she followed a catamaran on a sling in front.
It was a pleasant few days in the marina. There was a small motor cruiser opposite, with a family on board. They spent most of the day in the cockpit area, smoking and poring over their phones. It was very strange – they hardly went anywhere, and certainly didn’t take the boat out. The only time they went on a trip, we had a massive thunderstorm and rain and they scuttled back very quickly. A very large cruiser parked up a few away from us, and we saw staff carry two ice buckets each with a bottle of wine to the boat. Not much of a party we thought. And of course, there were the ubiquitous thin, long-limbed semi-naked Italian girls everywhere.
Finally, it was time to move off the boat; we packed, and then scrubbed the boat clean. We took a taxi to Olbia, where we stayed overnight, and then headed to the airport in the morning. Air France to Paris, and a couple of trains down to Angouleme, where a friend met us. We are now in Aubeterre. Sari and Thorne are with us for a few days, but they will return to the UK on Tuesday.
[Ed, as the French at Charles De Gaulle airport refused (or couldn't) stamp our passports into France, we need to keep evidence of the fact that we have been in France - on our visa - and not adding to our Schengen days, just in case the Greeks get shirty later in the year. I wonder if this photo will help? Grenoble is down there somewhere...]
So, we shall stay here in France. We may do a few little trips, and we may even spring clean the house (hey, steady).
But we will keep in touch. A xx