Swanning around Sardegna

Caspita!  Time flies when you are having fun!  Hard to believe we have been in Sardegna for nearly seven months.  It has turned out to be a fantastic place to over winter; warm, welcoming and secure… our motto that it always pays not to be able to see the sea your winter berth is true in spades here!  Marina di Olbia is extremely safe no matter what the wind direction and even during the cyclone and resulting flood back in November, we were as snug as a bug tucked up on C pontoon.  And the staff… wow again… a lovely group of people and extremely proud of their little bit of paradise… there is never a time of day, or night, that they aren’t out at least once an hour checking the boats and making sure the place is spick and span.

 

As you could probably tell by the last post I have been completely blown away by this beautiful island and for once it is going to be a real wrench to leave.  I can see why people decide to stay indefinitely once the first year passes… If I was in the pacific, the rest of the ex-pats might be saying I have “gone troppo”!  Still Sardinia will always be here and there is no reason we won’t return in the future.

So anyway… what’s happened in the last few months???

Let’s start with the end of last year’s sailing season.  We thoroughly enjoyed our anticlockwise circumnavigation of the island.  The first thing that struck us was how friendly everyone was and interested in where we were from and why we were here.  Needless to say it made a pleasant change from our Balearics experience!  The west coast is pretty wild, under developed and full of bays but has a tenacious underlying NW swell that makes some anchorages rolly.  That being said we found plenty of places to drop the hook and favourites included;

 

Porto Conte – several places to choose from to anchor and lovely surroundings even if some of the facilities ashore seem to be slowly disintegrating.

Alghero – Even though the town quay wasn’t free, Aquatica Marina are making a tidy profit in the summer, the town itself is a really nice tourist trap.  Catalan in style (the Spanish do have an eye for town layout) and still with some Catalan spoken it has plenty of restaurants and bars to go at and we enjoyed a few days kicking back here in the sun and sampled our first cavallo (horse) dish – it is eaten widely here and I have to say I have developed quite a taste for it.  Sorry Liz, but when in Sardinia….

Capo Mannu – Friendly locals and excellent laidback beach bars – Bramble particularly enjoyed the small following of little boys she collected over the space of a few days – ah the joys of an un-spayed dog.  At one point I had to recruit a very polite scruffy dog to keep the others off… enough said!

Santa Giovanni di Sinis - an excellent place to hide out of the swell and conveniently placed buoys, even if they seemed pretty shallow at first.  The area ashore is a nature reserve and we loved just being able to mooch about willy nilly senza too many other dogs.

Capo San Marco – more free buoys located in front of the ruins of Thassos.  Not quite Knidos, but a spectacular open bay none the less, with plenty of protection from the prevailing swells.  Here we met Bernt and Briget off “Rebell”, a Bavaria Ocean 38 – CC’s baby sister.   Thanks for the company around the coast, guys.

Isola Pan di Zucchero – Not the most comfortable of anchorages but down right dramatic.  Throw in a rather cool mine and it’s a must see.  The small island rises straight up out of the sea and makes a photogenic backdrop to the bay while Porto Flavia (the old mine) has a loading tunnel that empties directly in the sea through a strangely Disney arch.  Quite surreal.

As we rounded the bottom of the island the weather started to be distinctly autumnal and impressive thunderstorms became quite frequent.  The air and sea temperature is decidedly cooler here than the Balearics but it hasn’t slowed down the swimming yet.

Sant’ Antioco – the Sneem of Sardegna – which as you might recall was rather like Hotel California, you check out any time you like but you never leave!  Proceed with caution down a long, well-marked and dredged channel - do not deviate if you have a deep keel!  The “marina” is straight ahead at the end or for more fun anchor in minimal depths amongst the fishing boats.  A neat little town, with an amazing treed main street and great protection from all wind directions (we know this to be true because I think we experienced them all! - top tip don’t try and leave when a thunderstorm threatens) and there are tons of really interesting archaeological sites to visit close by.

There were many bays and anchorages between Sant’ Antioco and Cagliari, all with their own charms.  In the summer when the army takes a break there are even more to go at in the normally prohibited military zone.  Rest assured we poked our nose into most of them and found them more than satisfactory.

Cagliari – The town is a peculiar mix of styles and tastes but all are fascinatingly grungy and we spent many hours trekking around the place just absorbing the atmosphere – shame the marina is so far from the main centre but don’t miss the archaeological museum – it is worth it just to see the votive Bronzetti.

 

Villasimius – A state of the art marina in wonderful surroundings.  I think we could have been tempted to overwinter here if the shops didn’t all closeout of season!

 

And on up the east coast...  Again we were struck by the lack of coastal development and the remoteness of it all.  Huge swathes of coast are dominated by plummeting cliffs or rolling dunes with accompanying inland saline lakes and all the while the mountains beyond beckon, whetting the appetite for winter trekking.

 

Arbatax – Now I include this not for its personal scenic delights, indeed there appeared to be none as far as we can tell but because the Trennino Verde (one of the four little tourist trains that head into the mountains) leaves from here… we didn’t make the trip but I hear it is worth it. A highlight for us here was the little dog with the world biggest ears that befriended us.  He reminded me of that lemur in Madagascar; you know the one… it had the huge eyes and trembly bottom lip which in this case were put to good use and he proceeded to shame us into feeding him and then allowing him to sleep on my lap… I know I am soft but no one could have resisted his combination of charm and not so subtle manipulation.

 

Next we sailed along the coast of Cala Gonone.  This is certainly not an area of the coast to be caught out on and although it may have some of the most magnificent beaches in Sardinia, yacht friendly it is not, so we continued north on a beam reach.

 

The next section of Sardegna marked the beginning of our favourite cruising ground for the island (La Caletta to Isola Asinara with the La Maddalena Archipelago the jewel in the crown).  A myriad of bays and islands make for excellent shelter and the scenery is even more beautiful if that’s possible.  The anchorages are too numerous to mention (i.e. I won’t bore you with a description of them all!) but again we visited most and found them all very much to our taste.  So again some of the highlights…

La Caletta – A pretty little tourist town with a small marina.  Not the place to be in a south easterly but well worth a day or two’s investigation and that’s what we did.

 

Cala Coda Cavallo – This bay is one of our top five for Sardegna.  A great setting with fabulous views of Isola Tavolara an enormous chunk of granite that dominates this part of the coast.  We visited here often and never failed to be moved by its beauty.

 

Olbia – Ahhh Olbia; a much underestimated place – I can see why the Greeks named it “Happy”.  It may just be a commercial port to some but dig a little deeper and the place just grows on you!  Sure it is somewhat architecturally challenged and doesn’t boast a wealth of fancy shops and restaurants but it’s the locals that make up for any initial doubts you might have with regard to its charms.  You will not meet a friendlier bunch anywhere and that’s saying something coming from a New Zealander!

 

Porto Rotondo and Portisco – Famous for its “bunga, bunga” parties – yes, Berlusconi has his holiday home here and it was an Olbian giornalista that scooped the pictures – these two marinas mark the start of the more developed northern section.  Super yachts and swanky threads abound in the summer (obviously we only saw the tail end of this but there were still more super yachts here than we saw in the Balearics – I wonder why??)

 

Cala di Volpe – never saw a fox here but we did sit out a nasty mistral with over 45knt gusts in reasonable comfort.  Couldn’t afford the drinks menu at the hotel or the daily charge of 60€ for two sun loungers and an umbrella but there were some lovely walks ashore and when the catamaran behind us went aground, the locals were more than helpful but perhaps the tug team needed a bit more training on disentangling yachts from sand and rocks.

 

Porto Cervo – The world’s most expensive marina.  Unfortunately we couldn’t justify to cost at just under 300€/night for a boat our size but still, a really neat setup.  We came back later in October and stayed for free in the old port – everything was closed and there was no vibe but what the hey, at least we went there!

Porto Cervo marks the start of the Costa Smeralda.  A concept born in the early 1960’s, this area has been sensitively developed by the Aga Khan and his cohorts with an eye towards low impact, organic architecture.  I have to say it impressed me.  After the love affair that the rest of the Med has with high rise in your face development it’s nice to see attempt to blend tourism with nature and long may it continue.

When we rounded the corner into La Maddalena Archipelago, I fell in love with Sardegna all over again.  This is an absolutely stunning area with amazing views no matter where you look.  No wonder Michael Hart tried to buy Isola Budelli with the famous Spiagga Rossa (Pink Beach) – shame the Italian government couldn’t see he would have made a great custodian with all his conservation programme ideas, at the very least he might have addressed the lack of toilets which kind of detracted from the beauty spot!  Each island has its own character and the jolly little town of La Maddalena fair bustles with life, but if I had to choose a favourite island it would have to be Caprera.  The Maddalena Archipelago is a National Park so you have to pay to stay the day/night but we found the online permit system a breeze to use and at 94€ for 15 days pretty reasonable considering you had free use of the park buoys included in that.  Just don’t forget that La Maddalena town isn’t in the park so you don’t need a permit to go there!

 

Isola Caprera - There isn’t much of it we haven’t seen by land or sea and every inch of it is incredible.  The whole island is crisscrossed with tracks and every day we saw a diversity of landscape you wouldn’t expect to be packed into such a small area.  Little wonder the great Garibaldi (“the hero of two worlds”) chose to make his final stand here.  Don’t miss his home/museum by the way.  Complete with his death bed, it’s just the sort of quirky museum that appeals to us. (Still can’t believe I never made it to Dollywood or Ned Kelly’s museum!!)

Other bays we enjoyed on the other islands were…

 

Cala Villamarina – Despite the wasps we really liked it here.  The walk to the nameless head in the old quarry was cool and the views from the old fort and resort on the other side of the island looking towards Isola La Maddalena was a great way to spend an hour or two.

Secco di Morto/Deadman’s Passage between Santa Maria and Isola Budelli – a very picturesque and popular stop.  Plenty of buoys to pick up but a bit lacking on jaunts ashore and, my word, if you are going to let trip boats stop here you really need to provide toilet facilities.  Back to that bears and woods thing…

Cala Santa Maria – Bramble’s pick due to the abundance of wildlife; pheasants, rabbits, possibly goats and or donkeys and who knows what else she discovered… hey, she is getting old and you make your fun where you can!

Cala Lunga – a magnificent bay edged with wind worn rocks and an interesting walk to a crumbling lighthouse.  Not somewhere you could sit out the mistral but a magical place worth visiting.

La Maddalena Town – after a few stops on the outside quay for water we finally went in the marina one day and just loved the place.  Narrow cobbled streets and lots of action – just what you need after a few nights in the bays!  Don’t miss the “Bar Fiume” – a dedicated beer bar, this is where we first discovered the Sassari based “P3” brewery and its three beers including the outstanding “50 nodi” (50 Knots)… needless to say we made the most of it.  Apparently there are some 15 artigianale brewers on Sardegna… “Lara” is another one definitely worth trying.

And just outside the park…

 

Liscia di Vacca – A lovely bay on the other side of the hill from Porto Cervo.  It has better protection than is indicated in the pilot book and it’s only a ½ hour walk to Porto Cervo.  We loved it here and Bramble struck up a “friendship” with the local tartaruga (tortoise) population!

Cannigione – Whether you anchor off, pick up a buoy or go in the marina, the town is worth a look.  Very popular with the locals we found it had a scruffy charm all of its own and an excellent laundromat.  I know but that is liveaboards for you J

Palau – Surprisingly nice for the main ferry hub for La Maddalena we enjoyed a few of trips here and even looked at overwintering options. 

Santa Teresa Gallura – This is a lovely harbour/marina.  I love the way they incorporated old roman ruins into the design and allowed the marina to develop naturally around the bay.  The old town up on the hill above has a great square for people watching and you can walk over to Capo Testa which of course we did!  This is another place we toyed with for over wintering but again the marina facilities had shut for the season which kind of left it a bit isolated from the community.

Next we took a sail over to Bonifacio on Corsica.  The croissants were calling…  This is a lovely harbour but it did remind us that the French, unlike the Sardi, prefer you to pay your money and expect no service.  Still we had a good couple of days here.  It’s an interesting town and we will be back to Corsica next season.  Cheers Mart and Maureen on “Lady First” for providing such interesting entertainment and discussion… back, sack and crack waxing, well I never… still we heard something the other day that is even more terrifying… see you next season to explain that one!

Now we head back to Sardegna to explore the top of the island and again it’s not without its charms.

Capo Testa (Baia Reparata) – Much more sheltered from the NW than it looks and even though a slight swell lips around the rock point it is more than tenable in a blow.  We loved it here and walked over the hill towards Santa Teresa through the nature reserve and meandered around the old roman quarries on the cape for many days.

 

Isola Rossa – Although we shunned the new marina it looked fine if shallow.  The anchorage in the bay was great and afforded us a great view of the sunset and the fishermen going out at dusk.  We only planned to stop the night but ended up stuck here a little longer…

 

Castelsardo – The arc of Stintino and Isola Asinara breaks some of the worst W and NW weather along this stretch of coast but do not underestimate the entrance at Castelsardo in a strong NW, however, once inside the protection is great.  Although we never made it as far as Isola Asinara with its miniature white donkeys we heard it was really lovely.  Maybe next year…
It’s an impressive view from the marina up to the old town and the other way round!  It is not too far to walk or take the bus from the marina up to the top and walk down.  (Top tip – do not order tea in the old town… mama mia the water tastes terribile up there!)  There is a multitude of tat shops to choose from and I particularly liked the 1982 tourist guide I found lurking on a shelf… amazing to see just how much things have changed in 30 years!

Well that was about it for the 2013 sailing season… next year the plan is to head north to Corsica, east to Elba, south down the Italian mainland, a short sojourn in Sicilia and then over to Greece for the busy summer season and then possibly Sicilia for the winter… see you there???