Jeff: Week two - We made it to Sardinia

Sorry I was going to post this at the weekend but we have been staying at stops near the beach and in the woods which has basically meant we have had no data.

We walked in the park a little but mostly sat in the sun enjoying the warm (over 20 degrees) and the lovely views over the sea and villages below. We enjoyed a nice dinner on our chairs outside which has been the first time this trip that its been warm enough to do it. The next morning we headed back down all the hill and jumped onto the toll road to Sestri Levante where we parked up in a residential area and headed to the beach for the morning. We lazed on the beach enjoying the sun which is now getting to 25 degrees and even had a swim the sea (well Rich swam and I paddled. It feels like a holiday now! Later we headed to the town to grab a focaccia and headed back to the van for lunch. We then headed further south to a town called Camaiore where there was a nice serviced camperstop. We parked up and jumped on the bikes and headed to the seaside. We got down there and found an ice cream shop and got ourselves one (vegan pistachio and chocolate hazelnut) before we headed across the beach. We managed to get on the beach easily but as we walked down it soon became obvious that all the lidos meant we couldn’t actually get off it. Finally we found an exit only to find it was blocked so we carried on and eventually found a bar we could sneak through and back to the town. We stopped at a shop to get a sim card so that both of us can use data which was fairly simple and means we have more than a few gigabytes for the rest of the month. Afterwards we headed back to the bikes and back to the stop as it was now 6pm and finally cooling down a little. Back at the van we met a nice British couple and chatted to them for awhile, and learnt that they were in Norway last year at the same time as us and left UK this time around the same time as us (stalkers), before we cooked some dinner and settled in

The next day we got up and serviced the van before heading off down the toll road to Livorno. We managed to get there alright but when we stopped at the petrol station and realised they had no diesel and ended up driving round some very small and tight lanes to finally get some diesel. A quick stop at lidls as well and we were finally headed to the port. We parked up here and headed into the town only to realise its Labour day over here so most things are shut and there really isn’t much to do in Livorno. We headed back to the van for lunch and to get ready for our ferry to Sardina this evening. Its an overnight ferry (we did book a day time one but it was cancelled so they offered us an overnight one with a free cabin which we were happy to accept!).

When it was getting closer to the time we had to head to the ferry we realised this was quite a big port and we had no idea where we needed to be. We walked to the ticket office and they told us which bay we needed but then we walked out and tried to find it, I asked security and we soon figured it out, but we still had to try and navigate the one way system to get there. Once there it was chaotic getting on the ship. There seemed no organisation to the madness and the men/boys directing traffic just picked which ever lane they wanted to go forward for some amount of time then stopped them and repicked a lane at random. I say lane but really it was just a mass of traffic all trying to go the same way but having no idea when they would be picked. We eventually squeezed our way into a lane that was going but we had already been sat like a lemon queuing the British way for 15 mins. The traffic by now was really thinned out so it was too difficult to squeeze with the other cars into their lanes. The ferry crossing was okay, not too wavy and fairly quiet meaning we both got some sleep in the cabin but we were up at 5 as we knew we would have to leave the cabin about 6 to 6-30am and we both wanted a shower. We also wanted time to have a bit of tea and pack everything up. Once we got kicked out of the cabin we waited in reception till we docked and oohed and aahed at all the dogs that came by, including the rescue greyhound that sat next to us. There were lots of dogs onboard the ship. Once it was time to get down and into the van we hastily jumped in as it appeared we were one of the first off the boat, maybe all the mayhem getting on was worth it.

We drove straight out of the city, as we had read that while there are parking lots they may not always be the safest, and headed to a nearby Nuragic site with tombs and a castle. Here we met another British couple who were touring Europe as well and had just come over from Spain. We chatted to them about our different plans and places we must go. We had some breakfast and fed the local dog, who looked to be a stray dog, and then climbed up to the castle and had a look around, including a bit of plane spotting for Rich as we were close to the airport, before jumping on the bikes and headed back to Olbia to have an explore. We cycled around the city and looked at the old church, the port and sat in a café in the main square for a coffee. However the café seemed a little over-run and despite going in to order and being sent back outside to sit a waitress never came over so we decided to give it a miss and head back to the van.

We pack up and headed out to the supermarket and then our planned park up for the night at Porto San Paolo. Here at the port there was a great view over to Travolara which is an island off the mainland. A storm was coming in and it was fabulous to watch it and hear the thunder as it travelled over the Travolara island and mostly miss us on the mainland, albeit it did rain when we tried to explore a little bit, twice. We managed to settle in a nice space looking out to the sea, with several other vans, when the British couple arrived and they also parked up. However they didn’t manage to stay there long as some people wanted to launch boats off the boat slipway so several vans had to move but once they launched the 4 boats, which was entertaining as it took several men and lots of gesticulating to launch the boats, most vans moved back into place and we all settled in for the evening.

The next morning we got up and went for a run around the nearby park which had a 1km loop and did some stretching before heading back to the van for breakfast. One of our potential plans for today was to get the paddleboard and paddle out to the island as it was around 5km out to sea but we decided against it as it was windy and blustery out there so instead we headed down south and stopped at a beach called Spiaggia Lu Impostu which alongside its neighbouring beach, called Cala Brandinchi, are called Little Tahiti due to their clear turquoise waters, soft white sand and stunning outlooks. We found an area which was protected from the wind and settled in to relax and enjoy the sunshine and the 25 degree weather. The beach was large but due to the wind there were only about 20 people on it so we had a whole stretch to ourselves meaning we could swim while leaving our things on the beach in safety. After a couple of hours and before we got burnt we headed back to the van and further south to a town, called Posada, built into the hilltop in the hopes that we could watch the sun go down at the castle. We got there and parked at the bottom and climbed through the town to the top of the hill to find the castle had closed an hour earlier. However the views out from the top of the town were still stunning and we could see for miles around and out to sea. After admiring the view and taking some pictures, including pictures of cats who we found on our way up, we headed back down and back to the van. We decided to head to the beach to sleep so went to Spiaggia Di Sutt’e Riu where there is a long boardwalk to reach the beach from the car park and it was lovely and peaceful with only a couple of cars/vans for the evening.

The next morning we got up and went to see the beach and to see the hill top town from down below before we headed back to the van and continued our drive down south to Oasi Biderosa which is a huge 860 hectare National park which spans the coast, with 5 coves, and contains several ponds for bird watching. They limit the number of cars and there are no campers allowed in the park during the summer but currently the park is closed to all vehicles so we parked up at the start and headed in on bikes. The park has great cycle routes around it and it was a really good way to get out and see the different areas. We got to one of the first coves quite quickly and stopped to have a look at it for a bit before jumping back on the bike and following the path further into the park. After awhile we found a track going up to a panoramic point and it allowed bikes, therefore it must be suitable for bikes…… We started up and it wasn’t too bad, especially for me on the E-bike. Rich had to get off and walk after a short bit and I carried on until the larger rocks and slippery gravel made it too hard. We both managed to push our bikes up to the section that started with the stairs. We then tied the bikes up and carried on walking to the top. The views out were great and we could see the just how large the park was and the different types of trees, the many ponds and coves it covered. We then walked back down, picked up the bikes and walked them past the slippery section to a section that was safer to ride down to the bottom. We then headed to a bird hide and saw a couple of birds whilst having a bite to eat (out of the sun for awhile) and then headed to another cove, which appeared to be a popular one. We settled on the beach, had a swim and relaxed in the sun for while before riding back towards the van with a couple of stops along the way. Once back at the van we showered and packed up to continue down south again. This time our plan was to get towards Cala Gonone where we could potentially get a boat trip for tomorrow. We got to the stop we planned to stay at but it wasn’t that beautiful or enticing so we continued up the hill to another one which looked nicer. However when we got there it was rammed with cars, we thought it was because there was a cave which was due to close soon so we could wait it out but an hour later and it was stilled rammed and people were still coming. We decided not to spend the night here as whatever was going on looked like it would be going on for some time. We headed back to the original park up and cooked dinner. It wasn’t a bad park up and it was quiet but we have been really spoilt with fantastic views, peaceful locations and generally lovely places to stay so anything which doesn’t fit these seems boring.

The next morning we got up and headed down to Cala Gonone where we managed to booked onto a small boat tour of the surrounding coves and an option to go to the cave. We packed a lunch and stuff for the beach and jumped onboard off we set. We were soon jealous of everyone’s jackets as the wind was chilly but then it wasn’t too bad and we quickly stopped the boat as there were dolphins nearby giving us a show. There were three in the pod and they swam around for awhile and we watched them before heading further up the coast. On the trip we saw lots of different beaches, some of which we will be stopping at on the way back, we saw the Bue Marino cave, which again we would be stopping at, and lots of other little caves and coves, some of which we went into to get a better look. Several of the beaches can be reached by foot in several hours from the nearest car park while some can only accessed by boat which is one of the reasons this is a very beautiful stretch of natural coastline. The first beach we stopped at we relaxed at for 1 hour and got to swim and sunbathe before heading back to the boat and travelling further down the coast. We again stopped in little coves and caves and saw a beach you either walk or swim to as no boats can stop there. We then headed to another beach and again stopped for an hour so we had our lunch and enjoyed the sun before heading to the cave or final beach. Rich decided he wanted to go to the cave rather than have longer on the beach so we headed with the group to the cave. Little did we know you were supposed to buy the cave tickets before the trip but luckily they accepted our cash and in we went. We walked with the very large group for 1km (while the whole cave extends to over 70km) through 4 rooms of the cave and heard about the history including the finding of monk seals in the 1950s within the cave by fishermen and how it opened to the public in the 1980s. It was a good tour but we soon had to head back to the boat and back to the beach for our last 30 minutes of sunshine and then back to the port. It was about 6pm by the time we were back so it had been a whole day (having left at 10am) and headed into the mountains for our stop for the evening. We had to travel down some bumpy and mostly paved roads but finally got to the gorge parking lot where we paid for parking and set up for the night next to a German camper.

The next morning we got up early and had some breakfast to prepare us for a long walk which I had planned for the day. We had a few hiccups as I soon realised the walk I had thought we were going on was the other side of the gorge but this was actually an advantage as the one of this side, while being 4km longer, was actually easier. We set off around 8.30 and headed down the 12km to the gorge where we expected to pay for tickets to get in but it turns out we were too early so we were just allowed to go in. There are three routes in the gorge, Green – easy and suitable for all, Yellow – for seasoned hikers and Red – for climbers only with a guide. The green was fairly long and got us most of the way into the gorge but then it turned to yellow and Rich wanted us to carry on so we did and to be honest it wasn’t really any more difficult but just had more boulders for us to climb over. The yellow really wasn’t long and we quickly hit the red route but again it didn’t look too complicated so we started it and got over the first section okay but then we hit the next section and this was more difficult and after trying several different ways (and watching another couple who had arrived try to get over) Rich finally gave me a leg up and the other couple helped him up and we were over it but the next section looked even more complicated and at that point we decided to turn around and head back. We climbed back down, which was a little easier but not easy by any means, and headed back through the gorge. We got to the start and saw they had started charging now as it was fully open but we headed back and past the ticket booth quickly and started the 6km back up hill to the van. We got back to Jeff at just before 1pm which given that we had walked a total of just under 18km wasn’t bad. We had some lunch and then headed to a camper stop in Nuoro to empty and fill up the tanks as we thought the grey waste tank might be full as it wasn’t draining from the kitchen very well. Once emptied and refilled (which wasn’t the easiest as we had to go to one place to empty and another place to refill with water – which was on a street that seemed to become busy every time you wanted to move). After a stop at the supermarket we headed to a park called Foresta Di Montes where there was a BBQ pit to cook on and planned to spend the night. We also found out that the sink was blocked so Rich had to sort it and siphon off the crap that came out, it wasn’t a pleasant job so I’m glad he had to do it rather than me. It is a great little park up as there are cows, sheep, pigs, goats and donkeys who all roam around the park so you never know what you are going to see or hear. We cooked dinner on the BBQ and ate outside and had a cold beer (a little treat as we were reminded that it was actually our anniversary which we had forgotten) which was a nice way to end the night.

The next morning we got on our bikes and headed down to Orgosolo which was a town we visited last time we were here. When I say down, I mean down, it was a 380 decent on the roads to the town which was great on the bikes and we got to around 50kms an hour at certain points. The town has hundreds of murals, and you know how much I love a mural, about many things with political messages in some while others are just beautiful pieces of work. We walked around the town for an hour or so looking at all the different art works and getting lost before stopping for a coffee and then preparing ourselves for the ride back. It was hard going and this time our speed was about 10kms an hour (with me being a little faster on the e-bike) but we made it back up the hill and had some well deserved breakfast before getting in the van and heading to some natural pools called Piscine naturali di Bau Aradulu. These natural pools are made by a river cascading down over rocks and into rock pools. It was a little cool to swim today (its only 19 degrees) and the water levels weren’t great so we instead jumped back in the van and did a long drive down south. Finally we arrived at a little town in southern Sardinia called San Vito where we finally have some good data (having had very little for the past couple of days/evenings) to actually get some admin done. We will next be getting to a stop nearby for the night and then heading out again tomorrow (place to be decided).