Before I get into what we have been up to for the last few days, yesterday we headed east and spent the night in a lovely little cove. The view at sunset was spectacular.
We were nearly alone with the exception of a few other boats that all left earlier today when we headed out.
There was a small beach but we didn’t have time to go ashore. We did spy a flock of sheep though. Brenda was impressed but not enough to go to the beach.
We had read that the water was very clear and it was. Not a great photo but even in 20′ of water we could see the anchor chain snaking along the bottom.
We passed this Moorish lookout tower, one of many that dot the coastline here dotting the landscape, all within sight of the next one so signals could be sent to warn of bad dudes coming their way. Under the category of “they don’t build them like they used to” these towers look pretty good for being thousands of years old.
At the recommendation of a fellow Cruiser aboard SV Cataleya, who I helped pick up a mooring in Calette di Mare, on the west coast of Sardinia last week, where we had seen the Roman ruins, we decided to stop for a few days in Calaforte, a small island off of the west coast of Sardinia.
The marina, Marinaforte, was beautiful and we also met a lovely couple, Selene and Joe, who charmingly introduced themselves as “Selene as in Celine Dion and Joe, as in GI Joe. We hit it off immediately and had some very nice time together. They split their time between their catamaran Turquoise and home in Switzerland.
We enjoyed our time there so much that we immediately decided that we’d plan on keeping Pandora there for the winter and cancel our reservation in Licata, Sicily, where we put a deposit on months ago. Even though we were told that they were totally booked for the winter Simona, the lovely office manager, pulled some strings and found us a spot. We were thrilled.
Not so fast…
Somehow I thought that I could cancel up until October 1st and get the 1,200 euro deposit back. Not possible…
As much as we enjoy Marinaforte, spending an additional $1,500 so back to the original plan and Licata for the winter it is.
To complicate things further I left our two damaged alternators with the marina in Calaforte for repair and true to form, for such a friendly marina, they are sending them via courier to the marina in Cagliari tomorrow morning. It’s hard to imagine this sort of service in the US and certainly not at Nautica Pinna where even getting a small electrical part from behind the counter we met with a stare that seemed to say “seriously?”.
We so enjoyed our stay in Cartaforte, a beautiful and reasonably priced marina that cost about the same as a mooring in Essex for one night and that included electricity and water. Such a deal.
There is a lovely plaza adjacent to the waterfront. Shade in an impossibly sunny place was welcome.
We had what was perhaps the best meal so far at a lovely little place on one of the narrow streets. Tuna is a specialty here so we had a wonderful simple meal of grilled tuna and some local white wine.
There were countless narrow streets to wander and they took on a very romantic image after dark.
Beautiful buildings, but alas, no castles…
But lots of towers just about everywhere. Just passing another one.
This particular tower was constructed around 1595 during the period of Spanish rule as part of Sardinia’s chain of coastal watchtowers. An armed garrison could warn neighboring towers of approaching Barbary corsairs using smoke by day and fire at night.
And finally, a lighthouse that is nearly new by local standards, built in the mid 1850s a mere 170 or so years ago. The Faro di Capo Spartivento lighthouse was constructed by the Italian Navy. It was damaged by American aircraft during World War II and later served as the lighthouse keepers’ residence. The light remains operational and is now automated.
After years of neglect, the building was restored and converted into a very exclusive small hotel—apparently the first Italian lighthouse converted for luxury accommodation—while continuing to function as a navigational light. The dirt access road is restricted, so ordinary visitors generally approach on foot. It may be fancy but to get there you will have to work up a sweat before arriving. Hopefully, the offer an adult welcome drink. And when you see the bill, more than a thousand a night, You’ll need it.
More to come from our few days in Cagliari so stay tuned. And no, we won’t be staying at the lighthouse, if you were wondering.
After that, an overnight to Sicily. Who know what that will bring. More changes in the wind, I expect.
But hopefully, no more broken stuff.