Sardinia

Saturday Sept 8 – Cagliari to Carloforte (San Pietro Island)

True to his word, Kim rousted us on Saturday morning at 6:15 to start the 10-hour, 60 mile sail to the island port of Carloforte on Isola di San Pietro (St. Peter’s Island) and 45 minutes later we left Cagliari with a beautiful sunrise behind us.

Sunshine....

Tall ship of the Brazillion Navy anchored in Cagliari

For me one of the most interesting part of this passage was seeing several of what are known as the Sardinia’s Coastal Towers (not to be confused with the ancient bronze-age stone towers called “Narugi” that are also found throughout the island). The 105 coastal towers were built beginning in the 1500s to defend Sardinia against pirate raids and were placed strategically along the coastline in a way that allowed the occupants to spot and signal without having to leave their posts. The magnitude of this project would be mind-boggling in any age and must testify to how bad the piracy problem was.

Coastal towers along the southwest coast of Sardinia

It was relatively smooth sailing the whole way with light winds and moderate seas. Sitting on the back of the boat and watching the waves go by is so enjoyable…not a moment of boredom the whole way. It reminds me of the feeling I had growing up on the farm…there were days when nothing felt better than pulling a chair around the back of the shop and watching the wheat grow - but I digress.

Underway - sailing past cliffs on the Sardinian coast

The First Mate at rest

Late in the afternoon, we crossed over the narrow four mile channel that separates Sardinia’s southwest coast from San Pietro and into Carloforte’s harbor. At a glance we could tell this was going to be a special place to visit and over the next two days weren’t disappointed!

Buoy marking the entrance to Carloforte's harbor

Carloforte

Bill's guest blog, 9-14-2013

Being asked to write a post for Kim and Sharon’s blog is being asked to fill some pretty big shoes. Over the past 2 ½ years I’ve developed a habit of constantly checking the Georgia J site for a new post – not only because I’m anxious to know about the latest adventure, but also because it is so well written! And since I’m not a writer, but like to tell stories with images, let me share the adventures of the last week that way instead of trying to match these two veterans!

Kayce and I have wanted to join Kim and Sharon on part of their journey since they started in 2011 and earlier this year everything finally came together to make spending two weeks in the Mediterranean with them a reality.

A week ago tonight we arrived in Cagliari, Sardinia after a 24-hour marathon that took us from Seattle to Paris to Barcelona and finally on to Cagliari where we almost didn’t recognize the two lean, tanned friends we hadn’t seen in nearly three years… and over the past week, I’ve quickly come to understand that the tans and “leaning up” didn’t come from laying around on the back of Georgia J, living a life of luxury – this cruising business can be tough, and while the benefits are abundant, they are all earned by hard work and resourcefulness!

I’ll make this a wandering post, starting with our first full day in Cagliari and will add to it over the next few days.

Friday, September 7 – Cagliari, Sardinia

Cagliari from the Tower of the Elephants

Cagliari is a gorgeous, ancient city at the southern end of the island of Sardinia with one of the largest working ports in the Mediterranean. It’s founding dates back to the 8th century BCE with trading posts built by the Phoenicians. Suffice it to say that over a nearly 3,000-year period, the city has seen just about everything and been ruled by many civilizations including the Carthaginians and Romans before becoming part of Italy in the mid 19th-century.

The captain and his first mate standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Bastion of Saint Remy, a converted fortress that affords spectacular views of Cagliari and its surroundings.

The greater Cagliari metro area, to the northeast

With a population of nearly half a million, Cagliari isn’t a small city, but walking through the historic quarter leaves you with the feeling of being in a much smaller community.

Alleyways.....

...and byways...

There are seemingly infinite streets and alleyways with quirky, unique and beautiful personal touches of the residents. In this part of town I don’t believe there are any electric dryers…balconies do double duty!

Empty Cagliari dryer :0)

This image got me scolded by a resident higher up in the building who didn’t appreciate me aiming my camera at this balcony…understandable I suppose, but I couldn’t let the clothes pins go undocumented!

Waiting for Pizza...

...and well worth the wait!