Cagliari

Santa Maria Navaresse

26^th June Sardinia continues to amaze us with its stunning coastline. Yesterday we sailed down past the pretty coves of the Costa Smeralda and today we took in the dramatic scenery of the Gennargentu National Park, where the mountains rise sheer from the sea.  

We are now moored at Santa Maria Navaresse, a village on the edge of the National Park, tucked into the wooded hillside and protected by rocky islands. We had planned this as a one night stop, but it’s so lovely here we’ve decided to stay for an extra day.

28^th June We sailed down to Porto Corallo today, a windswept, bleak port in the middle of nowhere with just a campsite for supplies.

In need of some TLC...Marina del Sole

 29^th June We’ve finally made it to Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia and our last stop before we head for Sicily. We are staying at Marina del Sole, just outside the city centre. It's a funny little place, the pontoons are in need of repair and there’s junk everywhere. If Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses had set up a marina, this would be it! However it's inexpensive, the moorings seem secure, there's free wi-fi, a bar with cheap beer and hot water in the showers, so we’re happy.

View from the Bastione in Cagliari
 

Old Cagliari

One of the lions guarding the altar in the Cathedral

 
1^st July We took the long, hot walk into town today to do the sights. After walking up through the lovely old walled quarter we took in the views of the city and mountains from the Bastione terrace. Then we visited the Cathedral with its extraordinary 12^th century lions guarding the high altar. After that we got completely lost looking for the roman amphitheatre. When we eventually found it, we discovered it’s no longer open to the public. We're not sure whether this is because they are doing more excavations or they've run out of cash to keep the place safe - the wooden walkways need repairing and it generally looks pretty run down.

5^th July The winds now look good for our two day crossing to Sicily so we’re hoping to leave early tomorrow.