We had a fabulous last couple of days in Isola Rossa, in spite of it being a bit blowy. We took the zodiac on a fuel run and filled our cans with more of the expensive stuff ! We saw what must have been the rustiest car I have ever seen – of course Skipper Nigel loved it 😉 and we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach…..never a dull moment as we keep saying.
All too soon it was time to move on, a 22 nautical mile hop was planned across the gulf to a place called Porto Torres. We had anticipated a bit of a swell since it had been quite windy the day before but nothing quite like we experienced. Gemini J was rocking and rolling and the waves which were behind us were pushing us along. We considered a bit of sailing but we were going up and down so much we probably couldn’t have kept a decent wind in the sails and it was quite a bit blowier than was forecast. It quickly became clear that although we could have got to Porto Torres it would have been a pretty uncomfortable 3 hours. As always we had a quick pow wow and went to our plan B – a much closer marina at Castelsardo. We gave them a call and they had space ! So, a change of destination for the first time this trip. Less than 5 minutes after we booked our space we heard a gale warning on the radio (that had come from nowhere in the forecasts) We studied the pilot book at the entry to the port and we knew if could be tricky. We didn’t know that it would be almost impossible to see from the approach. Once again it was time for me to hang on tight while Skipper Nigel negotiated the entrance – and once we were in, calm …… we were shown to our berth and helped to moor and then we breathed a sigh of relief. We spent the afternoon watching other boats also rock and roll as they came through the tricky entrance.
The next day we took the bus which very conveniently leaves from the end of the pontoon and takes you all the way up the (extremely steep) hill all the way to the castle. The views were absolutely spectacular, we could see all the way back to Corsica. Our friends were celebrating their wedding back in Murcia that day so we went out for lunch in lieu of being there. I managed to have an excellent meal with cheese in each course (by coincidence of what I ordered). Meanwhile Skipper Nigel had mussels in both his courses! (called cozze here). It was absolutely delicious, even my dessert which was a warm pastry round filled with cheese and served with lots of honey – I have never had anything like it, apparently it’s the local speciality.
The next morning I took the first bus back up the hill (an early start at 7:17 – giving Skipper Nigel a lie in). I had a longer walk around the historic centre before heading back down the hill past the beach and back to the marina in time for coffee.
After we had coffee surprisingly Skipper Nigel offered to come to the supermarket – we had great fun looking at all the different things – there is so much pasta here – fresh and dried, a full fridge section and literally a whole isle’s worth! The size of the watermelons also needs a mention – they are huge, and so heavy I don’t think we’d get one back on board – where would we put it ?? We could take the trolly back to the boat here which is brilliant so we took the opportunity to re-stock!
In the evening we were joined aboard by Jeremy and Mary who I had met in the office on our arrival day – we had compared notes on the horrendous entry conditions and jointly admired the book exchange (labelled a ” book crossing ” here, which is cute). After a book exchange of our own and a chat it turns out that one, among a number of coincidences is that they have their boat in Yacht Port Cartagena! How we haven’t met before is a mystery but we’re very happy to have met them now after a lovely evening with some great company and a fair few laughs.
Tomorrow we should be moving on, heading back towards Isola Asinara – or donkey island as we prefer to call it, onwards once again.
The Adventures of Gemini J 