The morning of the crossing arrived and with it the departure of all the yachts on our pontoon.  We’d had various discussions with the other crews and were in agreement it looked like a great day to cross back to Mallorca.   We watched Ione leave and then waited for the next door yacht to leave plus a small motor boat that was effectively blocking us in.  We decided to wait until the various tourist boats had departed too so we had a calm exit from the port.  It was gorgeous as we made our way down the channel and out into the sea.

Just as we got to the entrance to the port a huge ferry came straight into our path from the ferry port which is outside the town.  Skipper Nigel just slowed us slightly so we didn’t get anywhere near it !

We first realised there was a distinct lack of wind once the ferry was past us and we were on open water, we thought perhaps we were still getting sheltered by the island but as the time passed we concluded…..no wind ! We couldn’t believe it – and I think that it made us more disappointed because we thought there might have been some !! Anyway, we put a brave face on it and motored on, luckily it was only 32 nautical miles.  We were alongside “the Finnish boat” as it was described to us (not having met the crew) – they were heading to the same place as us and also looking for wind 😉 They were averaging a slightly faster speed than us mind you and soon overtook and left us behind – although they were always in our sights.  The best thing about this crossing is that you’re never out of sight of land so there’s always the destination in front of you (which is a welcome sight).

We took turns on the helm in the afternoon so we both got a siesta – it tuned out this was fortuitous since we needed to be on our toes for our arrival at the buoy field (not that we knew it at the time).  We have said on many an occasion “never a dull moment” and this day was full of a fair few dull moments – outclassed by a real fanfare of fun as we went to pick up a buoy.   As I have written before the buoys are secured to the seabed (in this case in a field of protected sea grass) – you attach a rope from your boat onto them an they act as your anchor.  Skipper Nigel got us up to the buoy really easily and I boat hooked it up with no problem…..but I couldn’t get the rope through the loop, dropped the boathook in the water and the fun began 😉  Dropping the boat hook wasn’t a disaster as we have two so Skipper pulled us back round and instead of going for the buoy I picked up the boathook.   No problem, keep calm and try again …. which we did at least twice with the same problem.  We persevered until I managed to drop both boathooks in the water ….. without a boathook we really couldn’t do anything.  There was nothing for it but to jump in and swim for the boathooks – luckily there were no boats about and the water is as warm as bathwater at the moment.  I retrieved the boathooks, passed them up to skipper (who had untied the dinghy from the back of the boat in the meantime) and clamboured back aboard.  We took a couple of minutes to get our breath back and went for a different buoy – unbelievably we got it first time, got the rope tied off and heaved a huge sigh of relief!!!! As we looked around we realised we were in a beautiful spot and with some amazing examples of “how the other half live”

We spent the next day snorkeling and paddle boarding and generally relaxing. Also kind of watching the other boats to see if we were the only ones with boathook issues (or maybe it was operator error ;-)) We did see others struggling with getting their boathooks stuck in the loop of the buoy but no other crew ended up in the water, let’s hope for better luck next time.  We may move on tomorrow – we are weather watching to see how it looks for our trip round Mallorca.

This time I’ll leave you with a short video of the dawn which was lovely here….and next time I’ll tell you how this came to be the last photo of my 30 year old scuba fins that Skipper Nigel lost 😉

Once again we are resting and relaxing on a stunning mooring buoy before we head back round the island and on towards Mallorca.

This involves lots of swimming, kayaking and snorkeling.  Skipper Nigel was very happy with his new Obi Wan Kenobi gown for after snorkeling but I feel there might be a good nickname in it somewhere 😉

It’s quieter here than it was when we were here at the end of July which make it even lovelier.  There are mainly sailboats here now with the odd motor boat and quite a few smaller day boats.  We have a view out over the beach and twice a day groups of kayakers cone here from Es Grau to take a break and enjoy the lovely warm water – we have got out our kayak rather than the paddle board this time and I’ve had a great time rowing around the bay. 

I even managed to meet up with snorkeling Nigel on one occasion…..

After a couple of days it was hard to pull ourselves away but we saw a bit of wind was coming our way and decided to make our way round the island back to Ciutadella.  As forecast there was a nice bit of breeze as we headed out past Favoritx lighthouse – happy to be underway once again

We went to pull out the Genoa sail and found it jammed – it would not budge, despite various attempts by each of us.  We were at the point of just using our mainsail when we spotted the line was around the front cleat – problem solved !! And nothing serious thank goodness…..we had a lovely couple of hours sailing.  Almost inevitably (although not forecast) the wind dropped and we were left with choppy seas for our afternoon navigating the gorgeous coastline.  There were some interesting clouds too – and even a storm front as we arrived but no rain and no wind for us 😉

It didn’t seem like long before we were pulling in to berth 1 on pontoon 1 back in Ciutadella – a tight little spot right next to the quayside.

We had booked two nights here, it’s one of my favourite places on the island and where we had celebrated my birthday too.  It was just as we arrived that we heard the news about the queen and we lowered our ensign flag to half mast (quite literally the mast of our boat).

The next morning I went off for a walk round the wonderful coastline and saw that the sea state was much calmer – a good sign for our crossing.

The following day was spent cleaning Gemini J and re-stocking – final Menorca purchases since the following day would be our crossing back to Mallorca.  I went into the old town and had a wander about too.

We were also moored next door but one to our friends on Ione which was lovely.  We  were invited aboard for an early evening drink which was a pleasure and we even met another Nigel  (this time with the lovely Iris)   We followed that by a pizza delivery and before we knew it we were almost set for the next step of our journey home, just one more Menorcan sunset……

 

Saturday was an exciting and exhausting day – firstly taking our car back to Yacht Port Cartagena where we hope to finish our trip and secondly getting a taxi back to the airport (which we had driven past). Luckily we squeezed in a couple of coffee stops along the way 😉

We flew from Murcia airport which has to be one of the oddest travel experiences you could wish for. The airport is absolutely deserted – with one small café serving little more than cakes and crisps. I checked at the information desk – perhaps there were more facilities after the departure gate – yes indeed, another café upstairs. So we made our way to departures only to be told the café wasn’t open until nearer the departure time (nor was the departure check either) so we couldn’t go through. Back to square one and a disappointing bag of expensive crisps for lunch, but the excitement of getting back far outweighed the lack of lunch.

Eventually we did make our way through and onto our plane which departed a little later than expected and arrived on time. It’s a different experience altogether being on an internal flight – surrounded by Spanish who all clapped and cheered on landing as though it was a miracle!!

On arrival we took a taxi straight back to the port and were very happy to see Gemini J exactly as we’d left her – even, perhaps a little cleaner – it must have rained while we were away. We were lucky enough to see our friends Sarah and Tony from Ione who had been put back in the water the day before. We met for dinner before they sailed on the next day. We had an absolutely fabulous evening with excellent food and marvellous company. It’s always good to share tales of sailing and they had given us lots of excellent advice about Sardinia and Corsica way back in the spring so it was great to catch up. The following morning we watched them leave after coffee but hopefully we’ll bump into them later in the trip since they too are heading back to Cartagena more or less on the same timescale as us.

That day Skipper Nigel set to work on some final hull jobs while I went up the hill to the supermarket to get supplies. The propeller was lovely and shiny by the time I got back, having been thoroughly cleaned by the skipper.

We were back at the restaurant (a couple of steps from Gemini J) for lunch where we were offered a local fish called a “red scorpion” served Menorcan style. It turned out to be delicious and with prawns to start, a fabulous option for our Sunday lunch.

I went for a wonderful walk into the surrounding countryside in the evening – even picking up part of the cami de cavalls (the long distance footpath round the island), and seeing cows !

The following day was the big one – back in the water day, and unbelievably it was raining!! Just as Gemini J was put on the remote control frame to drive her back into the water. We watched with nervous anticipation but we had no need to worry, everything went really well and before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes and motoring out of the marina.

It has stopped raining by then and we traced our way back through the channel and out onto the waves ! and yes, there were a fair few of them! We knew conditions would be against us and it was very much a battle against the wind and waves the 6.6 nautical miles to our mooring buoy at Isla Colóm. I would love to post some photos but for once I didn’t take any – so focused we were on checking out the boat and battling the waves….I even lost my hat in a gust of wind !! Luckily once we were past the lighthouse at Favoritx everything calmed down and we had a very relaxing afternoon and evening after the excitement of the morning. We’ll stay here a couple more days and see what the weather does before we continue our journey. Delightful sunsets here too……

What have we been doing since we arrived home …. short answer, trying to stay cool and of course spending time with the kitties…..who have generally been asleep (with a few intervening meows for food delivery)

The month of August has certainly been a hot one – it’s meant that we’re up before sunrise everyday in order to get at least a breath of cool air. The thermometer hasn’t dropped below 27 degrees (in the early hours of the morning) and every afternoon it has been well into the high thirties. It has rained for less than 3 hours all month, so we’ve really had to take it easy. We’ve run errands in the mornings and taken siestas in the afternoons.

There have been some stunning sunrises…..

And some gorgeous sunsets too.

We have missed Gemini J a lot, Skipper Nigel has even written a few thoughts / words of advice while we’ve been here (and he’s fed up with doing house jobs) ……

A blog within a blog from Skipper Nigel for some light reading over summer

Nigel´s top mistakes and some very simple advice

1. When setting off to a different country such as Italy or France check your plotter/GPS  has the country you are going to down loaded.  (and not just the outline,  the actual detailed stuff)
2. Check crossing times to hopefully arrive in day light.
3. Keep the crew happy (this could be include music, chocolate, taking an extra shift at the helm or even making extra cups of coffee)
4. Don’t fall asleep on watch
5. When you think it do it, don’t ever wait, JUST DO IT
6. Be happy and have fun
7. Rest as much as you can (cat naps, siestas, full on afternoon snoozes, especially when you´re not at sea)
8. Check and check everything before you set sail, one small mistake can be a big problem later.
9. Don’t refuse to finish your night sail shift, you will end up asleep.
10. Always listen to everyone and take advice ,agree the next departure and look at weather most importantly the swell and then the wind. Also ask friends what they think about the weather.
11. Keep calm if things get fun, especially if wind or waves pick up or ships are heading towards you just take it as it comes…be cooooool.
12. Ok this is my super top tip , forget the med in August, Spanish holiday’s
    We have taken our boat out of the water, to be stored for the month of August and flown back home for the month then fly back in September and will continue on our way back to main land Spain, our home port
    Why? You may ask ….it’s crazy here in August all the boat idiots come out from hiding in central Spain, crash into each other, have no idea what they are doing, charter boats, baby charter pop pop boats all buzzing about and the worst – jet skis, not fun…  Or you may like it……I call it boat TV, sometimes it’s better than Bargain Hunt and Tipping Point.
    Simple advice keep away and come back after the Spanish August holidays are finished. Also the costs for marina’s, mooring buoys, everything is extremely expensive in August half the price in September

Well thanks for reading and that’s my very mixed up top tips
Kind regards Nigelxx

As August comes to an end it’s harvest time here, the grape harvest has started in certain parts but not where we live just yet. We will be leaving the almond harvest in full swing – we even collected our own from the few trees we have.

Once again it’s time to travel – this time back to Gemini J and we’re most excited about it – ready to continue our journey exploring more of the Balearics on our way back, watch this space for more updates on our travels xxxx

Before we could leave Gemini J there were a couple of jobs that Skipper Nigel wanted to do. As I said in the last blog – one of them involved some very expensive liquids – to fix a couple of small rust patches on the keel.

The first job was to grind off the rust – not easy when you want to use a very noisy grinder on the first of August. We had been told that August was a time for no loud boat work so Skipper timed his noisy fifteen minutes to coincide with a boat being put in the water (which meant the boatyard machinery was already making noise). We were very happy when that was done – the next steps were more or less silent since they were the painting. First the specialist product for preventing rust, followed by the anti-foul paint.

When the paint went on Skipper found out it was a completely different color (we had been offered blue or blue in the shop ;-)) As he said – as long as the fish like it – that’s all that’s important since they’re the only ones that will see it (barring you readers of course)

While all that painting was going on I did a lot of washing – in what must be one of the more spectacular places to do it in the med. (No humping bags down the main road to the launderette here!)

Our last day in Menorca was a really hot one and I went for a walk along the shoreline to cool down (that really didn’t work it was so hot, but it was a lovely walk nevertheless). This is a wonderful place and we will very much look forward to coming back here in September to continue our adventures.

It was a very early start for our hour long flight back to Murcia. It was very strange being in a busy airport and then flying rather than the leisurely sailing we’re used to. We got stunning views from the aircraft as we flew over each of the three main Balearic Islands – more or less following the route we will sail back.

We were sorry to be leaving Gemini J behind in Menorca but excited to get back home and see our cats (and house). We have a month of relaxing and catching up with home jobs before we go back to Menorca to start our gorgeous trip back home via the remaining Balearic Islands. I hope all you readers have a fabulous August and all that remains to say is “hasta septiembre!” xx

Departing the mooring buoy at 9am we were headed back to Addaya.  This is where we have decided to lift Gemini J out of the water for the crazy month of August and we’ll spend the month at home before resuming our travels in September.  It was a gorgeous morning aboard albeit with little wind.  We put the sail up hoping it might give us some shade !  It was a short hop of just 7 nautical miles round the beautiful coastline to the tricky entrance at Addaya.

We managed the port and starboard buoy channel really well and came onto a berth for an hour or so before the extremely friendly and helpful Martin and Xavi were ready to lift us out of the water.  It’s the first time we’ve been lifted out from “below” rather than “above” and we were quite nervous.  The place where the lift takes place was pretty tight and once again Skipper Nigel pulled out all the stops to get us alongside and ready for the lift.  Once we were done it was a case of watching on nervously as Gemini J was lifted onto the cradle then driven up out of the water.  It went really well and before we knew it our home for the next four days was our boat on the hard standing here in the port !!  It will certainly be different, climbing a ladder to get aboard but it’s actually very lovely here so we can relax while we await our flight home.

One thing we missed in Sardinia and Corsica was ice cubes, giant ones, the Italian and French just don’t make ice cubes like the Spanish 😉 so the first thing we did after the lift was get ourselves some iced drinks, shortly followed by lunch then a quick trip to the supermarket to see buy some more giant ice ….. what a treat !  Being aboard when not on the water is discombobulating to say the least – especially since we haven’t been on land for over a week – we both kept thinking the boat was rocking even though it’s firmly on the ground (well on the framework they built to support her). 

On Saturday I took the bus to the airport and picked up another hire car – this time slightly larger than the last 😉 We went out for lunch and found ourselves with British style fish and chips from a Spanish bar (there are seemingly a lot of Brits here in Addaia).  They were both astounding and delicious in equal amounts.

The following day we headed out towards Es Grau attempting to explore Favoritx lighthouse on the way.  I reality we found an awful lot of nothing. Stunningly beautiful, very rural nothing. We didn’t even pass a bar! We did pass a lot of places to buy cheese.  We followed some signs to what we thought was a water park where maybe we could swim.  We found a visitor centre (with no café) and lots of instructions for long walks into the wetlands (not in 30 degrees heat thanks).  We finally reached Es Grau village and found ourselves in the centre of their fiestas with bunting, bike races and lots of people …… we drove on (past a couple of full to capacity bars) through the lovely village and out on the same road we came in on (there aren’t really that many roads here either).

Since we were so close we thought we’d head to Mahon where we could finally get a coffee for sure 😉 amazingly we found plenty of parking and a lovely cafe where not only did I get coffee and a pastry but we also enjoyed a delicious salad (having seen the people on the next table eating one and asked for the same). It would have been rude not to visit the chandlery so of course we popped in – Skipper Nigel invested in a couple of pots of stuff to maintain a couple of small patches of rust on our keel while we’re out of the water.  Yes, I used the word invest carefully- I think the paint / anti foul was more expensive per litre than printer ink (which I believe is more expensive than liquid gold!). I may joke about the ruralness but Menorca is stunningly beautiful and while it’s a minor inconvenience that the bars/restaurants only seem to be in the town’s and villages it also makes for a lot of why the island is so lovely and unspoilt.

In the evening there was a small matter of an England Germany football match to watch – no matter that it was 33 degrees we got ourselves well prepared;-)

On our final day we started the morning with boat jobs – getting everything ready to depart for a month.  We then headed off on a fuel run and for some lunch.  Once again beautiful roads, stunning countryside and nothing at all (except for cheese farms) between places.  We had a couple of lovely tapas in Fornells before coming back for the all important siesta (it’s August now!)

More about the boat jobs and leaving Gemini J next time ……

We have been on our delightful mooring buoy a few days now and seemingly not much to report.  We get up in the morning, go for a swim or maybe a paddle board, have a coffee, do some snorkeling…..etc etc. and so the wonderful days go by. One of the first jobs on day one was to inflate the paddle board and kayak and after that we were ready for anything;-)

Skipper Nigel adores his snorkeling and also likes to watch “boat TV” and there is certainly plenty of it here, especially during the weekend.  The buoy field is in one of the more sheltered spots on this side of the Menorca as it’s between Isla Colom and the main island.  It’s a very popular place to stop as in addition to the buoys it’s also possible to anchor here.  It’s also a short hop by dinghy to the beaches on Isla Colom so there is a lot of boat traffic.  Barring one idiot on a flyboard everyone is fairly courteous – not quite as much as the Sardinians but we can relax and watch the world go by without too many speeding boats or (even worse) jet skis flying past at close quarters.

One of our closest neighbours was a gigantic yacht called ph3 – it seemed somewhat out of place in amongst all the smaller boats and I couldn’t understand why it would be on a mooring buoy really.  Shortly after they arrived a tender with supplies and crew arrived and they started cleaning the deck while the “owners” took a naked swim !! It was all quite a sight that we really couldn’t avoid watching since it was right in front of us.  They were there for two days and an internet search tells us that it costs a mere 26,000€ for a week aboard (not including the extra tender boat, paddle boards, scuba equipment etc etc).

On Monday we were due to leave here (well, we’d come to the end of our booking)!but there was a bit of wind coming our way so we decided to change buoys and get a different view for a couple of days while we were likely to be boat bound.  We moved ourselves to a sheltered little spot on the other side of the buoy field and after a couple of attempts got ourselves onto a new buoy.  We radioed the marinero to tell him where we were and he kindly came over and then promptly moved us ….. what we thought was a sheltered spot was actually going to be quite exposed so he moved us onto a buoy next to his own boat (he lives aboard and manages the buoy field in the summer and sails south in the winter).  As it turned out that night we were very happy for his advice since we were rocking and rolling as a big swell came in and a fair bit of wind too.

After the swell had died down a couple of days later we headed over to the village, Es Grau – which is just under a mile away.  It was a bit of an adventure on the zodiac weaving through all the bigger boats and picking a route around the many rocks and outcrops that were along the way.  It was well worth it when we got a delicious coffee – our first since Sardinia.  The village is tiny and beautiful in a typical Menorcan style.  Probably one of those places where the population quadruples over the summer months.

So once again we are ready to move on, the winds have died down and we enjoyed a late afternoon swim, snorkel and paddle board before sunset on a wonderful mooring experience.   Onwards once again tomorrow……

It was 10am by the time we had paid the bill in the delightful Ser-Mar marina, taken the rubbish and generally got Gemini J set for her long crossing back to Menorca. We checked the sea state too – it was looking flat calm in the bay (fingers crossed).  The Omiggiatori/marinero aguided us out in his dinghy since the spot was a little tight but actually Skipper Nigel didn’t need any nudging and we were out perfectly and on our way …..

We were cut up by a catamaran less than five minutes after our departure and then had to negotiate pots and fish farms in the busy bay.  It was to be the most excitement that day as it turned out !!

We had had an amazing time in Sardinia and we’re sorry to leave but the forecast showed calm waters and clear skies with light winds – so it was time for us to take the “weather window” and head back to Spanish waters.  For those of you thinking that we had over-ordered on the pizzas our last night in Alghero, there was method in our madness as the saying goes.  Once we had negotiated the pots, breakfast was served 😉 Skipper Nigel also did a bit of crew work as we set Gemini J for a day long motor sail.  Day one passed well, we saw a few dolphins playing in the distance but no whales this time.  Not many boats either, just one sailboat heading for Sardinia and a tanker as dusk fell.  Our autopilot worked really well and the most difficult job (definitely not to be underestimated) was trying to stay out of the afternoon sun !!

As night fell we watched another wonderful sunset which never fail to amaze me.  Unfortunately as it got darker we hit a roll on the waves.  Not a lot of swell so the forecast was correct, just a funny rolling sea that made Gemini J rock from side to side quite a lot.  It wasn’t long before I started feeling queasy, normally if this happens (which it does from time to time) we change the direction of the boat to go along with the roll or I take the helm and focus on the horizon.  Skipper Nigel tried to work out how we could get Gemini J to rock less and work with the swell but because we were on a passage we didn’t want to divert course.  Me jumping on the helm to watch the horizon wasn’t an option since it was pitch black by now – so, proper seasickness ensued – for the first time ever !! We have had Gemini J for 7 years now so I haven’t done badly to stave it off so far!  The sky was absolutely full of stars and what we thought was the milky way – we now think it was a “delta aquarid meteor shower” which is occurring at the moment.  Another thing it was difficult to photograph but it did make the darkness much more interesting and beautiful.  Luckily Skipper Nigel enjoys his night sailing and is quite good at shifts too.  He took the lions share of the overnight watches and luckily with the sunrise came a horizon and calmer waters so I was able to recover and take more watches while Skipper rested. 

Day two was calmer and once again, passed without incident, we did see some turtles which was exciting but un-photogenic since we only spotted them when we were almost past them and it was too late to grab the phone ! You’ll just have to believe us on that one 😉 No other shipping traffic, no waves and light winds – just how we like it on a crossing.  After about 24 hours at sea we started calculating our arrival time – we hadn’t quite made the planned speed of 5 knots overnight so we worked out we’d be arriving in the dark.  That’s something we never like to do so Skipper Nigel got out his trusty pencil (while I rested some more) and worked it all out. If we pushed on we could arrive around sunset time a journey of 34 or 35 hours – so we aimed to do just that.

As we were finally able to shout “land ahoy” it was a great feeling although I must say the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Because Menorca is a relatively small, low island we were around 20 miles offshore when we could see it (when we said goodbye to the sight of Sardinia it was over 30 miles away). We battled on as quickly as we could and we were getting really close as the sun started to set …. not quite the position we hoped to be in but we carried on. We didn’t appreciate the sunset much until looking at the photos the next day as we were so focused on finding a mooring buoy. Unfortunately by the time we had entered the buoy field/anchorage it was more or less dark. We had to get out our searchlight torch and look for the buoys which we couldn’t pick out amongst all the boats. We discussed simply turning back out and bobbing around at sea til daylight but we knew enough from all the information to know it was a fairly safe anchorage. So, once again we switched to our plan B – drop anchor for the night! It wasn’t easy but with a combination of excellent skippering, crystal clear water and a decent torch we managed to set anchor – it was really quite dark by this time and Skipper Nigel took the first watch to check we were OK as neither of us wanted to sleep in case we slipped anchor – especially since we’d done the whole thing whilst pretty exhausted. At around 2:30am Skip was happy enough to go to bed and then I kept a watch out every hour or so til it was light. We also had an anchor alarm set and watched our position om the phone. Once it was light we could see the buoys ….. and we could see we’d made the right call since the available ones were through a field of other boats – it would have been impossible in the dark. At 10am we upped the anchor and went less than 1 minute away onto a mooring buoy. We confirmed our booking with the marinero and ….goodnight – we went right back to sleep !!!! We are now in Es Grau / Isla Colom in Menorca for a few days and on first impression it looks like another wonderful stop, but for now, time to relax aboard after a 35 hour adventure!!

It was a calm morning after the previous day’s choppiness and crystal clear waters greeted us as we dropped the lines from the buoy and set off.

We headed round the stunning island in lovely conditions (for everything other than sailing) and followed the coastline back towards Alghero. We found the cardinal buoys that had eluded us on the way here, marking the natural park zones. We had watched them being towed out of the harbour in Cala Oliva (see a previous blog) and it was nice to see them in place – exactly where we expected to 😉    When we crossed from Menorca we had been to a marina across the bay from the town of Alghero.  This time we were heading for the town itself and a marina that had been recommended to us called Ser – Mar.  Before we could get there we had to negotiate more pots (a bit more sporadic this trip but it meant we had to be on high alert watch all the time).  We took it in turns on the helm and managed to motor sail with low engine revs for most of the afternoon.  We actually made better progress than we thought and arrived on berth about 5pm.

A couple of messages later and Skipper Nigel and I were manically showering and trying to look remotely presentable as our friends from Hoopla, Karen and Robert were coming to visit.  It was very much a one night only opportunity since they were leaving the next day (their boat was in Fertilia, just across the bay from here).  They had very kindly offered to take the bus and come to see us – which we were very happy about, after our early start we weren’t really in a fit state to leave Gemini J.  Two melons, a bottle of frizzante and some Sardinian ham later we had to say goodbye.  We all wished each other well for our onwards journey – Hoopla round Sardinia the way we had been and us back to the Balearics.  It was fabulous to see them and catch up and I’m sure there will be lots more wonderful stories when we all arrive back in Cartagena after the summer.

The next day I went for an early morning explore and found another delightful walled town. This time with a great walk along the walls protecting it – about 3 kilometres (and back). In the afternoon I went into the old town which was fairly quaint and old (like the others we’ve visited) but a lovely pedestrian area makes it really nice to wander about.

The following day, and indeed for the weekend we hired a car ….. not just any car, a smart car !! We needed something easy to park as it’s busy here now but as it turned out it was small, automatic and not the most comfortable car we’ve ever been in. We weren’t sure if Skipper Nigel would even fit into it but actually it was really quite roomy inside and we had no problems on that score. The first job was to go to the chandlery, Skipper Nigel’s favourite shop of course;-) a few euros and a full shopping bag later we were having coffee at the “cake café” – latte machiatto is just the thing for us.

We took a lovely drive out towards Cabo Coppia and found fabulous views and a gorgeous little Italian restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed our spaghetti very much and the shaded terrace was a lovely spot, because it wasn’t directly on the sea front it wasn’t too crowded either. One this we have found here in Sardinia is that very few people speak any English so we have been getting by on an amusing combination of Spanish, French (which lots of people speak) and Google translate. It’s great fun and so far no real disasters…..

The following day we tried for more of the same driving southwards ….we drove and drove and drove along another stunning coastal road but there were no delightful cafés, no quick pit stops in fact there was nothing except stunning views!!! Perhaps we should have done a little more research but when the only bar we came to was closed for a private party we admitted defeat and headed back to Alghero for a coffee and snack. It was a very nice morning – just not quite the one we had in mind. That afternoon we did another expensive fuel run and got all our containers filled back up ready for the crossing to Menorca.

Monday morning came and it was time to say goodbye to the smart car – but not before we did a full re-stock of Gemini J and another trip to the chandlery – this time for a fender that we will use as a step for our dinghy. (If you read the previous blog you might remember the troubles Skipper Nigel had getting back aboard after snorkeling;-)). The smart car had been fun and we certainly took it on a little adventure……

And just like that we’re almost at the end of our Sardinian travels – not without a final few bike photos from Alghero town after another wander. I am assuming the Grio de Italia bike race must have come here sometime. Oh and I just had to have an ice cream (which was as good as it looks) 😉

It would not be our final night in Sardinia without some of the typical cuisine from here. Tomorrow onwards and hopefully all the way back to Menorca.

After our delightful time in Castelsardo we were happy to be moving on, this time to another morning buoy in the natural park.  The weather was nice and we negotiated that tricky entrance really well after a great departure from our tight spot by Skipper Nigel.  I have to say, revisiting the entrance on our exit in much calmer waters it is still very difficult to spot from the approach.  It wasn’t only the weather that made this an interesting port to enter and leave.

Once again almost no sooner than we had got out into open waters and we were back on fishing buoy watch ….. there were tons of them ! All well marked but it meant we had to pick our way through – and they continued all the way!!! We had a nice wind for motor sailing and we made good progress – after about 4 hours we were navigating our way round rocks and a lighthouse that are just off the bay we were heading for.  Skipper Nigel pulled right up to the buoy he had selected and I managed to pick up the line on first pass – and then we could relax…..in another amazing location.  Oh and did I mention we can hear the donkeys once again 😉

Yes, we’re back at Isola Asinara – or donkey island as we now like to call it.  We’re here for 3 nights of swimming, paddle boarding and snorkeling.  The waters are crystal clear here once again – there’s no anchoring only mooring buoys and all the waters are protected so we’re swimming amongst happy fish.  There is a small dock here and a kind of village but as I mentioned in a previous blog the island has been basically deserted since the prisons holding the mafia were closed.  The island is now home to wild donkeys and not much else.  We have spent a lovely couple of days here doing lots of relaxing.

On what should be our last day before moving on, I took a morning paddle board to the shore and had a walk.  Of course I saw no other people while walking as the day trippers don’t arrive until the 10 o’clock ferry and they stay til the 5pm return takes them back.  Apart from that it’s just us boaters and a few island staff who are here.  The buildings which have been renovated seem to house research and ecological facilities. It makes for an almost eerie feeling, but of course the donkeys are ever present making you smile.  They seem very placid but I didn’t try to get too close (especially since I had no suitable donkey treats with me – whatever they might be).

 

When I returned to my paddle board I felt the wind had picked up and indeed I had to paddle hard to get back to Gemini J.  Once aboard we were finishing our morning coffee as the conditions started to pick up.  The marina representative came over on a rib and told us that the wind was going to pick up – then helped us to add an extra line for security.  So, here I am writing the blog, it’s blowy outside, too blowy for our shade cover and a bit choppy to use the zodiac dinghy so we’re on an enforced rest afternoon (what a shame ;-)).  Hopefully the wind dies down as forecast overnight so we can move on tomorrow……for now we’ll enjoy the sunset and the amazing full moon …..