Wake up call is way too early on the boat. Quarter to 6am they start with the intercom and the knocking, and since we didn’t get to bed until after 1 it was a bit unwanted. We headed up to the deck to see what Sardinia looks like as you approach, but it was still dark and all you could really see was the harbor. But from the pictures I’ve seen I’m expecting great things. They sounded the “alarm” for all people with vehicles to head below to one of 4 parking decks (you can’t believe the # of cars that were on this boat) and get ready to disembark. As we rolled off the ship you still couldn’t see too much other than the brake lights stretching out for a mile in front of you. But as we left the port city and the sun started to rise that all changed. The first place we stopped was called Porto Rotondo. For some reason it reminded me of Florida. Sardinia is famous for it’s water and it’s beaches, but I wouldn’t call this a beach town, I’d call it a Marina town. The harbor was full of personal boats, and small yachts. Where in a normal Italian town there are a number of real estate offices, here there were numerous yacht brokers. The town was more or less dead, partially because it was early as crap, but mostly I believe because it is a summer town.
Just down the road is Porto Cervo which seems to be above all a vacation community. The architecture style here is really strange, I would say the strongest influence is South American melted with a Boca Raton condo. Seth said it didn’t look Italian, and in fact it didn’t even feel Italian, but I still really liked it. I could picture walking out of your apartment and onto your little sail boat. The water here is unbelievable, so it would be a nice way to spend a day. But it certainly wouldn’t be the same experience as a day by the beach in Sicily for example.
Baia Sardinia has a great semi-circular bay filled with the blue green water that just calls out to you. I’ve never seen water so enticing, not even in the Bahamas. There is an interesting little center to the town, but you have to use your imagination as to what it looks like in the summer when there are actually people around.
We continued up the coast to Palau, and more specifically to Capo d’Orso which is a huge rock that wind and water over the years have eroded to look like a bear (orso). The Vespa Diaries almost ended right here. I was hoping from boulder to boulder to take pictures and I heard something hit the ground. I turned just in time to see the keys to the Vespa sliding out of sight. My heart sank and I knew I was never going to see them again. Luckily the crevice they fell into was only about 15 feet deep, and just wide enough to fit into to. If it had been something of no real value I would have just left it, but this was sort of important. So I worked my way down to get them, and then struggled to get back out again, but I succeeded so we can continue.
This whole area is called the Costa Smeralda, and just about anywhere you stop you can find a nice little beach, and beautiful water. If you’re looking for seclusion you can find it, it you want a little action on the beach you can certainly find that as well.
Santa Teresa Gallura and Capo Testa are pretty much the end of the Costa Smeralda, and they were the end of our first day in Sardinia. Same beautiful water, but with much bigger rocks, and a lot more wind. I heard later that studies have shown that because of this wind, and the sea, the air here is supposed to be the freshest in all of Italy.
Our lodging for the evening was in B&B Capo Testa www.bbcapotesta.it and what a position they hold. Go just about all the way to the end of the road in Capo Testa, then turn down a dirt driveway and once you make it through the bush, you’ll find an unassuming house surrounded by huge rocks and blue water. They even have their own tiny little bay a few steps from the door. If you are coming to Sardinia for a relaxing beach retreat, this place would be perfect. They have a nice patio where you can sit and read, walk down to the bay, or drive a little down the road to a beautiful beach. The room was large and the beds comfortable, some of the most comfortable we’ve had. The bathroom is shared, but there are only 3 bedrooms so you should never have to wait for it. The real key to this place is Giuseppe. He is a fountain of knowledge, and he really likes to share it with you. We shared a bit of Mirto, which is the Sardinian traditional digestif, and talked history, politics, and philosophy, it was really great.
When you sit outside and look up at the sky here, you see 10 times as many stars as you do back home. In fact you can actually see the milky way. It’s the same old sky, but the lack of ambient light makes it brilliant.