June 12 – Day One, Sardinia

Yesterday I made it to Rome with no problems and found Julie at the hotel. She had made reservations for dinner at a really neat place not too far from the hotel. Great food and we were outside in our own little bubble with candles and wine. Very romantic.

We took the overnight ferry from Italy proper to Sardinia and arrived at 0630. The passage was very calm and Julie and I had a very nice cabin on the outside. Marco had picked us up at our hotel and then we drove to a town near the ferry where we picked up Lidia. After that it was on to the ferry and then a couple beers and I fell asleep with no problems.

Happy Paddlers
On the top deck of the ferry. It was very windy.
Old fort at the ferry terminal
Another view from the top of the ferry.

After finding our way off the ferry we headed outside of Olbia to a good paddling spot with a short stop for breakfast along the way. By 0900, we were on the water 😛.

Our launching beach was beautiful with a long curved sandy shoreline just like you might imagine for Sardinia. Since the season is just getting underway there we’re not too many people even for a Sunday.

Marco and I did our usual thing and unloaded all the kayaks for our morning paddle.
Marco and me. On the water again.
Scott and Julie. On the water again :)

Some more pictures from this morning paddle.

Marco and Lidia near the rocks.
Great paddling with lots of rocks to play around.
Lidia enjoying life.
Julie loving life :)
The beach where we launched. It was empty when we got on the water. That’s a little restaurant and bar in the middle.

We did about ten miles of beautiful paddling and got back to the beach in time to have a nice lunch and for Marco to head to the airport to pick up Lou. After her retrieval Marco took her out for a warmup paddle and Julie and I started loading kayaks back on the trailer.

How’s this for lunch on the beach. Ten steps from the kayaks.

With all of us and our gear loaded into the van we started a one our drive north into the mountains and a fantastic, rustic agrotourismo which will be our base for the next five nights.

Julie and my room used the door on the right.
Very cozy and had a little kitchen and bath.
Julie finds the big boulder.

The past two weeks, I’ve been wearing down parkas and paddling in my dry suit. Now it’s shorts and paddle shirts. What a way to start out our Sardinia adventure.

We are quite a way up into the mountains off an old dirt road. Our hosts are terrific people and the county is beautiful. We had an excellent dinner and called it a night.

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