Can’t believe that the wonderful summer is coming to an end. We’ve spent the last two weeks as land lubbers, initially seeing the boat lifted safely ashore, and then exploring the wonderful mountainous regions of the Gennargentu National Park, Barbagia and the Supramonte. The days are shorter but still sunny and it’s decidedly chilly in the evenings up in the mountains.
After five days of the Mistral blowing a force 7, the winds finally abated and we motored Merryn around to the boat lift in Arbatax. Umberto and his team were waiting and did an expert job of lifting Merryn onto the boat transporter that then trundled off to his boat yard about half a mile away. Since then we’ve completed all the overwintering work on board and packed away all our belongings whilst watching all the boatyard activities. It’s been amazing to see massive fishing boats brought ashore for hull repairs, welding, and antifouling with a very rapid turnaround. They do make the boatyard smell very fishy though!
Jonathan’s dad, John, joined us for a week and we did some lovely walks in the mountains and along the coast of the Golf di Orosai to the famous Cala Gonone and Cala Fuili. The scenery is spectacular and visiting the villages of the Barbagia reveals it’s quirky history. Orgosolo is famed for the political murals that cover the walls of most of the houses. Mamoiada is famous for its masks and the masquerade festivals in January and Eastertime where men dress in sheep skins with bells strapped to their backs wearing these scary dark wooden masks as they light fires and dance through the village. There are similar traditions across Italy, Greece, Croatia and other eastern mediterranean countries. We also had the most amazing meal in the mountain town of Oliena, where we were staying, in a tiny ‘home restaurant’ run by a retired Sard couple. They cater for eight people each evening, all seated at a communal table in a beautiful room decorated with the writings and poetry of a Sard Nobel laureate. We were plied with dish after wonderful dish, accompanied by the delicious local Nepente wine, in the company of some crazy Lithuanians and delightful Italians. The hosts read us poetry, the Italians translated, the Lithuanians drank us all under the table, and the fun and laughter escalated as we were plied with glass upon glass of home made grappa and myrto.
We’ve spent the last week staying in the stunning mountain village of Baunei. The views across the plains to the bay of Santa Maria Navarrese and Arbatax, with the mountainous backdrop, are breathtaking. The weather has remained sunny allowing us to pop back to the boat to complete the final jobs. We have walked to beaches that can only be reached on dirt tracks and then on foot, with goats in trees, wild boars crossing the road, donkeys trying to nuzzle the car and beautiful big eyed cows along the roadside protecting their calves. Yesterday we had our final swim in the sea at the stunning, remote beach of Cala Goloritze and tomorrow we wave goodbye to Sardinia until next May. Today was quite emotional as we left Merryn in the boatyard, having made her our home for the past year. We look forward to our return and many more summers aboard.
Wow…… what a lovely summer. Xx