Sardinia in retrospect,

 Dawn says that this is our worst trip ever, and I tend to agree.  Several factors apply. First, we originally planned this trip for mid-September.  We moved it forward to allow time with our grandkids in DC before school started.  In Scotland, we had temperatures up to 80 degrees, too warm for the hiking we envisioned.  During our brief stay in Amsterdam, the temperatures also reached the 90’s, part of a heat wave in Europe.

Here in Sardinia, our weather can be described as hot, humid, and hazy.  Hot as in up to mid 90’s.  Humid as needing frequent clothes changes and showers. Hazy as in obscuring what would otherwise be beautiful photos including the surrounding mountains. Starting the day after we leave, temperatures drop by ten degrees. Not just my opinion but the unusual conditions were confirmed by the hotel receptionist.

Our difficulties in our arrival did not help our mood.  Instead of arriving Saturday at 6:30pm, we arrived on Monday at 1:10am with no luggage. Our rental car was canceled due to the delay. We spent Monday trying to arrange a new rental vehicle to take us from Cagliari to three intermediate stops and a drop off at Olbia.  It was either that or attempt to cancel the trip. Tuesday, we had to shop for a change of clothes.  Doing laundry in the shower at night wasn't enough.  Our luggage had not arrived; now our fourth day wearing the same clothes. Wednesday, we drove back to Cagliari to get our luggage which had finally arrived! Now, will we stay within our baggage allowance when coming home?

For our last night in Sardinia, I had booked a B&B near the Olbia airport. We dropped off our rental SUV at the airport and took a taxi to the B&B arriving two hours before official check-in.  We hadn't eaten lunch yet and planned to just drop off our luggage and then go find a restaurant.  The B&B host demanded a charge just to store our luggage for two hours.  Cheap bastard.  We had paid for breakfast the following morning but would be leaving too early to stay and eat.  No refund for that. 

We toted our luggage to a restaurant two blocks away and while eating lunch tried to reserve online a taxi ride for the next morning.  We discovered that taxis don't come to this neighborhood.  As soon as we listed our pick-up location, the taxi service became 'unavailable'.  We asked at our restaurant host, also at a local pharmacy, and were told that only buses did pickups in this area, and there were no direct buses to the airport.  There we were, on a warm day (not as warm as previous days) towing our luggage along the sidewalk, walking in the direction of a bus stop, when a taxi happened by.  Observing the situation, he slowed to inquire if we needed a ride.  Back to the airport, at the information counter, a clerk there was able to get us a reservation with a taxi driver she knew personally.  Four trips back and forth at 20 Euros per trip for less than a 3-mile distance.    

Sardinia has beautiful scenery, but it’s towns mainly reflect a modest economy.  Most villages are not scenic.  Well-worn older buildings, newer cinder block buildings with little paint or other finish.  And no parking!  The city streets are from an age centuries ago, one-lane cobblestone.  Three times we have given up on exploring villages when we couldn’t find a place to park.

Very little on this trip has come easily.

Orosei and Olbia

Very clear water.  The waterfall has worn itself into a crevice in the cliff face.

Smaller boats tied up to a wharf.  The larger yachts are on floating docks or moored out. Porto Rotondo, a very wealthy area, part of Costa Smeralda.  High end fashions and nice restaurants.

Cala di Volpe coast, an extension of the Costa Smeralda.

 In southern Sardinia, we had an area not overrun with tourists. Oh, there are tourists, but they are overwhelmingly Europeans, for whom this is a regular visitation. Yesterday, we drove north along the east coast; very rugged and dramatic. We came across one village built at altitude on a mountainside where we would have liked to stop, but the ancient dwellings were so precariously close set that we could not find a parking space.

Why build a village in such a place?  In other locations near to the coast, it was for defensive purposes to protect against Moorish slavers seeking women and children as household slaves for North Africa and men who could be chained to the oars in their galleys. But those villages had defensive walls and watchtowers. Here, it may be only to seek a slightly cooler climate at altitude.

Looking back on the narrow road we just drove, constant curves and frequent transmission shifts.

The road here from the south twisted through steep rocky inclines where the guard rail was re-assuring. Three hours to go a hundred miles. We are now at Orosei, where the coast starts to smooth out and there are many beaches to visit.  The Gulf of Orosei, surrounded by mountains, is directly south of us.  Because of the mountains, it’s beaches, cliffs, and caves are mainly accessible only by sea, from Orosei or further north.  A boat tour of the area takes 8+ hours, unless you launch from Cala Gonone. The land route to Cala Gonone is a narrow road carved into the granite slope with 180-degree hairpin curves. Once to the town, we discovered that no parking was available; cars were parked along the road for at least a half mile leading into the town. It was Sunday, and these were locals who had come to enjoy the beach town.

Cala Gonone. A beautiful seaside village with excellent access to the Gulf of Orosei.  Very popular, but to get to it you had to drive on narrow switchback roads down a mountain slope or come in by boat.  The entire Gulf of Orosei is surrounded by mountains.

Looking south from Cala Osala.

This is a typical Sardinian Mountain:  naked steep granite outcroppings.  The highest are up to 6000' high.

We experienced haze the entire time at Sardinia.  Locals said it was unusual but didn't know the source.  It started to clear up on our last day there.  

Courtyard of a very nice mountain hotel where we had lunch. Pool and art gallery were also part of it.  Nearby was a unique waterfall.  Below the waterfall was a clear pool and a small stream that led to a lake where kayaks could be rented.

On another day, we headed inland to visit the village of Orgosolo.  We found the village at altitude on a steep slope.  Again, no parking was available. Instead, it was a maze of narrow streets clogged by parked vehicles, one-way signs and blind alleys where parking spaces are likely inherited.  We elected to keep driving.  For lunch, we stopped at a lovely hotel complex in a park-like atmosphere, with a swimming pool, an art & crafts center, and an excellent restaurant. The food here is delicious; my favorite being the seafood pasta.

Nearby was a waterfall which had worn its way into the granite face of a cliff.  A pool at its foot was perfectly clear.  A small lake downstream offered kayaking.  We are still in the dry summer season, so the waterfall and lake were not at their best.  The mountaintops here are almost naked granite due to their impervious steep surfaces and dry climate.  Beautiful to look at, but offering little hiking, or trekking as it is referred to here.  During our visit, a haze filtered distant views, spoiling what otherwise would be dramatic photos.  The haze dissipated on our last day in Sardinia.

One day we went to a recommended nature park on the coast featuring forest walks and five small beaches.  It was too warm for trekking, and we have had enough lifetime sun on our bodies that we try to limit time on an open beach anymore. (I have an appointment with my dermatologist soon.)

Another day (we spent a week at this hotel), we drove north to Porto Rotondo as recommended by our hotel personnel.  This area, NE coast, is known as the Costa Smeralda, or Emerald Coast.  It was developed into a retreat for the very wealthy starting 60 years ago by a mega-wealthy group of investors headed by the Aga Khan.  It is a yachting center with many attractive features: beautiful beaches nearby, offshore islands, calm seas, Corsica and the Tuscan coast.  Million-dollar yachts crowd the harbors.  Expensive homes and condos fill the hillsides.  High-end shopping and restaurants are close at hand.  This was far different than most Sardinian locations.  We just gawked, snapped photos, and had a nice meal.

Entrance to our hotel at Orosei.  Obviously, a very old building which has been repurposed.  The main building served as reception, rooms, and breakfast location.  Dawn and I stayed in an annex two blocks away which had a restaurant on the top floor.  Our SUV was parked in a public lot about four blocks away.  The hotel did have a golf cart to shuttle us and our baggage to our vehicle.

People and culture

We have been staying at a rural B&B for the past three days. Here they are called “agriturismo” and are very common, although, this B&B, I believe, is far above average.  It is a farm and orchard with a restaurant and ten rooms to rent. Each room has its own parking spot, entrance, and covered patio. The restaurant is impressive. One sitting at 8pm each night, reservation only and sold out during our time there. The menu is extensive but with a featured daily selection. A starter, first course, second course, and desert with many side dishes included and many drink options. The food is wonderful.  Not just the B&B people, but others from the area show up for dinner, served outside on a large open deck with distant views. We are the only people for whom English is their first language. Surrounding conversation is overwhelmingly in Italian, although on this island there is a local dialect used sometimes.

Dinner restaurant at our Agriturismo NE of Cagliari.  Every night it was sold out. Excellent food and drink.

The B&B is hosted by a family, and their sons are servers at the restaurant. Mother and grandmother are the bosses.  Everyone has a high opinion of this family.  We talked to two German couples staying here. One couple said they have been coming here for 15 years.  The other couple comes for extended stays; their current visit is planned until November.  The dinner atmosphere is like a large family gathering.  We have been treated extremely well; they have assisted with our missing luggage and laundry needs.

Since we can only guess at the menu, we have been coached on selections. I never knew that pasta and zucchini together could taste so good.  Fresh healthy food must be part of longevity.  Sardinia is known as a location where people frequently live past 100 y.o.  Once we mentioned my lactose intolerance, it was taken care of.  Local goats and sheep provide options to dairy products from cows.  Fresh fruit, figs and plums, from their orchard are included with every breakfast.

The only drawback to this location is that internet is only available when we are outside on our porch. fortunately, there are no bugs, and the weather is warm, so sitting out on the porch in evening time is comfortable.  After heading back to Cagliari to pick up our luggage, the next day we drive north 160 km. (100 miles) to our next stop.

The beach at Villasimius.  Problem was that we had no clothes other than what we had put on three days ago for our flight from Glasgow.  Fortunately, we found a small store here where we could get some shorts and tops; we didn't want to go back to the congestion of Cagliari for shopping.  There are many nice beaches on Sardinia.

 I am still amazed at the technology we have at our disposal nowadays.  Back in the 1970’s, when Dawn and I visited the Pioneer Inn at Lahaina, Maui, reservations were completed by mail.  When we visited a friend then in southern Mexico at Morelia, correspondence was done by mail.  Now we can communicate anywhere in the world, almost instantaneously, by email.  GPS is here to guide us.  Google brings us an amazing knowledge base and can even translate languages.

We don’t quite have that self-driving car yet.  In fact, GPS occasionally provides mistaken guidance, and Google can have an out-of-date data source.  One day on this trip, GPS told us to “turn left” at a point which would have had us hit a guardrail then go down an embankment.  The actual turn was almost a kilometer distant.  Our electronic signal can be weak or missing, but compared to what we had back then, we are in heaven. I like to have an overall actual map for initial orientation, and I still read street signs and look for prominent structures for confirmation of position.

Vacation Hell

Saturday, Sept. 9, we left our hotel in Glasgow too early to get a full breakfast.  At the airport there was already a long line of people checking in.  As soon as our bags were checked (mandatory), we discovered that the flight was delayed by 2+ hours; meaning that we would miss all our connections.  Arriving at Schiphol, NL, we learned that the delay was for many KLM flights and hundreds of people.  Luggage would not be released; queues for help were 4+ hours long; and we had no idea of our new schedule.  We needed to get a hotel room, but so did hundreds of other people. After a couple of false leads, we found a hotel room on the far side of Amsterdam.

Dinner at The Seafood Bar in Amsterdam.  We shared it.

Our new flight schedule was for Sunday evening, flying Alitalia to Milan and Cagliari.  I attempted to notify our car rental company and hotel of the delay: no real people, just websites.  We spent a pleasant day in Amsterdam, walking to the Ann Frank house, shopping, and a tasty meal outdoors canal-side. Taking the bus to Schiphol, we struggled (no signs) to find where to get our new flight tickets.

Lunch canal side in Amsterdam.  Very warm weather and all the boats were out cruising.

The Ann Frank House was mobbed, we didn't think it appropriate to take photos there, a symbol for solemn reflection.

Arriving in Cagliari at 00:10 (11 Sept.), we learned that our luggage was lost!  We flagged a taxi from the airport to the center of old Cagliari on the waterfront.  Our taxi driver let us off on a main street about six blocks away (due to the maze of narrow alleys we had to navigate) and we GPSed our way to the final destination, arriving at 01:05.  We had been given self-entry instructions and stumbled off to bed in what turned out to be the wrong apartment.

Next morning, we needed to get breakfast and check out by 10:00.  The recommended breakfast location only served coffee and pastries, which I cannot eat. We bought buns, meat, and fruit at a hole-in-the-wall grocery for our meal. Email informed me that our rental car had been canceled due to our late arrival (my message was not received). Now we needed to find a new rental car.

Near the cruise ship terminal were three car rentals; none had any cars for us. We got a taxi to our original rental location: they had no cars! We had arrived at Cagliari but would be flying out from Olbia, at the north end of the island. No train or flight connects the two ends of the island. Do we need to cancel all our accommodations, flights, and head for home? Desperation time. We checked Priceline, Sixt, Booking.com all with no cars available.

We decided to return to the airport where airlines and car rentals are available. Several car rental companies had booths there. Dawn stood in one line while I inquired at another. They had one car available; did I hear her right? I wanted to jump over the counter and hug her. The car is a diesel Jeep Renegade six-speed manual.  Very fuel efficient but needing to be constantly shifted due to the narrow torque band and the constantly changing road contours. 

But where is our luggage? It has been four days since we saw it last.  Today we went to a local store to buy clothes, so that we can wash what we have been wearing.  Locals call then 'China stores'; stacks of merchandise piled high with very narrow aisles.  Mainly cheap things, unsold elsewhere in XXL and S sizes, but at good prices.  I found a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in M size.  Dawn found some shorts and tops.

That evening we received an e-mail notifying us that our luggage had arrived.  They would deliver the suitcases, but we only had one day left at this location.  The luggage would probably arrive after we were gone, so Dawn and I drove back to the Cagliari airport to get our luggage.

Scotland, friendly and attractive

The UK is full of housing tracts like this near major cities.  They are all identical!

These monuments are massive, 100 feet tall, based on mythological beasts. Called the Kelpies, they are located at Falkirk.  What attracted us were the walking paths.  Blackberries were in full season, and we could pick and eat as we walked.

Central Edinburgh.  Too many other tourists for us.  The castle site is impressive, but too crowded, reservation only, to enter.

Our visit to Scotland has been a pleasure in many ways.  The many mountains and lakes, the well-tended fields, the mild climate, the welcoming people, brilliant sunsets; all very attractive.  At Doune, Aiden explained how to take the train into Edinburgh. At Isle of Skye, Jonathan warned us about the roads and expedited forwarding misplaced supplies we had forgotten. At Loch Ness, Jane included us in a party at their B&B, and at Oban, Mike offered to do our laundry.  Great people.  Jonathan is from Zimbabwe. Jane, in charge of a wonderful B&B, married Jim only one year ago but has seen little of him since his job keeps him away. Mike has wonderful stories of his years in SE Asia and is dealing with spinal cancer.

Scenic valley in Trossachs NP, scenery like this is fairly common.

Pretty sunset as seen from our B&B on Isle of Skye.

Typical scenery on Isle of Skye.  It was actually a bit warm and sunny for good hiking.

Isle of Skye is a true island, and much of it looks like this.  Amazing how many homes serve as B&Bs here.

A lighthouse was within walking distance from our B&B on the peninsula.  As you can see, few trees on the open ground.

Urquhart Castle ruins on the shore of Loch Ness.  Not much to look at but a popular location for tourists.

We took a chairlift up a mountain to the base of a ski/mt. bike resort.  It was crazy steep and rough for the bikes.  No beginners here.

Doune Castle.  We went past this Castle on our daily walks.  It was used as a filming location in Outlander and Game of Thrones.

I do not think we will ever enjoy the driving here. Narrow (or single lane) roads, high speeds, huge lorries and busses, driving on the left side, limited parking.  On Isle of Skye the choice was to either hit the pothole or swerve off the pavement.  Two other parties staying at our B&B each lost a tire which is an expensive proposition at this relatively remote location. We drove forty miles to a ferry crossing only to discover that advance reservations were required.  We had to retrace those forty miles and use a longer route over the Skye bridge.  We rented a SUV with good ground clearance and big tires which helped to avoid tire problems.

Castle at Oban.  We did not tour it; "if you have seen one castle, you have seen them all" Kidding.

Castle Stalker at Appin.  This was the view every morning from the window as we ate breakfast.

It was unusually warm (up to 80 degrees) during our visit to Scotland, and we looked for shaded hiking paths.  Unfortunately, Dawn picked up a tick on one of these walks.

Uncrowded lane for a relaxing walk.  We try to walk every day.

One morning at Appin, when we looked out our window this beautiful yacht was anchored in Loch Linnhe, which is directly connected to the ocean and subject to tides.

Can it get any prettier?  500-year-old pub just down the street from us to enjoy dinner.

Imagine driving 100 miles on a narrow two-lane road in a constant line of vehicles at high speed: that is what we did today.  Very nerve wracking.

Surprisingly, our September weather has been mid 60’s to upper 70’s with mainly sunny skies. We note solar panels on roofs and lush growth that would not occur if the climate were harsh. We also have noted substantial construction activity of new homes both in the urban areas and the countryside. We are told that Covid encouraged many to move away from England’s major cities. The B&Bs are numerous; most close on October 1; encouraged by the tax law details.

We toured Stirling Castle which was the site of a Christmas concern for Rod Stewart, Dawn’s favorite singer. Mainly, we have been hiking trails.  The good is that ripe blackberries are plentiful along the trails. Not so good is that we discovered a tick trying to lodge itself behind Dawn’s ear.