My husband K decided to make use of today's late start and go to the fitness center at 7:30. I chose to take the chance to actually sleep in until 8:30. it was rather gray, when I got up. Sardinia was coming into view.
Our daughter J arrived promptly at 8:50 and she and I headed off to breakfast. It was so nice to not feel rushed. In fact, we took the time to have waffles.
When we finished at 9:30, we went down to Guest Relations for the umpteenth time. Still not sure the bill was right, we went back to wash up at 9:45. I had some time there to look out at our dock. It looked more like a multi-lane road. Across from us was a ferry that we may have seen before, as well as a fancy Virgin cruise ship.
At 10:33, the three of us were at the World Stage, where we were given the stickers for Blue 20. 240 people were scheduled for our tour, which wasn't surprising considering how few options there were for this port. The one we really wanted was sold out by the time we tried to book it. 5 buses were scheduled for this tour.
We were on our bus at 10:52. Six minutes later, our guide Sabrina boarded and introduced us to Maro, the driver, as we left. Olbia, we learned, had an airport and a seaport. They had tourism and trade through these. The population was 40,000 and it was in the area of northeastern Sardinia called Gallura. Sardinia is the second largest Mediterranean island. (Having already visited Sicily on this trip, we've now been to the top two.) This area of Sardinia is not densely populated. They grow olives and strawberries and they make wine. The raise sheep and cows. The word "gallura" supposedly meant stony area and it is marked by granite hills, whereas you find basalt and limestone elsewhere in Sardinia. Interesting fact: it is not geologically part of Italy, but rather of France and Spain. Oh, and I was right about those things in the water- they are buoys to mark that mussels are growing there.
As we drove along, I noted the signs of agriculture and the towns we passed through like San Pantaleo. Always cool to see how people live elsewhere.
At 11:35, we arrived at the parking lot outside of our first stop, Baja Sardinia. We were parked in the shadow of some of those granite mountains, which weren't terribly high here. Sabrina led us down the street into town. We had the opportunity to take note of the housing that grew progressively more expensive as we neared the water.
We also got to see some beautiful flowers, like the West Indian Lantana in the first two photos and the Iberis in the last one.
We knew we'd reached the commercial district, when we saw this small string of beach shops. Sabrina took us down to the overlook, which had a really nice sculpture of sailboats. She then set us loose for about 45 minutes.
We took the requisite photos of the beach from up above, and, of course, a group selfie. You could tell it was a weekday from the real dearth of people on the beach or in the water.
Some folks went for a walk up to the rocks in the first picture, but it didn't look like something my knees would appreciate. So, I took more photos, while J kindly went down the stairs to the beach to collect a little sand for my collection.
There were no public restrooms. So, we were forced to have gelato at the Barracuda Bar to be able to use theirs. I had a small of chocolate and blackberry, while J had her usual lemon and vanilla. They were only 4,50 euros each and quite tasty.
We roamed around and found some postcards and stickers. There was a fountain with a quite interesting collection of objects in it. There were more flowers, too, like the drosanthemum floribundum. And, of course, there had to be one last picture of the water with flowers.
As we headed back up the hill to the bus parking, we came across a Catholic church with a metal chicken under the cross on the roof. I realized that the blue and white sculpture we'd seen on the way in was with this church. It is Chiesa di S. Antonio di Padova- the Church of St. Anthony of Padua. ( St. Anthony was Portuguese, but died in Padua, Italy.) I still don't get the chicken.
We were at the bus at 12:32 and on the road seven minutes later. As we drove east on SP 59, we passed Poltu Quatu, which was just tucked along an inlet.
At 12:48, we were parked in the lot outside of the resort of Porto Cervo, a planned seaside resort started by Prince Karim Aga Khan and other investors. It is the main area of the Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast). Costa Smeralda is the most expensive location in Europe and Porto Cervo is one of the most expensive resorts in the world. It is home to 421 inhabitants. 100 of the 700 berths in its marina are reserved for megayachts. When the resort was started, it was decreed that houses had to be in the colors of the landscape. They also had to have a garden of local plants.
Sabrina led us down the hill to just above the
marina and set up a meeting time and location. There was really little
for us to do, but take photos. All of the shops were high end, like
Prada and Hermes, and weren't even open for the season yet. The yacht,
by the way, is flagged in the Cayman Islands and is called Siniar. It is
two years old and cost about $40 million. It was huge! These were not
our people.
I will say that the landscaping and use of flowers was spectacular.
We
found one fountain, which you might have expected more of. We spent a
lot of time trying to stay out of the sun in order to be a bit cooler.
Granted, there was only a bit of sun, but it was enough.
Finally, it was 1:45, the appointed meeting time. We headed off on our hike back uphill to the bus. Along the way, I discovered that Costa Smeralda is celebrating its anniversary this year.
When we got to the bus, we discovered that four people were already there. They had headed back without telling anyone. That is really rude to do to the tour guide. And us- what if the guide had made us all wait, while she went around trying to find them? People!
We were all on the bus and on the road by 2:03. I checked the Weather Channel app and it said it was 73 degrees. It was a very warm 73 degrees.
When we reached the terminal at 2:55, J took care of giving the guide a 5 euro tip. The terminal had security and J's bag got stuck in the machine for a moment.
It was 3:03, when we got out of there. K wanted to go see the archaeological museum in town and he walked there. J and I decided we'd had enough for the day and took the bus back to the ship. We chose the one marked for our ship, as we'd all been told to do, but it stopped at the Virgin ship anyway. Weird.
We reached the ship at 3:07 and were onboard at 3:11. When I reached my cabin at 3:15, I discovered there was no bath mat and no ice. I had to call for the mat, because I wanted to shower. It didn't take long for it to come. In the meantime, J arrived with cookies that she'd gotten us. She enjoyed the verandah, while I showered. Then, I joined her on the verandah and promptly fell asleep.
When K got back before 5, he took a rare photo of the back of the ship. He said, he enjoyed the museum.
Dinner was at 5:30 and was another of our free dinners at the Pinnacle Grill. To start, I ordered the Panko Fried Stuffed Mushroom Caps. J got the Clothesline Candied Bacon that we'd enjoyed the previous visit. K ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, which was nothing like our beloved Maryland crab cakes.
For the entree, I went with Beef Tenderloin with Lobster Dumplings. J ordered Jumbo Scallops, while K ordered the Grilled Lamb Chops. We ordered several vegetables for the table- Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, and Grilled Potato.
As for dessert, well, we each wanted our own Jacques Torres Chocolate Souffle. It was worth not sharing. They also brought the plate of chocolate candies and Turkish delight, like last time.
We didn't finish dinner until 7:30. We went up to Deck 12 to see us sail away from Sardinia.
We took note of the radars spinning overhead, as well as a sign we'd seen nowhere else on the ship.
The view back over the island and in front of us was quite something. It looked like they were going to get a storm. We also saw a thin spit of land with condos or something on it. It was hard to tell if there was a road out there.
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