Back on board

The journey from Florence to Trapani involved two flights and a bus trip, but when I walked onto our boat later that night, it all seemed worthwhile.  It was so nice to be back on board Izabela with friends and family, and preparing for new adventures. 

We spent the next few days stocking the boat with food and water, making minor repairs, and exploring Trapani. It is a wonderful city with great food, beautiful beaches and some amazing baroque architecture.

We also visited the medieval town of Erice, located atop of nearby Mount Erice, with views across to Trapani and the western coastline of Sicily. The ancient town is interesting and we enjoyed wandering around looking at the many ancient sites and views across the surrounding countryside. The town is also accessible by cable-car and we rode it back down the mountain which was a lot of fun. 

Our final morning in Trapani was spent organising the paperwork required to leave the EU and travel to Tunisia. As a non-EU registered boat, we need to check out every eighteen months to meet visa requirements. It’s not an easy task, especially when you don’t speak the local language, and requires a visit to the Coast Guard and port police. Although we spent well over an hour at the Coast Guard’s office, our marina very kindly organised for the port police to come to their office and stamp our passports, saving us a lot of time and effort.

We had a difficult crossing to Tunisia last year with dark skies, lots of ships and fishing boats to avoid, and an issue with our auto pilot which stopped working half-way across. This year we had clear skies, a near full moon and enough wind to have the sails out for most of the journey. It was beautiful sitting up on deck watching the stars and the pale pink moonlight on the water. We later discovered that as it is the full moon before the solstice it’s called a strawberry moon and thought to be special. It certainly was a lucky one for us!

Two of our crew were not on board when we visited last year, so that evening we took them on a walk around the main part of town. There was an outdoor market in full swing, and the locals were out shopping, eating and socialising. We were pleasantly surprised to find very little rubbish on the streets and floating around the lagoon, a stark contrast to last year.

The mdina (old town) was a highlight last year and so the next morning we spent a few hours reacquainting ourselves with its narrow streets and little squares. We wandered past endless white and blue houses, trying to remember what the various symbols on the blue doors signified. We finished with a stroll through the food market where we bought some supplies for the boat.  That evening we walked through a more modern part of town near the beach where we found an amusement park very similar to what you’d find at our own beachside resorts. The walk back along the old wall was beautiful and gave us a great view of the small boats and restaurants along the waterfront.

Before continuing our journey the next morning, we revisited the border police to have our passports stamped and boat checked. Sardinia was our next destination and where we would spend the rest of our time this year. Again, we had a dream sail with calm water, well-lit skies and very little marine traffic.

Our first stop in Sardinia was the capital Cagliari where we would check back into the EU. This took a few hours and we breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was done.

Our two-night stay at the marina in Cagliari gave us an opportunity to restock the boat and prepare for our next few days of sailing. We also said goodbye to Gordon and Leanne and welcomed Sally and Grant onboard. It was the first time any of us had been to Sardinia, and we were all eager to check out the town. We were not disappointed! With a population of around 150,000, Cagliari is a clean and vibrant city with interesting architecture, excellent food, a thriving night-life and very friendly residents. It was a great introduction to Sardinia and we hoped it was a sign of what was to come.

Our first sail from Cagliari was to a nearby bay looking over the city’s main beach of Poetto. This was my first opportunity since arriving to have a swim off the back of the boat and I was very excited! Even though it was Monday, the beach was packed with people and umbrellas and we spent the afternoon being entertained by the many watercraft whizzing past us. We made plans to go ashore the following morning to look for flamingos at nearby Saline di Quartu. An eventful bus ride took us to the site and we were rewarded with a small number of these beautiful birds, close to shore. 

Pula was our next destination and a few hours south of Cagliari.  It has a lovely bay and we spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing onboard while watching the activities on the nearby beach. We could see some ruins from the boat and a check online told us that it was the ancient city of Nora, discovered after a bad storm revealed part of the town in 1773. Further excavation has uncovered a Roman theatre, temple, forum, spa complex and the foundations of many houses, with terrazzo floors still evident on some of the buildings. It was quite an experience to be wandering through these ancient ruins with our boat nearby and stunning views across the surrounding water.

After lifting anchor the next morning, we moved to another bay a few hours south. In the evening as the beach started to clear we took the dinghy ashore to find somewhere to eat.  The large restaurant we’d seen from the boat was closing but we found a smaller bar behind some trees that was serving pizzas. The waitress was very happy to chat with us after learning we were from Melbourne as she’d visited there earlier this year. The pizzas were delicious and we went back to our boat feeling very content.

Carloforte is the main town on the small island of San Pietro, off the south-west coast of Sardinia and was where we spent the next two nights. We loved our marina which had everything we needed, including a laundry and bar. That night we walked through the town looking for a place to eat. Like most European towns, the locals were taking their evening stroll and stopping to chat with friends, while children played in the small piazza near the main church. There were very few tourists and the town had a lovely, relaxed vibe. 

After a walk to the chandlery the next morning to pick up a few parts for the boat, we stumbled across a craft market in the piazza. We stayed to check out the stalls and surrounding shops, before heading back to the supermarket to restock.  It’s amazing how much food you go through on the boat with six people. That evening we walked up a series of stairs to the old city walls to take in the panoramic view across the town and sea.   

I’d noticed a large body of water surrounded by a path not far from our boat, so decided to check it out early the next day. As I walked, I learned from the signs along the way that salt had been commercially produced there from the late 1700s through to 1990, at which point the ponds were passed to the region.  It is now a beautiful sanctuary for birds, including flamingos, which I was lucky enough to see.

We were a little sad to leave Carloforte as it is such a beautiful town and we’d loved our time there. While we’re not on a tight schedule, we do need to keep moving as we have so much more to see of beautiful Sardinia.