The war on Maurice has been nearly all-consuming, but we should note that Olbia is an excellent cruiser stop. You are alongside Molo di Brin, for free. You are charged EU5 a day for refuse disposal; we were told this is a scam but we're now satisfied it's legit, and we're happy to pay it. After nowhere to deposit rubbish since Villamarina, we had a lot of waste by the time we got here! And why should Olbia's tax payers bear the cost of our refuse! You can buy water at the fuel dock, which is good for cooking, but not for drinking, at 5c per litre. No electricity. The quay is very close to the centre of town and all its amenities, which includes hardware shops selling all sorts of rodent-killing options, and two very good chandleries.
Shelter here is good. We have seen 20kt easterlies which put some chop into the bay but nothing to be concerned about. The holding in the anchorage seems good. Then yesterday bought 30kt westerlies whistling down the river and off the mountains. All the boats rigged additional chafe protection on their lines, but otherwise we were all very snug and safe. Three boats sat out the wind at anchor with no apparent problems.
We plan to stay another three or four days. Our shopping in Ostia has done us well, but except for Ajaccio and Bonifacio, we have bought few provisions in the last two months, and our stocks of basics are running low. Also we hope to hire a car and make a couple of day trips into the exciting interior of Sardinia. Then we will make tracks further south to Caligari and Sicily.
This picture is the lovely St Simplicio, the main church of Olbia. It is an elegant, spare granite building, unusual in that the apse faces west, built around the 11th and 12th centuries. Olbia is mostly famous for having little architecture to reflect its long history. It was founded by the Greeks in about 400BC. What we notice is a lot of very spare Italian Art Deco, shown in curved balconies and severe window surrounds. If you are ever in Olbia, look upwards, above the shop windows and street markets, and you will see it in building after building.