Freya & Us

Cannigione is lovely and the marina good and very pretty and so we've stayed a few days after Jenny and Dave left - the laundry is very convenient too.

We took the bus to Arzenchena (not as good as the Spanish buses - you have to wait and they're late!) getting off a few km early to visit more nuraghe ruins which included another giants tomb and a nuraghe built around some of the huge strange shaped rocks. After 5,500 years it was still intact with rooms and a roof - amazing. The number 1 tourist attraction in Arzenchena is another huge weird shaped rock like a giant mushroom looming over the town. We also found a Bricolage (mini B&Q) much to Paul's excitement!

We spent our last night in Cannigione anchored in the cala. It was so peaceful and still, although the mossies still managed to find us! There was no wind the next day as we motored the 27 miles to Olbia but the lack of sailing was more than made up for by the stunning scenery. The entry to Olbia was also amazing as the city is totally hidden until the final turn. You enter a big bay surrounded by dramatic hills and huge granite rocks and motor in for an hour wondering if your navigation is wrong. As we approached the end a gap began to appear and as we entered, another huge sheltered bay appeared with a big port, the city and airport all hidden by the hills. We tied up on the old commercial quay which is right in town but very quiet - apart from the army of elderly fisherman around us chattering away in Italian and putting the world to rights! The only other problem is that the wall is somewhat higher than us and so it's a bit of a scramble to get off and a leap of faith to get back on - but it's free!

Last night we went to the museum which was interesting, telling the history of Olbia but it's prize exhibits were the remains of wooden boats found buried in the bay which were part of a Vandal fleet which invaded the roman city in 456 AD. Incredible that after all those years they still look like hulls - just a bit flat!

Olbia is a nice city. It has a long history but very little evidence of it is left. There is a church dating back to the 1100s which is all granite with arches and varying pillars and very plain - we don't get excited about churches very often but this one was special. Other than that we took the bus to the big supermarket - away from the centre Olbia is very run down - went to the market and window shopped in the touristy bit. We also met Peter and Susan - had drinks on their boat followed by supper and more drinks on ours! Hopefully we'll meet up with them again further down the coast.

We enjoyed another dramatic motor sail through more spectacular granite islands and rocks when we left Olbia. One of them, Il Tavalo (the table) is a huge, sheer lump of granite jutting straight out of the sea. It's about 3 miles long, 0.5m wide and a few hundred metres high. A shipwreck wrapped around some ragged rocks is a reminder that careful navigation is needed particularly with the flukey, gusty winds around the Islands. As we approached our destination we realised it was a very small marina in a resort which with rain forecast didn't look like an interesting place to be stuck and so we changed course for the next marina in Ottiolu which is slightly bigger. The beaches here are stunning with brilliant white sand and crystal clear blue sea - other than that a few bars, restaurants and shops but very pleasant. The rain still hasn't arrived.......

Click here for the interactive map of our travels