Monday

We like Cagliari. We only came in for the opportunity to refuel but have been really pleasantly surprised. There’s a lovely old town with beautiful and atmospheric narrow streets and a number of inviting bars and restaurants. The cathedral is special and well worth a visit– not huge but splendid in a totally different way to Spanish churches, not so much bling but rather more majestic marble.

There is a problem with the traffic. Cars are parked everywhere and they still come along the narrow, cobbled streets that you would assume are pedestrianised. Then again, this is Italy and perhaps this also reflects a national characteristic. They do stop at the crossings, though, which is more than they did in Carloforte!

Unlike those who have come this way before us (ok Vic – you told us!) we appear to have arrived in high season. We’re in Marina Karalis which had been recommended to us as a cheap place to stay – a new marina in the centre of town that was giving reduced rates because the facilities were unfinished. Well, so we’re told, they are now finished and the price has doubled accordingly. This is despite the fact that there is a concrete mixer in spitting distance of our cockpit! It’s not conducive to lounging after lunch, I can tell you. However, it is extremely convenient for the town unlike the other marinas mentioned in the pilot book and I’m not sure how practical it would be to get here without coming into a marina. We bit the bullet.