Neptune’s Grotto and what’s with the wifi?
20 August 2010 | Alghero, Sardinia
Peter
Finally we got a downhill slide from Stintino (NW corner of Sardinia) down a ways to Alghero. The trip out of Stintino involved navigating a very shallow passage with range markers. I have seen the big ones on the Columbia R. that the freighters use, but I had never used them much myself. But here they were, sure enough, a couple of small obelisks carefully situated on both the land and the water. There were two sets as the route through the channel required one turn. So we used one range set for the approach into the channel, and another range set for the turn point and to exit the passage. It was tricky, but Will done and we made it out of there as we led a small flotilla of boats through.
Once out of the passage we got some humongous waves! We powered up and motored through them as best we could and got offshore into some deeper water. Eventually the waves subsided and we were even able to fly the spinnaker for the last half of the leg, which was a pleasant change.
I have to admit that Alghero was not at the top of my list for vacation spots. So why all the tourists? A visit to Neptune's Grotto explained some of it. This is a cave we visited with some amazing stalagmites and stalactites. (You remember which is which, of course, don't you?!!) It was even more beneficial because Will (and I!!) had studied the calcification process in Will's Chemistry class this past spring. It takes over 200 years to generate just one cubic centimeter of 'icicle'. There were stalagmites (or is it stalactites?? ) that were 13 meters high!! If you are doing the math at home, that is one heckuva long time!! The salt water lake inside the cave added to the ambiance.
It was too bad Ruth missed it. You needed to walk down 649 steps along a beautiful and very sheer cliff to access the cave. Ruth made it about 587 steps (though Will and I weren't counting) before she stopped. I thought she was just resting, but it turns out she was feeling a little woozy. She must have caught a bug or something and in the heat just didn't feel like going on. So after making sure she was really OK, Will and I went on without her and eventually met her up at the top of the steps no worse for wear.
So what is the big deal with wifi? Admittedly, I never had to get wifi in America - we were always plugged into Al Gore's Worldwide Web via a land line. So maybe it is no different in America. But here in the (western part of the) Med wifi is a huge lock down.
We had no problem getting wifi in Greece (i.e. nearly communist state) or Turkey. The eastern Med seems to be fine. But in Croatia, Malta, Tunisia, and now Italy it is like some huge revenue producer or something. I don't get it. It seems like it isn't all that difficult for a bar or restaurant or hotel to put up a router and bingo!, problem solved. But instead they have to make it all so difficult to access. Security-enabled networks; passwords. It is all a bunch of BS.
I was only mildly interested in hearing one of the local yachties at anchor - Jim on a sistership Sun Odyssey 45 - lament yesterday over how the bars want you to buy 10 euro worth of drinks just so you can have 30 min. access to the internet on their wifi router. But then when you try to log in, the darn thing doesn't work...until you complain to the waitress who then whispers something to the bartender and voila!, it mysteriously starts to work! Like I said, I was only mildly interested in his story...until the exact thing just happened to me hours later!
We got a strong signal from the boat. But as soon as we go in with our computer and camp out on their veranda, bingo! No wifi. What's up with that? I complain to the waitress, she disappears, and a few moments later it is mysteriously working. I am really getting quite sick of it. And the sim card plan is no better since the Italian sim card won't work in Spain, etc. In my opinion it is all making something potentially quite simple very complicated. I am not a big fan of this plan and whoever came up with it should take a page from the Greeks!! I am not big into communism, but if it means free wifi then good on Greece! (I'm not sure why Turkey could produce free wifi since they aren't communist. But good on them, too!)
As it is, you will just have to endure as I post these blogs in batches when I can get access to the information superhighway. Bloody Europeans....
So we get back to the boat last night about half an hour after dusk after our furtive internet liaison. The night is falling and it isn't completely dark yet, but the night is coming on quite fast. We noticed that our buddy, Jim, had his running lights and deck light on. (The deck light lights up the foredeck for any work you want to do up there at night.) So we turn the dinghy in his direction to learn that the southwesterly has changed to a northeasterly (indeed!), and is forecast to build through the night. He is about 10 meters off the seawall and looking for safe water.
We were much further out. But with a grassy bottom, we have little confidence in our holding, even with 4.5:1 rode out. So in the dark Will and I load the dinghy and motor aboard, pull up anchor, and head for the north end of the bay. We figure at least this way if we drag we will have a couple of miles to run before we hit anything, rather than a few meters!! Pretty smart strategy, eh? We do all of our strategizing based on (not) hitting things!!