Saturday 21 September 2019

We woke to peace and tranquillity outside that we knew would not last. The sea was like glass and it was easy to see the bottom.  As we were preparing to leave the wind started to come in, and we got going as quickly as possible. The aim was to be at the next port, Ottiolu well before the worst of the wind arrived.  During the trip the wind was strong and built a bit during the morning. There was a very confused, lumpy sea, and so the trip was not the most pleasant.  We were glad we only had 6 or so miles to go.

When we arrived we had to dock in a strong cross wind. We had asked the port to send a rib to assist with the process, which they duly did.  We were tied up before noon and the wind continued to blow strongly for the rest of the day.  Where we are in the marina, we are not very sheltered from this wind direction.

This a lovely marina, beautifully kept, with well-tended flowers.  The facilities are the best that we have found in Sardinia so far. In the office there is a very helpful lady called Marina!  There is a small beach nearby, just over the harbour wall.

We have arrived at the time of a local festival to mark the end of summer. Various things are going on tomorrow in the larger nearby town of Budoni.  We took the free shuttle bus to get there. Well, initially we waited and waited for it, and had just started to think that it wouldn’t come when, of course it arrived. While we were waiting, a man walked past with his dog. He was whistling a very fine and recognisable version Ravell’s Bolero.  Only in Italy!

En route to Budoni, the bus stopped a couple of times to pick up people walking from a holiday village towards Budoni.  It was not at a stop, but the driver could see that that was their destination.  They were more than happy to be sparred a 3 km walk.

Just as we arrived in Budoni, we saw the start of a cycle race, presumably part of the festival.  There were various rolling road closures and policemen standing on critical corners. We explored a little and found out the details of what was happening tomorrow, before getting taxi back to the marina. The shuttle bus did not run at a useful time for us.

In the evening we went out for a celebratory dinner at a very nice restaurant overlooking the town and bay.

Distance covered today	7.0	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	258.0	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	1311.0	nautical miles

Steve (and Tricia)