On our second day of having the hire car we decided to take a drive up to Santa Maria Navarrese. I was last here in July with Alex, Massimo and Marta, and off course Arba.

It was Ed’s turn to drive and on our way up I sent a text to Marta and Massimo to see where they were. Coincidently, they were anchored just off Santa Maria Navarrese at a small island called “Isola dell’Ogliastra. After a fe more texts and conversation with Ed, we all decided to meet up and go for the coastal walk that Ed and I had planned to do.

We arrived just after 1200 and met Marta and Massimo, and our Swiss friends, Rachel and Roman. After greeting and friendly exchanges, we made our way to the start of the walk.

Marta told us that the walk was fairly flat an easy. Ed had also checked information about the walk the previous night and concurred, as so we set off.

The walk starts of with a short climb up some step carved into the natural terrain and for the first part is pleasantly undulating, but progressively becomes more challenging with steeper inclines and descents, some quite rugged and rocky. That said, it’s a really pleasant walk, with the prize of fantastic views and a wonderful terraced restaurant at the end.

W

Wild goats on route

Although the walk wasn’t as easy as anticipated it was more than pleasure able with stunning sights and the terraced restaurant at the end a fantastic bonus with great, fresh, seafood. We saw many families with young children, so if taken slowly must be o.k. For them too. Arba, certainly enjoyed herself.

13th to 15th of October

We stayed a couple of nights on CarloForte and on the last night found a delightful restaurant, literally just opposite the marina office. As is our now mode operandi when seeking out new restaurants, it was populated with Italians, which is a good rule to observe, to get value for money, great food and ambiance. We had a amazing beef Tonga, followed by tagliatelle vongole, enhanced by a fine bottle of Vermentino.

The morning of the 15th, we slipped lines at 1000 and set sail fo Mal Di Ventre. A fantastic sail, with speeds exceeding 8kts. We had a massive bite on the fishing rod, so big in fact that the reel reached its limit and whatever was on the end was impossible to pull in. By the time we had slowed that boat down, whatever was on the end had escaped.

We reached Isola Mal Di Ventre at 1830 and had 30 minutes of light , before the sun set, to find a sandy patch and drop anchor. There are mooring buoys here, but we prefer to use our own hardware. We have been here once before and remember the slightly sulphurous smell approaching the anchorage.

Due to our dinner escaping and taking our lure with it, we were forced to eat the steaks that we had bought before we left for our journey. Ed prepared them beautifully, with a mayonnaise sauce and accompanied the potatoes wedges and salad.

An undulating and yet comfortable night and even Ed managed to get some sleep.

A wonderful bolt hole and perhaps next time we may land and visit the Roman ruins.