A pleasant night at Mal Di Ventre, there was a little swell, but nothing like the 2 metres waves that we encountered a few miles from the island. Certainly a restful light and well worth a stopover.

We weighed anchor at 0530 and set our course for Alghero. Yet another cracking sail to within an hour of Alghero. No fishing this time as we have run out of lures?

The approach to Alghero was as magnificent as always. Swathed in glorious sunshine the views fro the sea of the old town and ramparts were very impressive.

We decided upon the marina that we had stayed in before, “Ser Mar”, and as last time we were greeted by a tender at the harbour entrance at 1300 and then by Frederico, the owner, when at the pontoon He remembered us and we exchanged pleasantries before putting Arctura to rest after her long voyage.

A short rest for us and then I concocted a spaghetti carbonara for lunch.

After lunch we took a walk into town and opted for a drink on the terrace of the highest building in Alghero, the Hotel Catalunya , with fantastic views of the city.

I booked a table for 2000 for Ed and me at our favourite restaurant “Mabrouk”. There is only one set menu, you take what comes, but there is plenty, so you need a good appetite. I think we counted 9 diff rent dishes and 3 deserts. The wine also flowed and you can have as many carafes as you can muster. All this for €40 per head.

A fantastic gastronomic experience.

As there is no wind to sail, today we decided to take a bus ride into Sassari, Sardinia’s second largest city. But before we did, we settled up with Frederico, and he very kindly offered us a ride to the bus stop. This put us well ahead of

schedule, but gave us the opportunity to have a relaxed breakfast of cakes and coffee.

Our bus arrived on time at 1200 at the Via Catalonga bus stop. The return journey cost us €6.20 per person and took just over an hour.

A short 10 minute walk and we were in the old town, which is a stark contrast to the streets to get there en route.

The old town has a warm feel to it and the stone work on the Catterdrale Di San Nicola, is amazing. There are plenty of nice restaurants and we were again lucky to chose one in the old town called “Spagettoria S’Artea”. The choice paid off, again, not a single tourist in site, strictly Italian, with some beautiful women having lunch to add to the ambiance.

We had a mussel soup to start, followed by a delicious spaghetti Sarda, and finally polished off with Tiramisu. Some wine off course ?

The journey to and from was through olive groves and vineyards, some of which I would like to visit next time.