Visit to the Castle in Aguilas

September 29, 2010
Yesterday after I found the ATM(!), I visited another small and quite deserted beach nearby. Called the Cope de Torre, it is more like a lot of pumice type rock with a little sand, and the water is quite clear. While there, I finished Michael Connolly’s The Last Coyote! But in the on-going quest for hot water, when I went to take a shower, once again, there was no hot water. Well, I am delighted to report than I figured out the tank was empty. But, since I am not keen on how the flame flares up when it first ignites, I prevailed upon Derek to see if he could help me out, which he did. However, that remedied one problem, but there is not still hot water everywhere in the house. So Roger was called back in! (He must be the engineer!) He said that one of the fixtures must need a new washer, as there is not enough pressure to force hot water through that faucet. But there IS hot water in the kitchen sink and the shower on the first floor, so we should be good until we leave!
Today I took a walk around the neighborhood, up the hill near the house, which goes over to the little Torre beach, should I wish to walk that far, but I won’t with a beach chair! I also found Kati’s bakery and coffee shop, where I stopped for a coffee and chocolate covered donut. After lunch I went back to the Torre beach, and there was another couple there with two umbrellas. It was 2 o’clock, earlier than I have been to the beach here, so I wondered if I should have brought an umbrella. But I wasn’t facing the sun, so it turned out to be okay! This couple, Anne and Daniel, is from Bordeaux, so I got to practice my French a bit. Another day I’ll take the French –English dictionary here in the house. They’ve been coming here for five years and apparently know Joan and David. They may have even stayed here once. I couldn’t figure everything out!

September 30, 2010
This morning I visited the Tourist Information center (TI) in the center of Aguilas, so I was able to get a lot of information about the area and Lorca. Then I climbed up to the Castle of San Juan de las Aguilas, built in 1756 to repel Turkish and Barbarian pirates. Recently restored in 2007, the impressive castle can be seen all over the area. The entrance fee was a mere €.60, so they must not make much money here even in the summer! Unfortunately everything was in Spanish, so I could only “look at the pictures”. Now, though I will be able to learn what I can visit nearby before Karen arrives!
This afternoon I returned to the beach for a quick swim, but the French couple did not reappear. Now I am at the Hotel Mayari again, which is near the house. It is a very quiet little place which has a great view!
I’ll have to come back in the morning to have some of the wonderful coffee he just brewed!

Learning about Aguilas and Area

September 27, 2010
It is still quite dark here at 6:30AM. Soon the time will change here also, but I don’t know when.
Home exchanges among other things are about plain regrouping! I TRY to be flexible! For example, the bed I’m sleeping in has a mattress pad, but unfortunately it has a plastic underlining on it! (Joan has young grandchildren....) So if I’m not yet asleep, I hear the sound of the plastic crinkle as I move about. Luckily I’m sound sleeper! (Interestingly enough I bought a similar mattress pad for a guest bed once, but I cut out the plastic, because I figured it would be too annoying to the guest-actually it annoyed me not even using it!) It does not,however, keep me from sleeping! This house at least has screens, but there are also metal screens to keep out the heat. Last night I pulled it so tight, it wouldn't come down, but "Tony to the RESCUE!" He fixed it and showed me to do the same, if I do that again, which is pretty unlikely.
Somewhere I had read that the British had discovered the wonderful weather here early in the 20th century, so they started coming here then. I don’t know how recently they started buying second homes here, but there is a huge population of British and Germans (and others no doubt) who come for extended periods. Usually they come for two or so months at a time, before they return home for a few months. Most keep their homes “back home”. But this huge population of “foreigners” certainly has an impact on the original citizens living here. I would imagine that the younger, educated generation would appreciate the ex-pats’ impact on their economic and tax base. However, others are just resentful; would they like to be living somewhere else and retired? There’s a small neighborhood market nearby which Kathy said has very good bread. However, Tony commented that he thought the owners “don’t like us very much”.
There is also big agricultural base here, as you can see farm after farm from the highway. They look like greenhouses covered with plastic. They seem to be all types of crops-fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Along the road there was a billboard for iceberg lettuce (not Foxy!). When I arrived last Friday, the traffic going the opposite direction was stopped for miles. Some truck, now long gone, had accidentally unloaded cases and cases of tomatoes all over the highway. All I could see was a policeman trying to pick them up?! But I was going the speed limit, so I could not really see what was happening.
Today is a cloudy day, and I thought it looked like rain was coming. I drove to Mojacar (pronounced something like Mohackar), which is about an hour away. Between here and there was not much to see but a series of small towns. Mojacar is in Andalusia and really looks like a white town up on a hill, but I don’t know if it is classified as such. It is very touristy, but quaint! There were miles of deserted beaches and a sweet little chapel, and tons of touristy shops and restaurants which did not snare me! I briefly talked with a couple from Newcastle, who hadn’t been there for twenty years. I took an alternate route home, which was more scenic. The GPS had sent me via the highway-a toll road, no less.
And speaking of highways, the roads are very good here, but then there is plenty of room in the wide open flat space of the plains! Roads outside of town are mostly four lanes, so I’ll not be complaining about the roads! This mess of small plastic clips was all over the opposite lane on the way home.
I was back to the beach for a late afternoon swim. Another British Kathy whom I had met when I first arrived stopped by to chat, as she and her husband were leaving. They invited me to join them at the bar for a drink, so I met two more British couples. Some of them have been fully retired for five plus years, so they’ve been coming on the two month here, two months in London or Newcastle, etc. rotation. Kathy and Tony have just retired this year, so this is the first time they’ve been here this long.

September 28, 2010
This is a “home” day, so I have figured out the laundry system here, and shortly I’ll go to the internet spot to post this. (By the way t oday here at Los Geraneos the TV is showing a talk show, not sure if it "The Bacherlotte" Spain style or what. On Sunday they were watching car races.)
I also need to find an ATM here. I'm always a bit curious/stressed before my first ATM attempt in a new place. So far on this trip I've had no problem, but last year it happened once....The Aguilas Plaza will be my first stop, as I'm sure they must have several ATMs there.
Last night it rained, and today is blue sky-cloudy, although my car registered 31* when I got into it at noon. There is a walk nearby to another beach, which I’m going to follow later on. I’m devouring Michael Connolly’s The Last Coyote! I also downloaded the Lonely Planet Spain book, as I didn’t bring a guidebook in the interest of luggage weigh. So I'll see what other places of interest are near by to save some longer trips like Lorca, Cartagena,and Murcia, for when Karen is here.

From Badesi Sardinia to 83 Avenida Rio Segura, Calabardina, 30889 Aguilas Murcia, Spain

September 23, 2010
I was up early for the last wash, bed change, and cleaning, before I left Badesi. I arrived at the quiet little Alghero Airport far earlier than I needed to, but it was time to leave! So I read and actually finished The Shadow of the Wind while I waited. Because of the striking air traffic control in France, we left two hours later than we were supposed to. Then the captain came on the loud speaker saying that we were going to be delayed another two hours. I thought it was a joke, but he never laughed, so I thought we would be there for two more hours, but that was not the case-luckily! So I had two hours of sleep at the Best Western in Madrid to get the 6AM shuttle to leave for Alicante on an 8:10 flight.

September 24,2010
At the Alicante airport, I picked up a bright blue four door Renault Elf, and drove to (exchanger) Joan’s German friend Hilde to get the keys.(She waited for me all day yesterday, since Joan told her that was when I was coming! Woops!) Before I even got in the door of this house, I met three British neighbors! Kathy and Tony from Gloucestershire live right next door in probably a unit with the same floor plan as this one. (NB. When I was in the Cheltenham several years ago on a swap, and Kathy and I lost our water supply, the water treatment center was in Gloucester!) So I’ve picked up some groceries and am off to bed early. It’s also interesting geography with lots of mountains, but also lots of plains, so far it has not been as dramatic as Sardinia. And it is still very hot! Maybe even too hot to go to the beach during the day!

September 25, 2010
Well, today may have been a bit of a fool’s errand, but who knows! When I checked out the car yesterday at Avis with not much sleep, I didn’t even look at the car for scratches, etc…. But late yesterday pm, I noticed a small nick on the rear left panel. I called Avis and after going from person to person, I finally got to Elayna. I explained the situation, and she said, “How do I know you didn’t do it? I replied, “You have to trust me.” Basically she said she wasn’t getting paid to trust me. She told me to go to the Murcia airport to show it to them.
So about 10:30 I put Murcia into the GPS and started. (Before I left, I found out there was no hot water. so much for washing my hair!)
Now, if because the airport is called the Murcia Airport, I should NOT have assumed it is in Murcia, which I did! Because not only is Murcia the name of a city, it is also the name of the whole province! So until I figured this out, I was going in the wrong direction, since the airport is much closer to Cartagena!
Got to Avis, and got it all resolved, so I shouldn’t have a penalty, when I turn the car back in on October 19th! Oh, and by the way, it is probably about 112 miles each way……..HMMMMMMMMMMMMmm. “If you’re happy and you know it, stamp your feet!”
About 5 I went down to the nearest beach-maybe an eight minute walk-with Kathy and Tony for a swim. It seems like no one goes to beach between 10 and 4! We stopped for a beer at the little bar there, which they said has the best paella and calamari. I’ve never yet had paella, so I won’t be a good judge, but I’ll let you know when I’ve tried it. Karen, who is coming over on October 7th loves paella, so she'll be a much better judge. (Karen lives in Denver; when we went to Peru five years ago,our mutual friend Nancy Foster introduced us, and we roomed together on that trip.)

September 26
Well, this morning I had a bit of a panic attack, as I thought that I’d left my Blackberry charger and the electricity converter in my travels. Luckily I FOUND IT!!!! One of my thoughts at the time was 'I’m ever so annoyed that I’ve become a slave to technology!' So I would have been (sort of) like the old English poets I talked about in Rome doing the Grand Tour!

The place where I am staying is very comfortable with a pleasant patio and deck space. Built four years ago, it is a four bedroom, three bath duplex. Across the street all the units look to be attached; I can see at least four For Sale or For Rent signs! Tony said they are probably asking €220,000, but the “estate agents say they should be asking €180,000”! (Ah, the universal real estate dilemma!)
According to Kathy, these units (maybe eight in all?) were designed by an architect who lives above these units. Because he wanted to see the ocean, he ended up lowering the elevation of these units. Several of them have had huge water problems, because of the rain coming down the mountain and running down this street, and down into the garages. One woman lost her car which was parked in the garage! There was a problem here, but Joan only said “unforeseen circumstances” meant the garage would not be available. I’d not want to park down there anyway. The incline would be a real challenge to anyone, let alone someone NOT used to a manual shift!
Between Tony and Roger, another British neighbor, the hot water heater is running fine now! The flame seems high when it goes on, but they say that is how it should be. Learning about the different systems is always interesting!
I drove into Aguilas, which is a mixture of farming and tourist town. I had seen this shepherd later yesterday herding these sheep. Today I saw him sitting here as they fed off the hillside.
I'm at Los Geraneos, a restaurant-bar near by where there have free internet, so I'm sitting here drinking my €1.20 COKE Light and catching up. GOOD thing I brought my little Acer Notebook! They also have access at the library where we can print things, so Kathy and Tony had said they'll take me there. Shortly I'll head off to the beach for another swim. Ah, but first, I decided to have a snack. CAROL, they have tapas here! So I ordered a dish of what is just like what Gloria made and called Insalada rossa (with potatoes and tuna, etc. Can't imagine what else. It is a bit salty, but tasty!) for €1.50.
Mateo, the bartender here at Los Geraneos,speaks no English, but Natchez, short for Ignacio, does speak English, so he helped me order. It turns out that his father was in the Spanish army, so they spent five years in Alexandria, VA back in the early '80's.
So that is Spain,Chapter 1! Adios!

End of My Explorations in Sardinia

Well, this will be last entry in Italy, as I fly to Madrid tomorrow, and then Friday morning, I will fly to Alicante to pick up the rental car and drive to Aguilas.
Yesterday, as you may have seen on Facebook, I did a “church” tour. It was a gray, overcast day that threatened rain, which never materialized. The churches were all very old; some were totally abandoned. The only one that was actually open was the Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia, built in 1116, and still used today. The legend has it that it was built by a couple who had the “revelation” that they were going to have their first “longed-for child” while camping at that location. In my wanderings I came across a petrified forest in Carracuna, which was interesting! I saw nothing about it in any guidebook I saw.


Some Italian Trivia-As I wrap up the Sardinia portion of the blog, I wanted to share some miscellaneous observations I’ve made during my time in Italy.

Change or Cambio
Well, I’m not sure why, but every single cashier in every single supermercato in Italy insists on getting –or trying to get- the EXACT CHANGE FOR EVERY TRANSACTION! To the penny or .01euro. On occasion they get somewhat indignant if you have only a big bill with NO change.

Ice
How did Americans get into the habit of putting ices into drinks? What is the history of the ice cube? (Even though my new refrigerator does have an automatic ice maker, I don’t use a lot of ice at home.) However, there is definitely something about ice-especially in the summer-that makes a cold drink tastier with ice in it! However, it is very uncommon to get ice in a drink in Italy. When we asked for it in Rome, we would get one ice cube. There are no ice trays here, although yesterday I saw them in a market for the first time.
So I needed to get a bit creative to have ice for water or soda. In Rome I used the little plastic gelato cups like an ice cube tray. Here in Badesi, I cut off the big 1.5 liter water bottles and filled them with water, so when I filled it with water or iced tea, the “ice cube” was already in the “glasss”. Ah, the proverbial “necessity is the mother of invention”….
Then I found in the drawer where plastic bags, tinfoil, etc. are stored, two boxes of "Sachetti Trasparenti Cubetti Ghiaccio con alette di chiusure” made by the Cuki Company. This is a box of individual plastic bags that you pour water into and each sachetti-bag makes twenty-eight SMALL ice cubes. I tried it once, but I really didn’t do it quite right-little tricky. And, of course,when all else failed, we’d fill the water bottles the night before to have some ice in the bottom….
Shop Hours
Everyone knows that most shops in Europe close for lunch. In Italy, most of them seem to close from 1:30-4:30-even some of the gas stations. SISA, “my” neighbour market here stayed open all day on Sunday until two weeks ago, when apparently summer ended. Some markets even close mid-day during the week.

Dish draining system
There is a small rack up over the sink where you put the dishes which you have washed to drain and dry. (I posted a picture of this on Facebook.) Gloria had this in Nice, but I’d never seen it before then.

So I’m changing languages and dictionaries and am off to Spain for four weeks.
Hasta luego!

Trip to Argentiera with the AFS Group

Well, I've started packing, as I leave here on Thursday for Spain!
Yesterday Francesca invited me to go on the AFS outing to Argentiera, to see "the ghostly ruins of its silver mine, once the most important on the island". Lonely Planet The Romans first mined it, and it was mined up to 1960. And it is ghostly! There is a very small cove of a beach, which was very rough yesterday. There are eight students based here in Sassari, and no more than two of them are in the same school. Most of them are here for the whole year. There is a boy from Bethel, CT. Of course, I went to talk with him; he could have been from Bethel, ME! Most of them have only been here less than a week, so they are still pretty shy. Except for the Spanish speaking students, their Italian is quite elementary-EASY for me to say!
They held a short program at a school, where each student introduced him/herself. Then we drove around to look at parts of this sad little town. It is so small; there cannot be too much tourist activity. Afterwards we met at a beach where everyone had the picnic which they had brought. Some of the parents had been AFS students themselves. Many of them did speak English also.
Francesca and I left early, as she needed to go see her mother at the hospital in Alghero. I just sat in the car and had a catnap!
On our way back to her house, we stopped in the city of Alghero, a major city and port, which still has its street signs in Spanish and Italian. We got a gelato, walked around abit, and saw that there was alot of activity at the Duomo. We had actually seen three young priests walking towards the church wearing basic black robes and carrying what looked to be off white long, fancy surplices. Francesca wanted to go in to see what was happening, and that was fine with me. We only stayed about ten minutes, as it had not yet started, but that is as close as either of us had ever gotten to priests' ordination. There was a huge crowd, and the dress was from very fancy to very casual!
We got back to her house in plenty of time for me to drive home before it got dark.

Meeting Couch Surfer Francesca!

Well, it turned out that the Guatemalan AFS student who is at Francesca's was sick today, so I went to her home for lunch and ANOTHER outing (with her driving!:)). She lives in Sassari just outside of town, and I have passed her street three times before today.
Lunch was at 1:30, which would give her son Simone time to get home from work. I did get lost, since the GPS couldn't pick up the address she gave me. (Later the satellite did get the actual street!) She came to meet me, and I followed her back to her house. She had prepared a lovely lunch of mushroom(?) risotto and chicken and melone with a very nice red wine. (She had a scale in the bathroom, which I dared to step on. OH, MY, I hope it is right!!!)
Francesca is 50, and her husband died of a heart attack four years ago. She has a lovely home, which they built twenty-three years ago. She has another son, Andrea, who is studying engineering in Genoa. Simone, an architect, also studied there; he came back to Sassari, but Francesca thinks that Andrea will not. There are thirty trees in the backyard-apple, orange, mandarin orange, lemon, and olive. She has enough olive trees to provide her enough olive oil for the year!
I had written to Francesca last June to see if I could stay there before I moved into my swap, but that wouldn't work because Rodolfo(who speaks Spanish, English, Italian, and ?)was coming. When I arrived early in the month, I checked in with her, but her mother has been very sick. Francesca is the only daughter with five brothers, so it seems like it has all fallen on her. After lunch she was telling me more about her mother. She is 71 (!) and looks 90. She apparently has had many health issues over the years, including having lost a kidney. Her father, who is 80, had a plumbing and heating business, which all six of them now work in. All, but one of the brothers is married.
After lunch Simone and Rodolfo left for the beach at Stintino, which Angela had told me the other day, was THE most beautiful beach. We were going to Alghero to meet her friend Anna. When I mentioned what Angela had said about Stintino, Francesca offered to take us there on the way to Alghero. She loves to take people around Sardinia, and I was most appreciative!
Stintino, which is now one of the ten richest communes in Italy, has a population of 1000, which expands to 30,000 in the summer. I'd not want to be there then, as I can't imagine how anyone gets anywhere! She said that people go down to the beach early in the morning and put their beach towels down to "save a spot" for when they go to the beach. (Maybe that is how the "saving" of parking spots with chairs in wintry Boston started!?) But today Stintino was quite and quaint; the beach WAS very nice. (I'd thought about driving over there next week, but now I can just go to the Badesi beach!)
Francesca also told me about the towers in that part of the island, which were built when Spain governed the island. A tower was built and within its sight, another tower was built, and so on around the island; so each tower served as a "look-out". In my time there today, I did see many towers.
We drove to Alghero, where we picked up her friend Anna, who works in a bank. She had spent the day on the beach, so she was happy! She said there were only three people on her beach, which was not the case at Stintino! However, it was not the summer crowds.
We were very close to Capo Caccia, which was another spectacular sight! Caccia means wild pigeon hunting(DK Sardinia book), which was once popular there. There is also a place where you can climb down 656(!) steps to the caves of Neptune's Grotto. Grotto is down this spot. (And by the way, that makes my climbs up and down the Spanish Steps NOTHING! 656 steps = 50 flights of stairs! SURE!) We headed back to Francesca's, so I could get on the road ASAP, since it would be dark by the time I got home. Today was all wonderful, and another interesting mixture of delightful new people and new places!

Archaelogy 101 in Arazachena

Yesterday was laundry day, and then I made the ten minute walk into town. I went to the beach, which now has free parking! The surf was very rough so I thought I'd swim when I got home. But the pool looked like it was going to start growing algae, as the pump was off. Piero had given me manager Alberto's cell phone, so I texted him a message in very cryptic Italian (problema in piscine). Luckily he does text, so he was here very quickly. We spoke briefly, and he got the pump back on, so today it looked good.
This morning my destination was Arazachena, which is famous for being in the heart of the "quite stunning" (Lonely Planet) Costa Esmeralda, thanks to Aga Khan and his rich friends who bought alot of the land there fifty years ago to develop. But what makes Arazachena interesting is that there are dozens of tomba and nuraghi in the area. THAT was why I wanted to go there.
I won't bore you with ALL the details, but I saw one nuraghe and three tombas. Lonely Planet says that Nuraghe di Albucciu "is unusual for its flat granite roof instead of the usual conical shape and its warren of emergency rooms". Here is the nuraghe hidden by some trees. Nuraghi had different functions from simple look-out posts to religious buildings. They are not in any other area of the Mediterranean, except for Corsica, the Talajots in the Balearic Isles, the Brachs of Scotland, etc. This is according to Paolo Melis in The Nuragic Civilization. They go back to 1700-1500BC. Whatever the details, they are very impressive structures! (An Irish woman took my picture on the top of the nuraghe.) The three tombas (one is pictured) were somewhat similar to the tomba I had seen last week when I took the ten minute walk in to see it. One of the ones I saw goes back to 3500BC.
I drove over to Porto Cervo which reminded me of many touristy California towns. Lonely Planet says, "it is a purpose-built leisure centre for the super-rich". Olaf had recommended Capo Testa, as an interesting beach he really liked. So I wended my way by there after I stopped for a hot ham and Fontina cheese panini with a Heineken. Well! The driving (FINALLY!) was getting to me.
And it was time to go home, except that I had routed myself home via S. Teresa di Gallura. My 100 country and western songs were getting old, so I went into the market where I had bought the CDs and bought the John Pizzarelli Bossa Nova CD for some musical variety. I drove the 49 km. home in one hour!!!!! (This is a fraction over 31 miles!) The good news is that I did PASS three vehicles...well, that is because they were farm vehicles going even way slower than I do!
Both Gloria and Patrick had recommended Shadow in the Wind , so it's now on the Kindle. I was sitting outside earlier reading, when a yellow jacket decided my foot was in the way, so now I'm nursing a nasty sting.
Tomorrow is a beach day and then a visit from Couch Surfer Francesca who lives in Sassari. Rodolfo, an exchange student from Guatemala, is at her hours, so they will come for beach and dinner about 4.
And the rocks continue to fascinate me!

Castelsardo and Sassari

Well, it sounds like two outings in a row, but not really....Castlesardo, pop. 5700, is only about 25 minutes away. I came through on my arrival, and it looked interesting. Really, the castle is it! But it was fun to climb up to it and see the old town overlooking the sea. The town was built around the medieval castle, which now houses a museum for basket-weaving, for which the town is famous. Women are still making baskets; they sit in their doorways doing just that. The view is awesome, but other than that, there are two churches, and I was done!
I explored the Terme di Casteloria, but decided it didn't appeal, so I was back to the pool here. The Terme actually were supposed to be baths, but due to some political issues, the baths weren't completed. Meanwhile, people still go to the river where some 70C water meets the river and swim or rather soak in a very warm water....Maybe another day?
Today I went over to Sassari, pop.121,700, second largest city in Sardinia. It's a very busy place-except from between 1 and 4 or 5, when most everything closes for lunch and....It was another fun driving experience!
First stop was the Museo Nazionale Sanna, a comprehensive archaeological collection. Of course, I had to find a place to park, and then to figure out how to get a ticket for parking; luckily the "meter maid" helped show me how to do it. It turns out that you pay for time up to 13:00-16:00, when it is free. I thought that at that time there was NO parking there!
Museum WAS interesting, even though it was mostly all in Italian. Boy, my Italian-English dictionary is worth carrying around! I could take pictures with no flash, so I did...lots of pottery, nuraghe info, etc. I sat out in their yard and ate my-yep-peanut butter sandwich and apple! This was now at the time that most everything was closed....So I walked around a bit to check things out. Was the bookstore that might have some English books open? Nope. Ah, but the Gellateria was! So I succumbed to chocolate, tiramisu, and creme caramel....2€
I was sitting across from the Museo della Brigata Sassari, which was open and free. So I went over, in spite of the fact that it was mostly a military museum and about the Sassari Brigade in the WWI-all in Italian. This Brigade is still active in Iaq and Afghanistan....When I entered, they took my passport and locked up my backpack.
When I left it was about how much time did I have left on my present parking space....At 5:30, I was going to meet Angela, a couch surfer, at the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Bethlem. So I had to get over there........This is not a big city by any means. In the process of getting me there,the (NASTY) GPS took me into a more narrow street than the one I pictured before! BUT at least it took me to an internet place, which I needed, because I had to get my boarding passes printed for next week's flights. (How can I be leaving for Spain ALREADY?)
Well, I visited the Chiesa, and had a very nice visit with Angela, before I returned to Badesi, which I made in one hour's time! (Angela's 32 with a Masters working in research at the University in the morning and working in her mother's knitting/yarn shop afternoons.) My trip back was in spite of being behind an old car slower than mine! Actually a huge truck was RIGHT on my tail, so I pulled over so he could move on! I was back in time to have a cocktail hour with my British neighbors!

Well, before I fill you in on the latest activity in Badesi, I need to go back to Cala Gonone. Melissa noticed from my Facebook picture that I was low on gas as I was leaving....Absolutely! I really had no idea how low I was, because I didn't stop to look into the Lancia owners' manual. But once I left, getting gas was my #1 priority! Luckily the GPS can help me find a gas station, but once I'm going in the wrong direction, it then takes me to a station farther away! So I turned around and went where I was supposed to, and the station was very close. But often even the gas stations close for three hours, and it was about that time. Luckily the station I came to was a self-serve, so, with a little help from a motorcyclist eating his lunch there, I could pay and fill the car and be on my way home.
And even though I am here and not seeing any US papers (so if there is a crisis,let me know!); I knew that it was 9/11....
Yesterday I went to the little museum, Museo Archeologico, in the next little town of Viddalba. I learned more about the Tombas, etc. The museo actually goes back to the Pre-historic and Protohistoric periods. It was all in Italian, but there was a 70page booklet in English to help me understand all this information.
I went home for lunch and headed to the beach for two hours. It wasn't a perfect beach day, so there were not many people. However, I saw a 50 something couple I'd seen before with their chihuachua(sp. tough to correct on an Italian computer!) This dog comes to the beach in his/her Louis Vuitton dog carrier!
In the morning before I had left I met Carol and Patrick, the British couple, who arrived late last night and are staying next door. They are from Somerset, which is apparently quite rural, so she thinks the road traffic is loud!
Today I had a longer chat with Carol, as we are just separated by a small brick like fence. I told them I was headed over to Valledoria to check out the Bird Watching trip I'd learned about-in case they were interested.
Well, I signed up for the 5PM trip even though it was very windy and looked like rain! (Dejà vu all over again-oh, but it was not a rubber raft-aluminum flat bottomed boat!) So for the first time since I got here, I put on long pants and a sweater and went to Valledoria.www.focedelcoghinas.com. It was really a great trip, and I am not a "birder" by any means. There was a young German couple, Olaf and Bettina, from Frankfort and an Italian couple with 8 year old Gabriel. (Yes, the Germans did speak English!)It was a two hour trip going about twelve km. We saw coots, grey and purple herons, marsh harrier, mallards, cattle egrets, wooded crow, great white egrets, and kingfishers. The driver/guide did speak some English and had a DK bird book so he could tell me the birds in English. By the way, he went out ALL BUNDLED up, so Olaf and I thought it was going to be brutal. However, it turns out that he has some condition so he has to protect his neck! He had told me that the next few days would be windy, and then it will be better, but I'm delighted that I went today. I hear it raining right now....Buona sera!

Exploring Posada and Cala Gonone

Thursday morning I headed off to Posada (means acc. to the Spanish dictionary "gives shelter"). I had learned about Su Vrau, which is in Posada, on the agritursimo site, so for €50 I had reserved a very nice room, delicious dinner and breakfast.
To get any place takes much longer than it does in the States, so I really had no idea how long it would take to get there. The GPS said 2.5 hours, but I KNEW that it would take longer-even if I didn't see something that caught my eye along the way! Much of the initial route was the same as the one I drove when I went to Li Licci the other day.
However, as I drove through Calangianus, a sign caught my eye that read "Tomba dei Giganti di Pascaredda". I remembered reading about it, but only recognized the name-no clue of the significance....So I turned around and followed the signs down-and it was quite downhill-a little road that became a dirt road. Yes, I am once again thinking that I am crazy going down this "God forsaken road to where?!" But I kept going; my stubbornness or perserverance took me there....Then there was a sign to the Tomba. I still really had no idea what I was following, but, hey, it was another adventure! It was about a ten minute walk in to the actual site, which, by the way, the Lonely Planet guidebook had said "is among the best preserved in the area"! BUT best preserved WHAT? Wikepedia explains at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomba_dei_Giganti
Actually they are mass graves, and there were rocks, and absolutely no signage to tell me anything. I saw no living soul on this little excursion, but I took some pictures; now I know should I follow any other Tomba signs!
I continued on to Posada; the roads after I left Olbia, were great by comparison, as it was all four lane highways! Driving into Posada I could see a tower/Castle keeping watch on the town and the area. So once I checked into Su Vrau, I went into the Old Town to visit that. (By the way, I had only emailed Su Vrau to make my reservation; they took no deposit, etc. VERY casual!)
It was an interesting walk up to the Old Town and the Castle (some pictures on Facebook). I also walked by a house that really looked like it could have been bombed during the war. I've seen nothing so far as to the impact of WWII here on Sardinia, except when they say that some places were rebuilt.
Su Vrau was so delightful! I picked it for the price and the fact that it had a pool. (I'm spoiled with the pool here, so I've been doing some fresh and salt water swimming here in Sardinia.) I took a swim when I got back from the Castle, but it was pretty windy, so I didn't swim long!
When I "checked in", the woman I'd found by the pool who spoke a little English(shortly she was heading back to Milan after ten days there "Bella! Bella!" she said about her stay) told me that dinner was at 8 or 8:30. So wanting to be sure NOT to miss dinner, I was there at 8; they let us in about 8:15. EVERYONE was speaking Italian! Luckily there was a couple from Cambridge,England, so I sat with them. He studies "flies' eyes", and she is retired. He made it sound like he is an expert in the field, but I've not yet found him on google. She is German and retired. They were very nice, and good to "practice" speaking English! (I can ask some basic questions in Italian, so I'm always delighted when someone understands what I'm asking!)
But I've not yet described dinner. The first course was grilled vegetables of eggplant, zucchini, and onions. There is a Sardinian bread which is nearly paper-thin, and this was served. The next course was pasta with chopped up tomatoes. The next course was pork cutlets with cucumber slices. Dessert was tiramisu. Drinks included a pitcher of red wine, an after dinner choice of grappa or mirt (which I chose as it is a Sardinian liquor, but I won't choose it again), and coffee!!! VERY tasty.
Breakfast, served at eight, was very nice, but not spectacular...cereal, yogurt, breads in the form of packaged Rusk type cracker, juice, and tea or coffee. (Speaking of juice, orange juice in Italy has sugar added and is red.)
So by 8:45 I was on my way down to Cala Gonone, where I wanted to take a boat trip into one of the caves. Lonely Planet said, "If you do nothing else in Sardinia, you should try to take an excursion along the 20 km southern stretch of Golf di Orosei by boat." I was aiming for the 11AM trip, and I got there in plenty of time. It was a 1.5 hour tour out to visit Grotta del Bue Marina (Blue Crescent). We went out in large rubber rafts (I wasn't too psyched!), and there were eight tourists on it. There was a Italian family with two children and three German young women who could speak English. It was a ten minute ride out to the cave, and alot of waiting, but it was fun, and I'm really glad that I went! I'd never been into something like that! It was pretty amazing! There were four different Halls, as they are called: Mirrors, Organ Pipes, Candles, and Sea Monk. We weren't supposed to take pictures, so I hope I can keep the pictures in my mind....(I got talking with a German man who works for Vodafone; he told me about different caves that he had visited in Thailand and S. Africa. He assumed falsely that I'd been in other caves like that.) When it was time to head back, the sea had gotten MUCH ROUGHER. And it was raining....So the "captain" drove like a crazy man (probably drives a car like that too!) to get us back to the port quickly cutting across the waves. I was "holding on for dear life" to the rope on the side of the raft. One of the German woman kept saying to me, "Are you okay?" Well, BARELY! But we got back to the port safely....DEFINITELY another adventure....
Today was a four hour beach day with lots of sunscreen and a Michael Connolly mystery.
Thanks for your comments!:))

Miscellany on a "Chill-out" Day

There was one more thing about yesterday that I forget to include. On my way to Priatu I stopped at a rest stop, well, I actually turned around to go back to it, since the scene below was so interesting. I was sitting out enjoying the vista with my Coke Light. A big tour bus came along, and as everyone got off, I knew I better head for the bathroom before the whole bus did. A little while later, ANOTHER bus came. Now this was not a big parking area, so it turned out that the two buses had made it a challenge-actually pretty tough-for me to get out! I had to back out and turn around and HOPE that I’d not stall with all these people around. Luckily two men helped me, so I got back on the road with no problem but it was funny!
So today was a chill out day....I needed to do a wash but it looked like rain. So I checked on-line, where it said a 10% chance of rain. Well, I did the wash; no sooner had I hung it on the rack, and it did, in fact, start to rain! It probably rained for an hour, and the clothes did get dry, so that was the important thing. (I had asked Jane at Li Licci if it ever rained, and she said that it hadn't rained for about three months, but it had rained alot in the spring.)
Meanwhile, I read more of The Legend of Redenta Tiria by Salvatore Niffoi, who lives here on Sardinia. It is somewhat strange, as it tells of all the people in this small village who commit suicide by hanging themselves when they hear the Voice tell them it is time. It was here in the house, and apparently Piero knows the author. It gives a flavor of the island and the people who lived here, which is certainly interesting for me as I visit here!
Later this afternoon the sun did come out, so I went to the beach for three hours. The water was rough, and it was windy, so it was pretty empty. The ocean waves are just really one of nature’s kalidescopes (SP) ALWAYS changing and so intriguing to watch!
Tomorrow I’m heading over to Posada to visit another agriturismo, and to explore that area. The GPS says it should take two hours....Hmm, we’ll see!
Some totally miscellaneous facts about living here which you might find totally UNIMPORTANT!
-Keys. I forget if I ever really talked about the four keys we needed to get into Angela’s apartment? Well, both Dayle and I thought it was pretty intimidating. I finally got it or thought I did. I was supposed to lock the apartment from the outside when I left, but we had missed that, so it didn’t make sense, but it worked. Well, the door to this apartment only has one key, but you have to turn it four times, which was what we had to do at Angela’s also.
-Car radio, etc. Mallory had observed that most of the music we heard when we were in Rome was American. Similarly the rental car, which seems to get only one station, does play mostly American music with some Italian thrown in. However, since I still can’t understand most of what they are saying, I decided to see if I could find a CD. SLIM pickings! My best choice given the very limited selection was "100 Hits Country Greats" for 9.99euro. So now you can also visualize me driving and shifting all over Sardinia-oh, and SINGING with Willie and Waylon and Patsy and Johnny, etc.!
-Why would the dishwasher here have a label on it that says “Proud to be entirely conceived and made in Italy” in English?
Well, arriverderci!

MORE Celebrating Seventy....

Well, I'm REALLY glad to be here, as Alna says!!! I came to Sardinia on a whim; several years ago I had read about Corsica in the New York Times, but got no takers from my swap inquiries. (Well, actually I just remembered that I did communicate with a woman who had houses on both Corsica and in the south of France, but the swap never materialized.) The two islands are very close, you can see how they broke apart thousands of years ago. Corsica is French, while Sardinia is Italian with strong spanish influence, especially in their dialect, which, of course, I would have NO clue of! Luckily I had several Sardinians interested in coming to Weston.
I'm quite settled in; it seems to take me 5-7 days to settle in, to get the proverbial "lay of the land", and to feel really comfortable. So I decided to organize my time by one day staying local (read beach, pool, both), and the other day I go exploring....The geography is really unique...the interesting combination of high hills (or low mountains) at every turn, then coming upon a meadow that looks as though someone had dropped all these huge rocks into it.
Today I had made a reservation for lunch at Li Licci,an agritursimo about an hour away. This is a system whereby farms in Italy act as rural hotels and people can stay there. (I'd had lunch on the Orvieto, Assissi tour at an agritoursimo.) They vary totally; Li Licci(means oak trees in local dialect) was much more upscale-about a five course meal, and I couldn't eat it all! Needless to say, it was spectacular!
While I was there I learned about a small museum in Luras which is open by appointment, so when I got there, I was out of luck. The brochure said that as late as 1952, there were women (Sa Femmina Accabadora or Agabbadora) dressed in black who-in the middle of the night-would go to "put the terminally ill out of their misery"! They did this with a rudimentary hammer, called sa mazzola. The women were never paid, since it was a violation of religious and superstitious norms. Wonder how the women were selected or decided to do that?

Sunday P.S.

Luisella and Piero came over with their computer this evening, but after tonight I won't have internet access until Sept. 7th. They are really lovely people, but it is a challenge to communicate, so they didn't even try to explain why! (Their English is, OF COURSE, much better than my Italian!) Piero brought three different google maps of 56 River Rd. and area, and we discussed-or tried-the different ways they can get to Riverside and the market without a car. They will rent a car eventually, but maybe not at first! They can always eat at the Marriott!
Today after I left Internet Point, I headed over to Sassari. On my way over, I got flagged over by some uniformed guy. There are two kinds of police here, and I have no clue what they were. But after he was finished talking, and I said, "No parlo Italiano." He replied, "Prego" (don't mention it) and waved me on! WHEW! Maybe if I hadn't been a tourist, he'd have given me a ticket? I wasn't going that fast.
In Sassari there is a mall, and I really wanted to get a beach chair (spiaggina?), peanut butter, and a few other things....Mission accomplished! And while I was there, I did have a gelato-for lunch at the food court. I sat down with two guys who work at Brico (like Home Depot), since there were no other seats. It turns out that one of them had honeymooned in the US-San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas and Chicago.
Luckily the GPS IS working, although she does say "Recalculating" alot! You just don't get anywhere fast, as the roads are all two lanes, so you cannot pass easily! NOT I'll be passing anyone anytime soon! They can all pass me.
I came home to spend a few hours on the beach to try out the new piaggina-works fine!And the title of the books is The Girl Who Played with Fire! I expect I'll finish it before I go to sleep tonight.
So arrivederci until the 7th!

Leaving Nice and on to Badesi, Sardinia

Well, as anticipated, internet access is quite limited, so I'm at Internet Point in Valledoria. I had put the following on a card, and was able to copy it from that. I actually came over here yesterday, and wanted to use my computer, but he said it has no anti-virus, which is because I get it from Comcast. Anyhow...not sure when I'll be back!

August 31st

Well, I did have visions of sitting on the free, very rocky beach at Nice again, but Gloria suggested a museum. (Neither materialized.) Two Turkish students from her English class were coming to lunch. She did some packing first, and I went across the street to McDonald’s, since “trying” to get a signal to go on-line was getting old….After they left, we went to get a gelato, and enjoyed the famous Promenade des Anglais and the last walk along the beach. Gloria loves Nice, as she lives in a small town the rest of the year. She treated me to dinner at the Hippopotamus, which is the same place where Melissa and I had our first meal last year. (NOT great-sort of along the lines of the 99!) Service was dreadful. The plus is that we sat outside; there were two other tables of two alongside ours, so Gloria could talk with them, as they all spoke French. Getting salt and pepper and oil and vinegar at these restaurants is difficult sometimes. So we borrowed the salt and pepper from the next table, only to discover there was no salt in the shaker. (The waitresses were all overworked and NOT too happy to help any of us!) After we were through eating, I looked down on the ground and saw a pile of salt plus the stopper! Earlier I had seen our neighbor bang the salt shaker on the ground, and instead all the salt came out. OK! Guess you had to be there, but it was FUNNY!
September 1,2010
I didn’t sleep well, but I don’t usually sleep well, when I have to get up to leave…While my flight wasn’t until 11:10AM, I wanted to get to the airport in PLENTY OF TIME. Well, I was awake at 5:30, and off to the train station (ONLY across the street next to McDonalds) to catch the 6:25 bus to the Nice Airport, a mere 20 minute ride. OF COURSE, I couldn’t check in for my Air France flight back to Rome, until 2 hours (to the EXACT minute, as I tested). Arrived back to Fiumicino on schedule, and then I had decided to take an airport shuttle to Ciampino to fly to Alghero, Sardinia. This was really an extravagance at €45, since there were other ways to go from “A” to “B”, but I REALLY had no interest in missing the plane to the island! So once again, I had plenty of time to “enjoy” hanging around an airport?!
I had written earlier about HOW CHEAP Ryanair flights are….Ah, the proverbial “you get what you pay for! First of all, checked bag-ONE only-is supposed to weigh less than 15kg (33 lbs.), and the ONE carry-on (to include purse, etc.) is supposed to weigh less than 10kg (22 lbs.) I knew this, so I was prepared. (This sure does insure you buy nothing extra or throw things out along the way!) My checked bag weighed a few ounces over 15, and she didn’t charge me. I’d read that it was £10 (maybe $7.50?) for every kg over! I had a big salad with tuna and large water for lunch (€9.10). I still had lots of time, but went over to the gate, where they weighed my carry-on at 8.6kg. (Whew! Sure it felt heavier than 18.92 lbs!)
Second point is that Ryanair assigns no seats, so it is “first come, first serve”! I wondered how many people would be flying to Alghero, one of the three bigger airports on the island. Well, there looked to be a full plane when everyone lined up to take the shuttle bus out to the plane. Plane was clean; trip was uneventful-one hour plus. ALL food was sold, including €3 for bottle of water. Luckily I opted for €1.50 Snickers bar, as that was pretty close to what consisted of dinner….
Rented a two door Lancer from Hertz, and I was off…I hoped. (Of course, the car has a manual shift, as automatic shifts are WAY more expensive over here. As I was leaving, I couldn’t shift it into reverse, so I had go BACK in and ask for help! You have to push the handle down when you want to put it into reverse.) UNFORTUNATELY the directions were poor, so it took me three hours. (In Rome, I had tried to use the Garmin GPS I’d bought, but it wouldn’t pick up the satellite. Many emails to Garmin plus Gloria called Milan, and it still didn’t work. So I didn’t even try it-didn’t even think to.... ) I ended up going into Sassari, a city of sorts, so getting out was the trick. Anyhow, I arrived fifteen minutes after Luisella had sent me an email saying they were worried about me.(The road is quite hilly and narrow.) It didn’t seem to make sense to call until I got to where they were supposed to meet me. So about 9:10 I pulled into the SISA supermercato parking lot. They were here in seconds, and the irony of it-for those of you who know that I do like grocery stores-is that the apartment is just above the SISA parking lot! The exchangers are Luisella, a schoolteacher, and Piero, an engineer; they were very nice! (They usually rent this apartment and have some Brits coming to one nearby on the 11th.) They had bought some fruit, milk, juice, and bread, so I didn’t starve last night!

September 2, 2010
I woke at 9:10, which was amazing….I’ve been grappling with a cold, so it was good to sleep. Of course, after I had tea and some of the cookies(Papassinos Glassati-probably a kind of biscotti with frosting) that Luisella had brought. TASTY!!!
My first project was to do some washing. Experienced as a I am now after Rome and Joan’s in Paris and last summer, it wouldn’t work! I knew that Luisella and Piero were going off today for a few days, so I got them just in time. (They are due in Weston on September 9th.) The problem was that the door wasn’t closed tight enough. DUH! When they were here, Piero said, “Don’t be surprised if you hear a sound outside in the night, it is a wild boar!” (There are actually not a lot of windows to the outside, as there is only one bedroom, and there is air-conditioning. I’ll never hear it, unless I’m sitting outside at night, and we know what happened the last time I sat outside having a glass of wine on a house swap!)
So today was grocery shopping, laundry, and some exploring. There is a lovely beach here which I will go to another day. This is really beautiful country, albeit a bit desolate. I could see the farmlands from the plane….It is quite hilly; I’m not sure how high the hills are, but sometimes I feel like I’m driving in the canyons of California. (What is the difference between a mountain and a hill?)
I went into the pool a few times; there are very few people here in this small complex-maybe twenty units, and , of course, they all speak Italian. I drove over to Valledoria, where I was told they have internet cafes, but I didn't try too hard to find. (Again I reflect on the bards of old who had NO internet, etc. to follow their travels!) On my way over-it is about 7 km-I had noticed several little “farm stands”. So on the way back, I stopped at several. At the first one a little Italian man-maybe 5’-came out; he hugged me and kissed me; LUCKILY another customer came who did speak some Inglese-used to work for Sears in the states-and he rescued me. I bought an onion, a clove of garlic, and two small zucchinis for €1. He added some fresh basil and parsley! He tried to sell me a jar of artichokes in oil for €10, but I passed. At the second stand I bought two red peppers for .63; there was a little girl there that I tried to talk to, but guess she’s not working too hard on her Inglese!
I did want to have a gelato-guess it is good I had all that I did in Rome and Nice-as I found none. I really not only wanted the gelato, but also I had found in Rome that the little plastic cups make GREAT ice cube trays. I was also looking for peanut butter…well, there was no room in my suitcase! No Luck. However, when I left the supermercato parking lot-another one-I took the wrong turn, so I was on my way to St. Theresa di Gallura. DEFINITELY not where I wanted to go. So I had to go up to Isola Rossa JUST to turn around!
I did figure out how to turn the TV on, but can only get one talk show, so I’m CERTAINLY enjoying my Kindle! I actually am now reading Around the World in 80 Days ,which I had never read! It was a freee download, so I have plenty to read. I also bought a Barbara Taylor Bradford book in Nice, as I don’t want to take the Kindle to the beach or pool. Ciao and Bonna sera!

September 3rd

I was off to the wonderful sandy beach, which was not crowded by 11. You pay an attendant .50 per hour you plan to stay, then you scratch off the ticket the year, month, date, and time you arrived-like a lottery ticket. I paid for three hours, but only stayed for 2 1/2 hours, since it got windier and windier. I went intot the water when I arrived sans "lovely" beach shoes, as it is nice sand-not black like Ostia had been-or rough like Nice. Looking out at the water, it really was like a greenish blue. There weren't many people left on the beach when I left!
I found a Larsson paperbook (about Lisbeth Salander), whose title I cannot remember, and that kept me entertained until after midnight.

Today....up early to iron and come here...will go to Sassari to see what can find there! I'll see Luisella and Piero on Sunday before they leave for 02493.
Well, I just tried to download some pictures with no luck. IF Luisella does bring her computer tomorrow, maybe I'll have luck then. CIAO!:))