9 Agosto

We have just wrapped up a wonderful visit with Chad’s brother, Tom. It was filled with lovely evenings on the terrazza drinking and eating plenty (including a fantastic watermelon seed-spitting contest one night), many late afternoon swims and snorkels off the rocks and beach near our house, and many adventures around Sardegna. Yet another in the series of weary travelers, Tom arrived on a Wednesday evening, though we expected him on Monday. So much for the efficiency of air travel – a two-day delay is most impressive. Fortunately, he had friends in New York, where he got stuck overnight, and only lost a couple of days with us plus another half day of napping upon arrival. Once a bit recovered, we set about trying to pack in as much as possible during his visit. This included a weekend trip to Bosa and Alghero complete with loads of photo-snapping opportunities for Tom and another visit to Mario’s wine shop (which we first visited on our bike trip there last spring), this time bringing home a bottle of his home-made Malvasia wine. The Grotto di Nettuno was our final stop and the whimsical forms of the stalagmites and stalactites were worth the many steps we had to descend and then ascend to reach the cave’s entrance.

Other adventures of the week included a hike to Punta Sardegna to see the tile-roofed houses tucked into the rocks and for a refreshing swim and picnic at Cala Trana, a morning kayak to Capo d’Orso to capture the rare wind-sculpted rocks on film, and a trip to La Maddalena for the festival of the island’s patron Saint, Santa Maria Maddalena. Apparently, many years ago, a statue of Santa Maria Maddalena was put on a ship from Corsica destined for La Maddalena when a storm overturned the ship. The statue was assumed to be lost, but, at that very moment, the wind picked up from the west (the Maestrale we’ve become too familiar with) and carried the floating wooden statue safely ashore to La Maddalena where it was installed in the local church. Each year, this statue is taken from the church and put onto a boat at the port. There is then a procession of boats led by the one carrying the statue. They all eventually return to the port and the statue is returned to the church, thus re-enacting the legend of Santa Maria Maddalena. After watching the procession from the church, we headed to the pier with take-out pizza and beer and watched the boat parade go by. We headed back to Palau just in time for an evening swim while watching the fireworks which marked the end of the night’s festivities. To cap it off, there was phosphorescence in the water so that we had light from both the water and the sky.

Later in the week, we had a private tour of the archipelago on our landlord, Andrea’s, boat so that Tom could take some pics. We started along Punta Sardegna and then headed out to Spargi for a snorkel and swim, then on to the Budelli-Razzoli-Santa Maria trio to see the amazing turquoise pool in the protection of the three islands. From there, we found a sheltered spot to anchor and Andrea brought out a delightful lunch of insalata mista (a hearty Italian salad of tuna, olives, tomatoes, mozzarella, and boiled eggs) and wine made by his son, Francesco. Our lunch conversation, though limited by the language difference, was punctuated by exclamations about the Paradise-like qualities of the islands and how this was truly "la dolce vita" (as declared by Andrea while reclining in the sun after our meal). We tried our hand at fishing in the afternoon, using bits of stale bread unsuccessfully, save one small occhiata (a flat silvery fish), and then eventually made our way back to Spargi for another dip and then finally home. We arrived at the port at the same moment Chad returned from work on the ferry.

And, no visit would be complete without the obligatory panoramic drive around La Maddalena. We tacked on a visit to Caprera to see the old fortresses at Candeo and all of its secret tunnels and watch-towers hidden in the rocks. There is a whole other world to be discovered out there. We also had to fit in a dinner at an agriturismo, this time trying one near to the ferry in Olbia, where we were later departing for the mainland. This was the best agriturismo dinner yet and was complete with porcheddu (roast suckling pig), delicious wine from the fields surrounding the dining room over which we watched the rising moon, and rich fresh ricotta with bitter honey for desert. We are hoping to return there for an overnight stay in the fall to see the grape harvest and wine making.

Then, we were all off on the ferry to Civitavecchia on the mainland. From there, Chad and I headed to Giardini Naxos in Sicily for our friends’ wedding and Tom took a train to Rome for his flight home. Yes, we took a ferry to Civitavecchia and then drove ALL the way down the coast to Calabria and then took another ferry to Sicily. Let’s just say there are 110 tunnels between Civitavecchia and Giardini Naxos and we had plenty of time to count them all! Giardini is a lovely town where black volcanic rocks tumble down into the sea in front of a backdrop of the always-smoking Mount Etna. We arrived early to the church and got to watch the arrival of the other guests while listening to gorgeous vocal music pouring out of the church. Elegantly dressed Italians emerged out of tiny brightly colored Volkswagons and Fiats, all sporting large sunglasses to dim the late afternoon sun. The Americans made a nice showing as well, as the men were in their dress white uniforms and looked quite dapper. Dan and Ily were a regal couple with Dan sporting a shiny sword with his uniform and Ily glowingly beautiful.

The reception was at an old villa in the hills and was right out of a princess storybook complete with candlelit grounds staffed by crisply uniformed waiters floating amidst the crowd serving flutes of champagne and an array of delectable antipasti. Once we were seated, we noticed menus on our plates that listed four delicious-sounding dishes. We assumed we would choose from these, but then they started arriving, one after the other: sesame seared salmon, toasted walnut risotto, fresh ravioli, and a fennel seafood terrine. Then, following a very sweet toast by Ily’s dad to his only daughter, her brother surprised her by singing an old Sicilian song to her in a gorgeous voice, the existence of which no one had previously known. It was not to be believed! And then the cake came out – the biggest cake I’ve even seen, which Dan proudly cut with his sword. And, this wasn't even desert proper. For that, we had to go upstairs where tiers of marzipan candies, lemon cakes, fruit ices, and chocolate mousse lined the entire balcony. The festivities went late into the evening until we were all quite exhausted from such an amazing party.

And, 110 more tunnels and two more ferries later, we returned home to the throngs of tourists that have now descended upon Sardinia. Every night, we watch million-dollar yachts go by, wondering which ones might be ferries and which are private boats and who the people are that can afford such extravagance! Similarly, the beaches are packed with leathery, tanned bodies sprawled upon every inch of available sand. Now, we are about to return to the US for the first time in a year and are eagerly looking forward to seeing many greatly-missed friends and family. We will also look forward to returning here in the fall when things will be a bit more tranquil once again.