Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
Corsica:
 
Sardinia:
 
Sicily:
 
 

Porto Torres, Sardinia. A Nuraghi settlement en route to Alghero, then high winds at sea!
Tuesday 27th September 2022
 
The original itinerary stated that we would anchor off the Sardinian west coast town of Alghero and use zodiacs to tender into the town, from where we would drive to the Nuraghi settlement and later have free time in the town after lunch.

Plans had to change because of the very high winds affecting the entire west coast of Sardinia. We docked in Porto Torres, which, although it is on the north-west of the island, has a sheltered harbour and gives protection from the westerly winds. It is also only a short coach ride (30 minutes) to the town of Alghero and the road goes past the Nuraghi settlement, so we wouldn't miss anything. Bruce was mildly disappointed that he didn't get to go on a zodiac. Geoff was rather pleased about the same thing! The only other downside was that we would have to sail for Cagliari after lunch instead of in the evening because we had to go the long way around the island to avoid the high winds on the west coast.
 
Early morning arrival in Porto Torres
 
 
 
Apart from being a commercial/ferry port, beyond the port there didn't appear to be much to commend it. We were told a rather sad story that a massive industrial complex was built there during the 1960s, a time when public money was used to support a big construction boom. However, there was a crisis in the steel industry and all the massive production plants stopped working, ending with the whole area being abandoned. From the coach we saw many factories which appeared to confirm this.
 
The scenery improved quite a lot after we left the port and we were soon at Nuraghi Palmavera, where we were given a guided tour of the site which featured remains dating from the civilisation that existed here around 1300-1200 B.C.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A short drive from the site and we were in the charming town of Alghero. We had almost two hours there and we could have chosen the guided walk for an hour, but we decided to do our own thing, once again!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'm really bored and I've had enough!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With half an hour to spare, we decided to stop for coffee.
It was just what we needed and such good value for money too!
 
 
Rejoining the group, we were taken to this scenic spot, before driving back to the port.
 
Back to our ship in Porto Torres...
 
...where lunch was served before we sailed, in anticipation of a windy afternoon at sea!
 
 
Our friends Margaret and Brian (on the right), who we first met on our Baltic cruise in 2019.
 
Leaving the shelter of the port after lunch.
 
We appeared to be getting special attention, with the help of a tug and a pilot.
 
 
Same video - speeded up
 
 
 
 
And then we were out in the open sea. The wind was strong, the waves were quite high and we had been told that these conditions would last for a few hours, until we had sailed through the Strait of Bonifacio and were in the calmer waters on the east coast of Sardinia.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

All of the predictions were true, although we've encountered much rougher sea conditions in the past. Nevertheless, we were happy when we turned that corner, knowing that we had a much quieter night to look forward to as we sailed to Cagliari, our next port of call.
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble