Simon and Jackie Annals

It was another windy night in the tent, but this time Jackie was source. The trouble with having a siesta is that we then struggled to get to sleep that evening. On a positive note, I was able to listen to the whole of the reduced overs England T20 match and most of the Scotland T20 match in the early hours.

Despite this we (I) still got up early and started to pack everything away. It was our best performance to pack the car, but we still managed to drive out of the campsite before 10.30am. We had definitely made the right decision, because it was thick grey cloud with the odd light shower.

Our first port of call was Lidl in Saint’Antioco, where we bought way too much food and booze. We had the indignity of being forced into buying a sturdy Lidl’s carrier bag, then I had to waddle out to the car park with the bulging Lidl’s carrier bag swaying between my legs. I looked like a trailer park trash weightlifter about to attempt a snatch!

We then set the SatNav to Golden Beach in Cagliari. As we left Saint’Antioco, we passed some salt lakes that were resting place for migrating flamingos. There were numerous wading in the lakes, but not close enough for a decent selfie.

Our route then took us through a mountainous wilderness, where we lost signal part way through a phone call to wish my father a “Happy Father’s Day’. We dropped down into Cagliari, that had quite a pleasant water front, but the road was so badly cobbled that it scared the life out of us that we would get a puncture. I couldn’t think of anything worse!To the east of Cagliari was Golden Beach, a very long thin strip of white sandy beach, which is apparently a favourite amongst the younger Sardinians. It was still busy despite it being a very grey day, but it wasn’t for us.

The next stop on the itinerary was Camping Theleme, which had been recommended to us by a German camper, whilst we were packing up earlier that morning. We planned to just check out Camping Theleme, which was high up in the mountains on the outskirts of the small town of Ulassai. It was apparently lovely and cool in the evenings, which we considered a bonus with a heatwave on the way.

We followed the coast along the southern end of the island, then headed north up the eastern coast. We were driving along the SS125, which clearly the Italian government had invested some serious money into. The road surface was good and it took us through dozens of tunnels, often over a mile long, and on bridges spanning deep valleys. It was a very pleasant drive and a relief to leave behind the idiot Italian drivers and riders around Cagliari, that didn’t take kindly to a law abiding citizen sticking to the speed limit, by hooting their horns and/or gesticulating as they made ridiculous overtakes past us.

Halfway up the east coast, we turned off and headed up the mountain to the towns of Jerez and Ulassai. The towns looked more like we were in Nepal than on an Italian island. As we drove up we had already made our mind up that we wouldn’t be staying here, because the coast was just too far away to travel to the beach each day. After reaching the heady heights of Ulassai we turned round and went back down again.

There were 2 campsites next to each other, we had earmarked as suitable for our needs just south of Tortolì. We selected the one that sounded the most relaxed and casual called Camping Village Cigno Bianco. Upon arrival we parked up and walked to reception, where we enquired about tent pitch availability. The middle aged receptionist had real attitude and told us we had to wait for an employee to show us what pitches were available and for how long.

We waited 10 minutes until a little black lad on a golf buggy showed up. He drove us 300 metres to the other end of the site, pointed out a small triangle of ground and told us that it was the only pitch available. They had to be f**king kidding, the pitch was surrounded by trees and a dirt track. It would have have been like living on a mini-roundabout. We didn’t take it.

Feeling slightly despondent and worried we drove next door to Camping Village Orri. What a world of difference! The receptionist told us to have a look round and find a pitch that suited us, then come back and check-in. This campsite was only half full and the pitches were not clearly defined, which gave it a higgledy-piggledy feel, but also much more spacious. We chose our sandy spot amongst the trees, providing some shady, but allowing the sun and light through.

It was a lovely spot and we can stay for as long as we like. Unfortunately we made a real arse of ourselves erecting our tent. You’d think practice might make perfect!

After unloading the car and setting up, we showered then tried out the campsite restaurant. Jackie had clam and mussel pasta, whilst I had macaroni with pork. It was nice, but in my humble opinion still not as tasty as what Jackie can turn out.

I watched the football on my phone, because again we had a poor WiFi signal, then went to bed yet again shattered.

Song of the Day - Pretty Flamingo by Manfred Mann.Baca selengkapnya