Porto Arsenale

This blog is written by Colm

We drop anchor in Cala Coticcio during the early evening when the tens of charter boats and day trippers are leaving . It has a spectacular view of the amazing granite mountains on Isla Caprera, which is one of the Maddalena Islands off the Sardinian coast . There is an ice-cream Rib that goes around to the boats and Dad calls him over. We get three magnums and a corneto for only twenty-four euro!
The next day Margaret and I go ashore on the Paddleboard but the warden says that we are not allowed to walk beyond the beach .We snorkel around the rocks to the next beach which is so pretty that Mom paddles back to the boat and gets Ruby. We swim around in the shallow turquoise water and admire the beautiful rocky landscape. I see a Dentex , a big fish with a kind of a square head.
Back onboard the crew decides that we will move on to the less busy Cala Garibaldi, named after the Italian General. It is a short trip up the coast of Isla Caprera. We arrive in the evening and drop anchor near one of the many beaches. We have a swim then eat dinner.
The next morning is my birthday! We dinghy into the beach and walk up the road looking for the Garibaldi museum. It is very hot but thankfully we have some water to refresh ourselves. We go up a dusty road but feel we are lost. A big brown scary looking dog is sitting in the middle of the road. When he sees us he gets up, does a poo and limps off ‘maybe he’s going to the museum’ we think. We follow him along a narrow path through the trees and bushes for five minutes, passing sheep and goats with bells around their necks. The old dog pauses at a big blue fence, turns to look at us, urinates then continues. We follow him and finally emerge out into car park next to the museum. We thank our tour guide and have a walk around Garibaldi’s house.
Continuing down the road we find a cool cafe in the forest with hammocks hanging between the trees. We stop off for a berry sorbet. On the way back we trek through some bramley hay fields and we come to a crossroads. Our choice is to continue down the hot dusty road or take a shortcut through the abandoned Club Med hotel which is full of ‘no trespassing’ signs’. We chose the latter and thankfully we are not caught.
Back on board we have brunch , birthday cards and presents.
I get lots of nice clothes , sweets , a magnifying glass and lots more.
Then after that Ruby and I make my birthday cheesecake and have a ‘Monster’ energy drink in the process. For dinner we have lasagne courtesy of Margaret and then for dessert, blackberry cheesecake made with hand picked berries.
After dinner we play charades which is great fun, I act out the song ‘Under Pressure’ and also the book ‘Sailing for home’ by Theo Dorgan. Then at about 10 o clock I go for a cooldown swim in the dark and Ruby notices that there are phosphorescence. I splash around and watch the water sparkle. Then I go and lie up on deck with Mom and I see four shooting stars, one was huge.

The next morning Ruby ,Dad and I go into the beach for a few hours. When we arrive in, the Club Med Secuirity guard comes down to the beach and objects to the dinghy. Dad moves it while Ruby and I set up the tent , Deck chairs and the Picnic mat in the forest next to the beach. Later Mom comes in on the Paddleboard and we have a picnic and set up the hammock between the trees.

The next morning the wind picks up so we motor to another anchorage nearby. After we get there Ruby and Margaret go on the Dinghy into the town to do shopping while Dad and I do some boat jobs .After that we have pizza then go to bed.

I thank my family for a lovely twelfth birthday.Read more