Saturday 17 June: Cagliari to home

I am relieved after yesterday's cycle along busy roads that we have decided to take the train to the airport. We struggle down the stairs and Simon manages to squeeze my bike into the lift. A short pedal to the station where we are able to speak to a human being and successfully buy tickets for us and the bikes this time. A 5 minute journey and we are at the airport. We get the bikes into the plastic bags and then balance them precariously on trolleys to check in. Oversized baggage has to be taken down a level so we have to negotiate the crowded departures lounge once more, and the only lift large enough is out of order. However we manage it eventually and with some apprehension watch the bikes disappear into a dark tunnel to be scanned and loaded, we hope. Our pilot is female and I tell myself that I should not be surprised. BA no longer offer free refreshments and luckily we have bought some pannini at the airport as they have no fresh food and their credit card paying system is broken. I do manage a gin and tonic though! Bikes arrive safely, swiftly and in one piece and the valet parking system comes up trumps. M3 exit from M25 closed so a detour through leafy Surrey thanks to google maps. Still home in 3hrs 45 and temperature nearly as hot as in Sardinia. We will have to start planning for next year.....

Friday 16 June Cagliari, Poetto Beach

We have breakfast in the less salubrious area of the arcade, with a voucher from AE BundesJack (very strange name; conjures up an international sort of place, but it's just Luigi and Vittoria neither of whom speak any English, so we communicate in sub o-level Italian). We decide on cycling to Poetto beach, but had seriously thought of getting the bus instead. There's at least six lanes of dense urban traffic outside where we're staying, and the route to the beach is no better. Unfortunately it's as bad as we feared, a really hideous cycle. The beach itself is famous; 6 km of uninterrupted sand. We must be the oldest here, and are surrounded by skimpy bikini clad young girls and their strutting boyfriends. It's so hot and airless that we decide we need shade and hire a couple of loungers and an umbrella which makes the experience much more tolerable. The cycle back is equally hideous, but we do at least find a cycle track for part of the way through the port. We have a final drink in the old part of the town with stunning panoramic views and then have pizza and ice cream before sitting on the balcony under a stelliferous sky (with 6 lanes of traffic roaring by beneath).

Thursday 15 June: The A30 to Cagliari

 Happy Birthday Izzie!

Simon plans for us to cycle towards Cagliari on quiet back roads but try as we might we never find any. Instead it is the SS 195 all the way which at times resembles the A30 with a number of high speed cars and lorries hurtling past. But never mind, at least it is scenic with massive industrial works consisting of factories with intricate pipes and chimnies flaming like bunson burners. The smell of oleander and fennel is replaced by sulphurous gas. I am tremulous for most of the way but we arrive hot and sweaty but unscathed. Approaching Cagliari the shoreline is littered with hundreds of Sea Balls which we gather are composed of fibres of seagrass pushed together by wind and tide to form perfect spheres. There are lots of flamingoes of course. We find our pensione on the seafront but it is on the second floor. There is an ancient lift which only seems to stop at level 1 and 3 so we have to carry the bikes up the stairs. A characterful old building and the owner Luigi shows us around and tells us what to see in the town - all in very fast Italian. The heat is intense and we dash from one shady area to another. We refresh in a small restaurant in a square in the Castillo area beneath the steps to the Cathedral. Beers, water and panninis do the trick and we sweat our way up to the top of the Torre dell'Elefante for fine panoramic views of the old city and the marina. The narrow back streets are cobbled and steep with tall elegant buildings decked with colourful washing. Nigronis under the arches of the Via Roma watching the world go by before supper in Trattoria Lillico as visited by Rick Stein. We sit outside in a narrow street and the place is heaving with locals. We eat an amazing spread of seafood antipasti, spaghetti with clams, sea bass and snails and finish with some chilled Mirto, a Sardinian liqueur made from myrtle berries. Truly finished we retire exhausted.

Wednesday 14 June Chia to Pula/ Nora

Breakfast in the shade with the swallows and swifts dive bombing the swimming pool. Do they drink the water or just enjoy taking a dip? We take our time leaving this idyll , luxuriating  by the lovely water for as long as possible. At midday we hit the road and head north east towards Pula/Nora. Extremely hot! Quite busy road until we head off towards the coast. Deserted camp sites are dotted along this rather rugged sea weed infested coastline. Plenty of Spanish watch towers. We arrive at Su Gunventessu around 3 pm, check in and admire the Dutchman's pipe vine with its large dangling scrotal sacs and purple flowers which hang along one side of the entrance. We head to the beach opposite. We've bought some massive black figs, which are a bit squished in the panniers, but are nevertheless delicious. We have good intentions of visiting the archaeological site of Nora, which is an ancient mix of Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman. However, it's compulsory to visit with a guide( in Italian), and each tour takes 90 minutes ....so instead we decide to imbibe a negroni nearby and contemplate the ruins from a distance. Clare decides that we should have another, and we are barely  (I think that's the wrong spelling, but I'm not sure...following some Rose from Alrgehro as well) safe to cycle home. Nice simple supper back at the Albergho:octupus salad, mussels and mixed fried fish. Rose from Alghero.It's pleasantly busy with locals, despite our intitial fears and we pass a pleasant evening.

Tuesday 13 June: Chia beach and Hotel Aquadulci

The Hotel Aquadulci is probably the most luxurious place we have ever stayed in and is certainly very comfortable and tranquil, although the peace is occasionally disturbed by the odd child (Lllord!) We breakfast surrounded by Germans and try to get our money's worth from the buffet. We cycle and walk around the headland to Capo Spartoventino with its lighthouse. We admire views of the rugged coast of the Costa del Sud along which we cycled yesterday. On to the beach at Chia which is much less busy today - we think it must have been a Bank Holiday yesterday. We manage to while away several hours with the odd stroll along the beach and a cool beer. There are numerous vendors walking along the beach selling tat. There is a popular stall where a man is selling bikinis in a multitude of colours. Simon thinks he may have missed his vocation! Back to the pool to cool and rinse off before cocktails on the terrace listening to a live saxophonist. We are going to escape to a local restaurant this evening.

We cycle a short distance and find the place is very popular and it appears things are getting more expensive and more touristy the nearer we get to Caglieri. However we share the most delicious and extremely plump sea bass so all is good.

Monday 12 June Costa del Sud: Porto Pino to Chia

The best cappuccino yet on the terrace before we head off, tops off, along the road through the lagoons. We buy home grown fruit from a stall before we get to St Anne Arressi, then head East along the road adjacent to a large military area, reminiscent of the UN area in Cyprus, and then pick up the Casta El Sud road. We detour for another coffee at Porto Tuelado. We can see the coastal road snaking along the cliffy coast, there are double chevrons a plenty on my map! Suitably fortified we head off and enjoy the gorgeous views of the mirror smooth turquoise water, and the double chevrons; just as we gain height we plunge downwards again.There are various places to stop and admire the views, and also swim, so we stop at a little sandy cove and wash the sweat off our bodies with salty sea water, and then get a nice lot of sand in our shorts before heading up hill again. The road continues for 20 km or so like this. We eat our fruit at a very packed sandy beach (Tuerredda), then find Aquadulci where we are staying. We finish the day with an Ichnusa on the local beach, a lovely sandy stretch flanked by another lagoon, then eat in the hotel ( I'm afraid we also had nigronis on the terrace before supper!). 

Sunday 11 June: Carloforte to Porto Pino

We are sad to leave the comforts of Hotel Hieracon and the chic streets of Carloforte but it is time to move on. As we leave the harbour on the ferry we see a pair of dolphins playing to the crowd in the sunlit waters. We arrive in Calsetta on the island of St Antioco and cycle briefly through the white Moorish styled streets lined with date palms. A flat cycle to St Antioco town and we are passed by several groups of Lycra clad road bikers while we admire the coastline and the mountain ranges inland. We cross a bridge and an ancient causeway to reach the mainland passing by more stagnos with flamingoes. Now we don't even bother to stop! We arrive at Tratalias, an old now deserted village with a Romanesque style Church which we visit after being revived by Coca Cola. Barely a hill to be seen today we eventually arrive at Porto Pino on the south coast: a seaside resort by the sand dunes. We are surprised to find an enormous car park filled with cars and the beach is humming. It is Sunday of course. Our accommodation is shut up when we arrive and we think we are the only ones staying. The beach is hot and busy but the water is turquoise and refreshing. When we return to our room we discover that we are not alone and infact the restaurant quickly fills up. We eat outside and have a tagliere (wooden cork board with mixed cheese and salamis) followed by the best pizzas ever. This is obviously the place to be seen in Porto Pino. 

Saturday 10 June: the bays of St Pietro

We decide to explore the little bays to the South of the island today, cycling along the flat coastal road to the south of Carloforte.  There are freshly baked cakes again for breakfast, baked by Francesca. The appetising smell permeates the whole hotel as we get back in the late afternoons. Her figure indicates perhaps that she is a great lover of cake! Fortunately there are also some savoury nibbles to accompany my two cappuccinos. Clare goes for an Americano; rocket fuel in the form of a quadruple expresso with some hot milk on the side. We buy some lovely looking local "white" figs and nectarines and focaccia and pizza form a pane shop and enjoy wandering along the intricate side streets, some adorned with flags and banners of flamingoes and tuna. The local tuna slaughter takes place at this time of year. It looks completely gory and should really put you off eating the fish for which the island is famous, though we are planning on doing just that this evening. We visit the limestone cliffs and eroded columns and small sandy bays that are dotted along this coast. More flamingoes on the way home....we are getting quite blasé now, and don't stop for very long to watch them. We cycle back along an old cycle track running along the side of the lagoon before heading off for a nigroni and Manhatten on the front by the ferry terminal. Must make sure we get the right boat tomorrow! Fantastic plate of nibbles to go with our cocktails: salami, cheese, crisps, music paper bread, bruschetta of various descriptions...The phone rings in our room. I answer and it's Antonio. "I have a special nigroni for you" he says. We go down to the foyer and he presents us one silver tray with a more powerful version of the nigroni we've had down by the harbour. He chats with us. He owns the hotel, but is also a barrister in Cagliari. Feeling slightly woozy we find out tuna fish restaurant and eat tuna in its various forms; in oil, salted, casseroled. All very delicious. Macchiato and ice cream on the front to follow. Full moon above the harbour.

Friday 9 June: ISOLA DI S.PETRO

We wake to the news of the General Election results: a Hung Parliament and much uncertainty ahead. With this news and the recent terrorist attack it is tempting to keep cycling and never return!

We cycle out of Carloforte town and pass an inland water area with Flamingoes even closer than before. We are beginning to feel blasé. The road west takes us up and over some mountainous areas mainly covered with machia (scrubland) with occasional small villas and habitations. We reach Cala Fico, an impressive cliff of limestone rock which houses the nesting sites of 100 pairs of Eleanora's Falcon. We see a lot of seagulls and manage to convince ourselves that we see a pair of black winged creatures which could well be falcons. We will tick it off anyway. Then to Cala Sandalo with an impressive lighthouse and precipitous cliffs arising from clear turquoise waters. A hilly and hot return cycle and then on to Spiaggia La Caletta, a small sandy beach where we are delighted to find we can buy a cold beer. A few hours spent reading, sunbathing and swimming before returning to the town. Our hotel is a beautiful Art Nouveau building with cool marble floors, staircases and iron balconies. We have our aperitifs in the square and watch the world go by. Simon tries a Negromani, a cocktail of Campari, gin and red vermouth. He isn't sure he can walk home. The hotel manager recommends a restaurant a little way out of town so we cycle to La Nave. A massive warehouse of a building full of character and certainly off the tourist track. Mixed fish antipasti to share, then seafood spaghetti / linguine. Ice cream stop on the way home. Not sure about the liquorice flavour.....

Thursday 08 June Portoscuso to San Pietro island

Having spent most of yesterday on the bikes today we are hardly on them at all. We leave our bags with the friendly manager of the Hotel Panorama and walk off to the nearby beach, buying provisions on the way. We manage an Ichnusa after midday. This local Sardinian beer features on its front label the national flag; the Quattro Mori, the four Moors. They were originally blindfolded and faced towards Spain, the old colonial power, but now they face towards Italy, liberated and enlightened, and no longer blindfolded....but why are Moors depicted on the national flag?... We manage the odd swim, for some reason the water seems  chilly here. We plan to get the 4:45 boat to the island of San Pietro which leaves from the industrial port, next to a large cargo ship unloading its cargo of coal. The huge dilapidated aluminium refining works is just nearby. Whether this was originally the work of Mussolini I'm not sure, but apparently he did much for the island, draining malarial swamps, improving agricultural land , and he even built Arborea, that we cycled through the other day, an attractive town, built in typically fascist regimented architectural style. The ferry takes about 40 minutes, and unlike Brittany Ferries, we are allowed to cycle them onboard, no health and safety issues here! Curiously there is a large National Trust poster on board advertising the delights of the Isle of Wight. Carloforte, the main town, looks very elegant. We find the Hotel Hieracon easily. Aperol and beer with impressive plate of nibbles on the main road along the harbour. Pizza in a back street from a bewilderingly large range later.

Wednesday 7 June: Piscinas to Portoscuso

The day starts better than anticipated. We had been nervous about the roads leading out of Piscinas, fearing 5 miles of bike pushing along dirt tracks. Although on our arrival the car park had been filled with a group of classic Ferraris so we hoped that if they could do it so could we. In fact the road was cyclable, a steady ascent passing old mineral mining works, now deserted with only the slag heaps remaining. Once on Tarmac again the gradient becomes steeper and the temperature rises. We are very hot when we reach the summit at nearly 500 metres. What goes up must go down of course and we have a magnificent descent back down to sea level marred only by Simon's uncertainty that it was the right road. We refuel with coke and coffee at Portixeddu beach and are tempted to tarry a while by the turquoise sea. We decide to press on however, hugging the coast: the Costa Verdi. Beautiful rugged coastline with steep cliffs and rocky outcrops and the occasional inaccessible cove. The road twists and turns steeply up and down and the going is tough against a very strong NW wind. After a particularly steep ascent we are amused to pass through a resort called Buggerru, aptly named. After 40 miles or so we are near our anticipated destination so decide to stop at the beach of Fontanamare, hoping for a cool drink. Everywhere seems closed and deserted and the wind must now have reached Force 6 and it is directly on shore. Kite Surfers are in their element and we admire their acrobatics whilst getting covered in fine grains of sand. Back on the road we head for Gonnesa where we have booked another Agriturismo. This town also seems deserted and we have to ask for directions. When we find the Agriturismo it looks grim with a plastic human figure at the door. We are strangely relieved to find it also closed and deserted. So we decide to press on, feeling very weary and I am definitely out of my comfort zone not knowing where I will sleep tonight. After a total of 50 miles we reach Portoscuso and the Rough Guide leads us to the Hotel Panorama. We get a nice room overlooking the marina and things are looking up again! We eat at L'Ancona restaurant as visited by Rick Stein in 2007 we gather. It is brightly lit but bustling with locals and feels very authentic. Our waitress serves with military efficiency and takes multi-tasking to a new level! We eat fresh ravioli, spaghetti vongole and grilled fish from massive serving dishes in the shape of mussel shells. The tables are adorned with fresh passion flowers and hydrangeas. We even manage pudding: panacotta and fried ravioli with honey, delicious!