The adventures of Lisa Jo

Lisa flew into Ajaccio airport in Corsica and we whisked her off into the countryside, we had a scenic drive up the west coast of Corsica to reach Les Calanques which are spectacular cliffs along the coast over 400m high.

Les Calanques have a lovely red glow

We also found a pretty picnic spot in the Spelunca canyon, we hopped over some rocks and sat by the side of the crystal clear river and then followed this up a walk along the gorge until we reached a stunning Genoese style bridge over the river Porto.

Lisa sporting the holiday look

Amanda & Mark - taking it easy as always

Lisa and Amanda sat on bridge

Mark & Amanda sat on bridge

The next day Lisa had to quickly find her sea legs with almost a 50 mile sail from Ajaccio to Bonifacio, annoyingly we left with a rolling swell and no wind! The wind did pick up although it was still very light so progress was quite slow but the sun was out and it was good to be making progress knowing that the next 2 days were going to be howling.  It was lovely to take Lisa to Bonifacio as it is such a pretty place and we treated ourselves to 2 nights in the marina as we knew the following day would be a bit breezy for us to sail to Sardinia.  We had a nice explore of the town and out along the headland battling the with the wind and we were treated to a delicious Ice-cream - big thanks to my lovely Auntie Janet who sent Lisa over with cash to treat us J

Mark & Lisa overlooking the Sraits of Bonifacio

Amanda's hair obscuring Marks face!

The sail from Bonifacio to Sardinia was a lively one, it had been pretty blowy the previous day so the sea had time to grow and it was bumpy leaving Bonifacio with the swell side on which is never ideal.  By the middle of the Straits we were battling into 25-30 knots of wind which was not very relaxing! We were all battered by the wind, Lisa had left Bonifacio optimistically wearing a pair of shorts, we were soon all wrapped up in our fleeces!  It was a quick 20 miles sail and we hit a top speed of 10.1 knots surfing down the waves.

This does not do justice to the white horses and this was in the shelter of the islands 

We were glad to get the shelter of Cala Spalmatore which is a sheltered anchorage on the north coast of the Isla Maddalena which is the largest of the Maddelena archipelago.  The islands are a nature reserve and we have had to buy a permit (available online) to be able to cruise the islands although as yet this has not been checked!  We did get to step on land in Sardinia but the Cala was very sparse with no shops but a small beach bar and restaurant. The snorkelling was a bit disappointing, expectation were high with the fact it is a nature reserve.

Cala Spalmatore

Next stop was Cala Garibaldi only 2.5 miles away but on the Island of Caprera, we do not think this is related to the biscuits but Giuseppe Garibaldi who is a professional revolutionary and a bit of an Italian hero who bought part of the island.  Our pilot book stated that there was a Club Med in the Cala, this was actually very derelict and creepy with a whole range of straw huts sat on a hill! We had good shelter in the Cala but unfortunately we tried to go ashore but it was impossible to find a path away from the beach so we never manage to explore the island.  The views from the Cala across to Isla Maddalena and across to the mountains of Corsica were stunning especially at sunset.

Sunset at Cala Garibaldi

With time constraints to get to the airport there was little time to sunbath and relax and we needed to sail onwards Olbia.  The good news was we had wind, a force 3 easterly was just enough for a leisurely sail along the coast, Lisa had a chance to practice her helming skills whilst we all looked out for dolphins – no luck.

Lisa at the helm

We anchored in Golfo di Olbia rather than heading into the town and in the morning we were treated to seeing one of the sailing cruise ships, funnily it looked like they were having a naturist week which we initially spotted when we saw a naked man dive off the back of the boat - yes we were pretty close as we sailed over to take a better look, at the boat, not the naked people!!

Nudist cruiseship!

Olbia is quite an industrial harbour and the approach is long and not very pretty but good news for us is we have been able to tie up to an old commercial port which right in the centre of town and free.  It is a bit derelict and probably not too secure but very close to the town which is only a short bus journey to the airport.

The town it self is one main street with various restaurants (mainly pizzeria’s), bars and shops but oddly when we explored on a Saturday afternoon there were only a handful of people around but by the evening it was really busy and had a nice atmosphere. We had a lovely Italian meal of Pizza and ice cream – yummy and far too much of the local white wine – Vermentino which I can highly recommend.

Look how happy we are to have an icecream!