DAY3. I was really quite happy at Funtana Meiga with its peace and quiet, plus it’s spectacular view. I was due to move further north today but we had a morning of heavy rain, so I stayed-put. I don’t see the point of packing up a wet tent and as I had no place to be, I decided to spend the day doing nothing. Unfortunately, in the late afternoon the local police arrived and said I could not camp here. They even gave me a ticket for a fine, and as the day was drawing to a close I had to quickly break-camp, pack the bike and head off into the sunset.
A few km further up the road I had a look online and there were no official campsites for at least 30km so after leaving the area I rode along the road which skirts the coast for a while as the daylight was diminishing – fast. At one point I saw a road leading off towards a beach so decided to follow it and about 2km along the road I saw a good place to camp. It was open, but it was well away from the road and hopefully the local police. By this time it was dark, so using my head-torch I managed to get the tent up, some food on the go and then some tea.
About 9pm a storm had started, and being next to the sea I was starting to wonder if my tent would survive, so I shifted my bike in-between the wind and the tent to make a bit of a wind-break and also put a few extra guy-ropes onto the tent.
DAY 4. Surprisingly, I had a great night’s sleep and when I woke in the morning, the storm had passed, the tent had survived and all was good in the world. After breaking-camp I headed north. Once I got about half-way along the west coast I then changed direction and headed inland and over to the east coast, ending-up at the very top of Sardinia at a town called Palau, in an area called Porto Rafael.
I decided to pay for a campsite as I hadn’t had a shower for a few days and I needed to do something laundry and some video editing. The campsite is great. It’s mainly for campervans and caravans. The reception said there is a small area for tents but if I can find anywhere I wanted to camp to just pitch my tent. The tent area was a small patch of grass down some steps – but it was near the toilets and it was away from the breeze, so that would do for me. .
There are two campsites in the area. I tried the bigger site first but it was a bit like a refugee camp with all the campervans so I opted for the smaller site outside the town and it’s pretty good. Camping Acapulco is 12eu a night and the showers and toilets are great. They’ve even got their own trattoria and pizzeria.
DAY 5. I spent the day riding around the local area, taking in the scenery and and visiting an old castle. The scenery was outstanding and the roads perfect, with lots of bends and good tarmac. Sardinia is an island about 170 miles high and 80 miles wide, and it’s not heavily populated. Much of the island is rural and rocky, with a large mountainous region in the centre. The south isn’t very touristy – but the north is, as this is where most of the beaches are as well as the tourist resorts.
If you want bright lights, noise and lots of things going on – then Sardinia isn’t for you. It’s a peaceful island, laid back and really quite quaint when compared to Italy – it’s noisier and more brash big brother. I was tempted to stay another week but there is always next year – as tomorrow I am crossing over to Corsica on the ferry. It only takes an hour and the cost is £45 for me and the bike. I don’t know where I’m staying once I get into Corsica, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out on the one hour ferry crossing.
