August 25, 26
The 25th dawned windy and warm (hot). The port at Olbia is a very busy ferry port. At one time we counted 5 large ferries like the one in the picture loading or unloading cars and passengers. All of the boats were decorated with cartoon characters from old US shows. Sardinia is an island so ferries are an important connection to the mainland. We were on the northeast side of the island, about 150 miles from the Italian coast. The southern end of the island is less than 150 miles to Tunisia.
We wandered into town and found what we thought was a hop-on/hop-off tour bus. As it turned it was mostly a tour. I think we could have gotten off, but there were no routine stops and we didn’t see anything worth the effort. It was about an hour long through the city and then out to the beaches near Olbia. There were some scenic views. Here a are a couple of pictures taken from the bus while it was moving.
One of the villages on the coast. They do love to go to the beach.
After the tour we found a restaurant where we had lunch. After lunch we wandered around some of the shops on our way back to ship.
An excellent use of an old boat if you have one laying around your backyard somewhere.
The day had been very windy and the sea was quite choppy. In the late afternoon, the captain told the ship that because of the weather forecast (high winds), they were not going to our next planned stop (Bandol, France). Rather, we would sail on the east side of Corsica (the island just north of Sardinia) and then proceed to Toulon, France on the 27th.
That was a bit disappointing, but it did provide for a very relaxed, lazy day on my birthday. That night we had a nice night celebrating my birthday, with our cruising friends.
From L-R, Frances, C&C, Maureen, and Dave (our friends on board).
Happy Birthday being sung. And the beautiful and delicious cake.