August 2024
Sardinia - Corsica
Text: Christian / Pictures & short films: Carola
We have already settled in a little on the south-east coast of Sardinia, but have only seen the area from the water.
But we want to change that now, as we have planned, and head further north to Santa Maria di Navarrese. Here we will spend a few days in a small marina and rent a car.
Santa Maria Navarrese is a small Italian vacation resort with a tourist center. There are plenty of gelaterias and restaurants, as well as the typical Italian bagni with their beaches full of deckchairs for rent. It's almost a bit like coming home, just like you know it from Italy.
After a wonderful day of sailing, we reach Santa Maria Navarrese in the evening
Our berth for the next few days
Gelato is a must, no matter what time it is
The next day we take a look around
View into the bay
Torre di Santa Maria Navarrese
We hire a car and explore the countryside. An excursion takes us to a plateau, where we visit the excavation site of Su Nuraxi, the ruins of an ancient village with the remains of a fortification dating from around 2,000 B.C. The first settlers of Sardinia once lived here.
It is impressive to see what was possible to build from natural stone with the primitive means available at the time. They were already a highly developed people.
We visit other beautiful places and landscapes in the following days, such as Orgosolo (known for its murals) and the historic town of Bosa on a river in the west.
Hiking in the Altopiano del Golgo plateau
A donkey joins us
Ristorante Golgo
Maschera di Pietra di Golgo, very impressive
San Pietro di Golgo
Donkey alarm
View down into the valley and of Baunei
Varied landscape
Pedra Longa
Guided tour through Su Nuraxi, where we learn a lot about the history of Sardinia
Inside the tower
View over the ruins
Bosa
View over Bosa
Bosa is known for its colorful houses
While Orgosolo is known for its murals, as the following pictures show.
After these beautiful days in Santa Maria di Navarrese, however, we are drawn further north, to the famous Strait of Bonifacio.
There are stops in various anchor bays, the wind with the prevailing thermals makes for beautiful day trips until it dies down again towards evening. We enjoy great snorkeling trips, see rays and other exciting creatures underwater. At the same time, we realize that the further north we go, the more touristy it gets.
We like it so much in the bay of Capo Camino that we stay a few days
Every evening we enjoy the beautiful sunsets
And every day we watch the little stingray
We continue north in the best conditions
Whenever the anchor has dropped, there is always a well-deserved anchor beer
Slowly we arrive in the Maddalena archipelago
The beautiful Maddalena archipelago in the north-east is a highlight for many sailors and motorboaters. The best known in this area is probably Porto Cervo. It is certainly the most expensive when it comes to renting moorings in marinas. The area is correspondingly crowded.
We found it unpleasant to sail here and looked for the shortest way to cross quickly. All the many motorboats criss-crossing here cause at best an unpleasant wave and at worst anxiety combined with short-term evasive maneuvers.
Lots of boats are bolting along at high speed on autopilot, but without looking out for other boats. This area was definitely not our favorite place.
Nevertheless, we found a wonderful and almost empty anchorage in the north in the large bay of Porto Liscia. An endless sandy beach invites you to walk and linger, and there is even a beautiful lagoon with reeds behind the sand dune.
It doesn't get any closer
An exciting island world
Beautiful anchorage spot - Porto Liscia
Small lagoon
in the dunes
Beautiful landscape
Bye bye Sardinia, we cross the Strait of Bonifacio. Here we are dependent on a good weather window. The wind channels and accelerates strongly at the narrow point between Sardinia and Corsica.
Today the wind is moderate and we cross the strait quickly in a half-wind course. Caro changes the Italian flag for the French flag and we sail past Bonifacio, spectacularly situated on a rock face, to the west coast of Corsica. We had already planned to visit Bonifacio later in our rental car.
We have now arrived in France and are mooring for the first night in an anchorage bay on the south-western tip of Corsica. As in Sardinia, we want to spend a few days in a marina here too so that we can travel inland in our rental car.
from 🇮🇹 to 🇫🇷 ⛵️
Bonjour Corse
Bonifacio in sight
Our first anchorage in Corsica - Cala di Stagnolu
Propriano is the perfect place for us to stay for several days, also because stronger winds are forecast for the coming days. It is difficult to find a sheltered anchorage here.
The small harbor with the marina is divided into two parts, each with its own entrance. We decide on the eastern one and radio the marina, no response. So we call again and then someone answers who I can't understand. But it was clear that we were waiting at the wrong entrance. We have to go to the western one, from where a marinero in a dinghy is already heading towards us. Caro manages the mooring maneuver in the tight space perfectly. When we check in at the marina office, I get to show off my remaining knowledge of French. Well, it worked better many years ago....
Now it's time to experience Corsican-French culture. With its natural stone houses, Propriano reminds us a little of southern Brittany. A stone's throw from Sardinia and yet it is completely different here.
We immediately feel at home and immerse ourselves in savoir-vivre. We literally eat like God in France. Somehow we like it better here than in Sardinia and so we look forward to the upcoming excursions with the rental car.
Propriano in sight
Propriano - main street with many bars, restaurants and small stores
The wonderful beach is just a short walk away
Chris in burger heaven
While I can't get enough of the “Café Gourmand”
We visited the Cascade Saint`Albertu waterfall, enjoyed an excellent ice cream in a mountain village and hiked through the unique park landscape of Cucuruzzu.
Behind the strange name lies a Bronze Age settlement with a fortress. The topography with its exposed boulders offered the people of the time natural protection, so they settled down and farmed. There is much to discover here on a well-signposted tour through the wooded landscape. If you look closely, the remaining ruins form a puzzle and you can get an idea of what it was like back then.
Of course we also visit Bonifacio. A scenically fascinating natural harbor in a deep gorge. The village with its historic buildings towers to the side.
The old cemetery with its many richly decorated family graves and chapel-like tombs for the dead is also worth a special mention. All in all, a very interesting and beautiful place. Unfortunately, it is far too touristy for us with the masses of visitors who crowd through the alleyways and sit in the many restaurants at the harbor. So after a few hours, we say “Au revoir”.
On the way in Bonifacio
Cimiteriu Marinu di Bunifaziu
This cemetery impressed us very much
In the background the harbor entrance and Bonifacio
And another view of the little town
Narrow alleyways adorn the old town
Cascade Saint'Albertu waterfall
Lac de Tolla
Mountain village Tolla
On the way in Cucuruzzu - with an information booklet in hand, we follow the path. We learn a lot about the way of life of the people of the past.
Like a fairytale forest
Capula - another place with an exciting history
After the lively Propriano, we wanted a quiet anchorage and found one in the Pointe de la Parata in the bay of Ajaccio, a little further north of Propriano.
Here we spend five “vacation days” on the boat, simply enjoying the days and drawing up the plan for the rest of the trip.
It's becoming clear to both of us that we'd like to spend the autumn relaxing in anchor bays in the Balearic Islands. As the main season will be over there in September and October, we're hoping for bays that are a little less crowded.
With a fair wind we set course for Pointe de la Parata
Pointe de la Parata
Being able to watch dolphins so close in an anchor bay - incredible
Time to look around on land
View of the “Bloody Islands” - Îles Sanguinaires
We really liked it here
Another topic is our winter storage. The boat needs to be dewatered and the underwater hull renewed. After enquiring at various marinas on Mallorca, it soon becomes clear that they are either fully booked or four times as expensive as on the Spanish mainland.
We get a tip about Torrevieja from a sailing forum. We enquire here and receive an attractive offer for a berth. This seems to us to be a much better option than Almerimar, which is well-known among sailors.
Almerimar certainly has an excellent infrastructure for boat work, but it is a man-made backwater settlement in no man's land, with poor connections to an international airport.
We still have a little time to decide, and it must also be ensured that we can renew the underwater hull. Further clarifications are necessary.
The plan is set, the Balearic Islands are calling. But first we have to get ourselves into a better starting position for the two-day crossing. So we leave the Pointe de la Parata and head south again.
With an overnight stay in the Golfe de Murtoli, we reach Sardinia at Isola Piana, in the bay of La Pelosa. Wonderfully turquoise water awaits us here at the north-easternmost tip of Sardinia. We are overwhelmed by the beautiful bay.
Îles Sanguinaires aus der Nähe betrachtet
Golfe de Murtoli - we spend a quiet night at anchor here
The next morning we see the bay in daylight and realize how beautiful it is here. We would love to stay here longer, but we have other plans ☺️
Corsica in the wake, but it's also a farewell from here
These are the indescribable moments when sailing
As we don't reach La Pelosa anchorage until late in the evening, we don't see how incredibly blue and clear the water is here until the next morning
Here we are preparing for the crossing to the Balearic Islands and waiting for a suitable weather window, which is expected between Thursday and Saturday.
We set off somewhat tensely on Thursday, August 29. At 12:00 noon it's “anchor up”, the wind sets in as forecast and we leave Sardinia.
We use the days until departure not only to plan the upcoming crossing, but also to take the time to watch the wonderful sunsets
The time has come, we are leaving Italy - heading for Spain, Menorca - Balearic Islands
We leave Sardinia behind us with a full canvas
Sailing into the first night
Sailing (or under engine) into the second night
On August 31, 2024 we set eyes on Spanish land - Menorca ahead 🇪🇸
So August ends in a new country. We start September under the Spanish sun, on the Balearic Islands ☀️.
The miles we covered in August in two parts.
Part 1
Part 2
This Post Has 5 Comments
Spannend wie immer und wunderbare Fotos bereichern unseren Herbstalltag. Vielen Dank. Weiterhin viel Segelglück.
Herzliche Grüsse Marlies
So gut geschrieben, als wäre man
mit euch gesegelt.
Liebe Monika
Danke für das Feedback. Wir haben immer eine Koje frei, falls du es einmal live erleben möchtest. Herzlichst C&C
Interessante Mittelmeerwelt kennen gelernt – viele Meilen gesegelt.
Vielleicht ergibt sich ja einmal die Gelegenheit ein paar Meilen mit uns zu Segeln 😉 Herzliche Grüsse Caro&Chris
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