Tunisia Part 2

Port Yasmine is a tourist area surrounded by beaches and hotels, and as such, does not really have a shopping area.  The closest area with a supermarket and  other necessities is a 5 minute taxi ride away in Baraket Essahil.  There are a number of ways to reach this destination, depending on your budget and your sense of adventure!  A taxi is easiest for multiple shopping stops as for a small price (about EUR 7 for an hour) you can hire a taxi that will take you to the various stores for things like a SIM card for internet and phone calls; the fruit and vegetable vendors, a hardware store, a supermarket, etc.  If, however, you are feeling adventurous and don’t mind walking a little, you can take a ‘louage’ (literally a ‘share’ in French) – this is a minivan which seats 8 people and costs about 30 cents per person.  They have set routes (beginning and end) but will drop you anywhere along the way if you ask.  Once you know where to catch these ‘louages’ and their destinations, they are a fun way to travel all around Tunisia and very inexpensive!  We took a taxi the first time just in order to see where everything was –after that, the louage was the way to go!

The weather remained sunny and hot for most of the days and we tried to intersperse work with fun things as well.  One morning we enjoyed an excursion on a pirate ship – these are replica galleons which take guests for a cruise around the area and entertain them with pirate ‘antics’ as well as the opportunity for a swim, looking for dolphins and a BBQ lunch.  Tad got into the swing of things with his Captain Jack Swallow (inside joke) outfit which was very much appreciated by the ‘pirates’ on board the ship “Columbus” on which we were sailing.

I also experienced an authentic ‘hammam’ (thermal springs ) in the nearby hills – it was pretty basic and none too hygienic but the water was scalding and the loofah scrub and massage divine – all for the very respectable price of EUR 5! 

One Friday we took the louage to Nabeul, a nearby city centre where we attended the Friday markets.  It was chaos, colourful and an assault on the senses but a lot of fun.  You had to penetrate the tourist area with the junk, souvenirs and hustlers to see the ‘genuine’ market stalls selling everything from second hand clothing to spices to fruit and vegetables to fabrics and so much more!  We ended that day with a refreshing ‘citronade’ (fresh lemonade made from the whole fruit with sugar added which is delicious!) and I bought extra to take back to the boat.

The days slipped past all too quickly – we dismantled Bisou a little each day, starting with the helm station and the canvas covers around the cockpit, and working through the sails, lines, halyards and sheets.  Although Tunisia has a mild winter climate, Port Yasmine is subject to some strong winds as well as red dust and we wanted to make sure that all moving parts (winches, blocks, etc.) were lubricated and covered to minimize potential clogging with dust.  We also had a fantastic cover made for Bisou which goes over the boom, and covers the whole top deck as well as the cockpit area.  It fits snugly, has air vents to minimize condensation and looks very smart.  Tad wanted to make sure that as many parts of the boat were put away as possible to reduce the effect of UV rays and weather on them.

Finally it was down to the last couple of days – finishing up the food supplies and bagging up what was left to give away to the neighbouring yachties; cleaning and packing away bedding, clothing and everything else likely to get damp and mildewy; cleaning out cupboards, fridges and freezers; and of course packing our few things we were taking with us.

We spent the last night in Port Yasmine in a nearby hotel – Le Residence des Corails – which was clean, comfortable and very peaceful.  The following morning we had organized our wonderful driver, Fawzi, to take us to Carthage and Sid Bou Saiid for some sightseeing and then drop us at our hotel in Tunis for our last night before flying out to Istanbul. 

Visiting Carthage with its amphitheatre, Roman villas and temples was incredible.  The area was home to 250,000 Phonecians in ancient times, 500,000 Carthaginians followed, and then finally a Roman city housing 750,000 people thrived until it was destroyed by the Vandals and Goths.  There are several layers of building remains still visible today, and relics everywhere!  Our guide said that because most of Carthage is now a residential suburb of Tunis (mostly inhabited by Embassy Residences and other well-to-do residents), people are forever finding pottery sherds, coins and other relics in their backyards when they go digging!  In fact he said that there are so many relics at the sites, people are allowed to take anything found at the surface (they may not dig through the soil) and many visitors even bring metal detectors after rain washes the soil away, hoping to find coins and other treasures!

Sidi Bou Saiid is picturesque although touristy – famous for its white-washed buildings and bright blue doors and window shutters, the narrow streets lead to new vistas around every corner.  You do have to run the gauntlet of market stalls-holders inviting you to “just come and look” at the junk they are trying to flog, but there are some interesting things to see as well.  Tad managed to find an ice creamery and there was even a local vendor making fresh donut-type pastries that HAD to be sampled!

All too soon it was time to head to the busy city of Tunis for a night at the Ibis Hotel (clean, comfortable, quiet and well-priced with a 15 minute walk to the medina).  We headed out to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner of grilled sea bass before heading to bed.

Our last morning we ventured into the medina for a look around – it was very busy being Friday and we wandered through the market stalls and the narrow laneways for just an hour before we not only had had enough of the chaos, but it was time to drive to the airport.

If we thought that the chaos and disorder would be less once we reached the airport at Tunis, we were destined to be disappointed.  As mentioned earlier, I had been advised to arrive at the airport in plenty of time to pay for my additional two weeks’ worth of visas prior to exiting the country via the immigration counter.  The check in desk for our flight had not yet opened (we had checked in online in any case and selected our seats so we were not concerned about this), so I left Tad with the luggage and I went in search of the customs official or immigration police who might assist me with my visa stamps.  After a fruitless attempt at finding either of these two offices on my own, as well as enquiring at the information desk, the check in counters and ticket offices I went back to find Tad and get checked in for our flight formally.  I decided I would just front up at the immigration counter and try to deal with the situation there.

We had treated ourselves to Business Class seats on this leg of our journey as we were using frequent flyer points to get us to Istanbul.  As our original plans had been to fly home from Turkey, we had booked a return ticket with Singapore Airlines flying into Paris when we arrived, and home from Istanbul. This served two purposes – leaving from a non-Schengen country that would not question our time in Schengen Europe, but also having the opportunity to visit Istanbul for the first time.

There was just one queue for the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul and as we were there so early it did not take long for us to complete the check-in, however, the baggage belt did not work so we had to take our bags to another area of the airport to drop them off.  The drop-off area was unattended when we arrived and a couple of other people were waiting to drop off their bags as well – the belt was continually stopping due to suitcases being loaded incorrectly and triggering a blockage alarm.  When an attendant finally arrived to oversee the drop off area, we loaded our suitcases onto the belt and waited until we saw them disappear into the abyss of the airport.  I was not going to take any chances that our bags might not join us in Istanbul.

Although we had been issued with “fast track” vouchers for immigration, the queue was ridiculously long and slow.  We were never certain whether it was because only one immigration official was overseeing the queue or it was something else, but we stood in the queue for almost an hour.  Luckily we had plenty of time or we would have been very concerned.  We saw a number of people being turned back and discovered that they had not bought their ‘solidarity stamp’.  Tunisia introduced a new departure tax as of October 1^st this year which required all non-residents and non-Tunisian citizens to purchase a stamp for 30 TD prior to arriving at the airport.  Fortunately I was aware of this from reading a flyer at the marina and had purchased our stamps there.  People who had arrived at the immigration desk without the stamp were being turned back to go and purchase these at one of the shops in the airport area.  At this point I was becoming a little nervous about my visa and wondering what would happen about my needing to pay for the additional two weeks.  Perhaps due to the congested situation or perhaps because the officer was becoming weary, he did not pay any attention to my arrival date on my visa and simply processed my departure.  Tad almost got into strife as the police had never stamped him in and the immigration officer was concerned that he couldn’t find the entry stamp.  We explained that the police had not stamped Tad in on arrival but that he had completed the arrival formalities as shown by the visitor card in his passport. That seemed to satisfy the officer and he stamped Tad out.  Breathing a sigh of relief we progressed to the security screening area and then through to the lounge to await our boarding call.

Our flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines was uneventful – it was a real treat to have the comfortable and spacious seating in Business Class, as well as delicious food (including some of the best Turkish delight I have ever tasted!) and our only regret was that the flight did not last longer!

We arrived into Istanbul airport, stamped in and collected our bags.  The hotel we had booked included a free transfer from the airport and it was so nice to be met and chauffeured to our hotel after a long and rather overwhelming day.  We missed the peace and quiet of being on Bisou already, but more adventures were in store for us.

Stay tuned for the next chapter on our stay in Istanbul….

The beach north of the marina at Port Yasmine

One of the main streets in Port Yasmine

In the spices souk of Nabeul, Hammamet

Tad being a 'pirate' with one of the crew on "Columbus"

"Bisou" all wrapped up and dismantled

Carthage - Temple of Aesclaepius

Sidi Bou Saiid

Tunisia Part 1

As usual, we left Malfatano, on the south coast of Sardinia, before dawn – we are getting good at waking before the alarm on ‘passage days’.  I think it’s something to do with the excitement and anticipation of a new destination.  The morning was calm and dark and we raised the anchor and slipped from the bay quietly heading south and out to sea.

The day passed uneventfully with fluctuating wind speeds, but enough to give us an average 7 knots of speed through the water.  There was a bit of a swell on our stern which made us surf going down the waves, but not enough to be uncomfortable.

I took the first watch that night, which coincided with the crossing of the freighter ‘traffic lanes’ off the north coast of Tunisia.  With both the radar and AIS on as well as the binoculars watching out, we managed to avoid colliding with the many ships passing perpendicular to us in both directions.  Then there were the fishing vessels going in no predictable direction (sometimes standing still, sometimes following a shelf on the sea floor, sometimes abruptly turning and appearing to head straight for us!) which were alarming to say the least.  Fortunately all were well lit and so at least visible!

Tad took over before we reached Cap Bon (northeast coast of Tunisia) in record time (well, it was sooner than we predicted as we had made such good speed in the crossing), and it was just as well, since there were a large number of fishing vessels, fish farms and nets (unmarked on any of our charts) all along the coast and in our path.  They were difficult to see as many were also unlit and had very little in the way of markers to define them – all you could see was a dark outline ahead and try to steer to avoid it!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise as we sped down the east coast of Tunisia and managed to get both the main and the genoa up with a good 25 knots blowing from the northwest taking us and Bisou into Port Yasmine at Hammamet.  Calling into the marina on the VHF radio, we were invited to moor at the reception quay. A marina attendant (they seem to be called ‘marineros’ regardless of which country you are in!) was waiting to assist us with our lines and within minutes we were moored to the reception quay.  I went ashore with the ship’s papers, the passports, etc. to complete formalities.

Although Tad is officially skipper on Bisou (due to his seniority in the skill department), we are both owners which sometimes proves complicated when completing arrival documentation in various places.  We knew that Tunisia was going to be challenging but since I speak French and have a knowledge of Arabic as well as the customs in this part of the world, it made sense for me to go ashore to carry out the arrival  procedures.  First stop was the police - I was pleasantly surprised by how friendly and helpful everyone was. There was a police woman in uniform as well as her ‘boss’ not in uniform; the policewoman and I chatted while the ‘boss’ filled out the paperwork to organize our arrival stamps.  It turns out that Tad didn’t need a visa due to his having an American passport, but for some reason Australians DO need a visa; this, however, is available on arrival.  It was Saturday afternoon when we arrived and not possible for me to buy my arrival visa stamp but the police stamped me in anyway with the reassurance that I would go to the marina office first thing Monday morning and pay my 30 Tunisian dinars (about 15 euros) for a 7-day visa.  When I told the police that I would be staying for another two weeks they advised me to just pay for an additional two visas at the airport on departure.  Tad didn’t even get a stamp in his passport.

Then it was on to the customs office.  Here I had to complete a form listing all the ‘valuables’ we had on board, including alcohol (they weren’t interested in our 6 bottles of wine or 12 bottles of beer), electronics (GPS, AIS, radios, Iridium phone, etc.), our dinghy and motor and Tad’s  “professional” camera collection.  We found out later that this is because these items are not available to buy in Tunisia and if they are, they are very expensive.  Many foreigners are tempted to sell these items at a premium while they are in Tunisia and buy replacements when they get home!  We even had a taxi driver ask us if we had any spare phones, tablets, Ipods or laptops that we wanted to sell him!

From customs my next stop was the marina (luckily all these offices were in the same building very close to the arrival quay); since I did not have my passport in order to complete the contract for the winter (the police were holding it until I purchased my stamp on Monday), I had to hand over the boat papers for assurance until I could give the marina office my passport.  We were assigned a berth and back I went to the boat, with the two police officers and the customs official in tow for the “inspection”.  They had not seen a Fountaine Pajot Helia before and were quite curious as to the layout of the boat – not in the least interested in what we had on board (thank goodness) and within a short time I was politely informed (in French) that the customs and immigration formalities were now complete and if we would like to offer the police and customs official a small ‘gift’ it would be appreciated but if not that was okay as well.  I apologized that we had nothing, not even any Tunisian money to be able to offer and they smiled and went away.  I think we got off lightly as we had heard that a number of other yachties had been asked outright for money.  I do understand the custom of ‘baksheesh’ and I am not averse to that per se, however, the blatant request of money to me is rude and not necessary.  I made sure I remembered the names of the officers who assisted me as well as the marina office official and all the other various people who were kind to us and will bring them small gifts from Australia on our return NOT money!

Back on board Tad was wondering what was going on and I let him know that we were officially in Tunisia!  We followed the marinero to our appointed berth and were horrified as we rounded the end of pontoon #40 to see that we were to be wedged in between a rather large motor yacht and another 44’ catamaran!  I indicated with my hands to the marinero that we were too wide to fit in that space and he just signaled to Tad to keep going and we would be okay.

With fenders out either side, we slipped into our berth and tied up (Mediterranean-style mooring).  Once in, we saw what a good spot it really was – although some distance from the Capitainerie and other yachts, it was secure and protected.  When I went back on Monday to finalise our contract and retrieve my passport, I asked the marina office lady if we could stay there (she had indicated we might be moved) and she replied “Inshallah” – this literally translates as “God Willing” and is the traditional reply to just about any enquiry.  What it does is to remove responsibility from the person replying, should the requested action not occur!

One of the first people we met was Mick Turner, a British man with whom I had made contact via email.  He and his wife sailed into Port Yasmine 7 years earlier and had ended up staying! Mick is a boat handyman and can fix just about anything – his wife, Jo, organises taxis and transfers to the airport, cleans boats and hosts wonderful gatherings for the yachting community in Port Yasmine.  We were treated to the first of these events a week after arriving, with Eid al Adha (one of the many Muslim feast days) being celebrated on the following Saturday.  Mick and Jo hosted a collection of French, Belgian, British, and Australian yachties at their tiny cottage not far from the marina, for a BBQ.  We brought a potato salad and chocolate brownies to help out with the catering, both of which were appreciated.  We met and chatted with a variety of people that day which was a great way to get to know some of our yachting neighbours.

As the days went by, we met other yachties in the marina, including another Australian couple, JB and Terri from Perth on their yacht “Xi”.  In chatting with them further we found that we were both interested in doing some exploring of

Tunisia during the next week or so and eventually arranged for a driver to take the four of us to Kerouan and El Djem for a day trip.

Kerouan was an important Muslim destination in ancient times, and in fact has a mosque that was the third most important for pilgrims after Mecca and Jerusalem.  The Great Mosque was built in the 10^th century and the city was a thriving metropolis  - we visited the Great Mosque and then wandered through the medina (old town) observing some wonderful traditional craftspeople at work: weaving, carpet knotting, leather work and much more.  We could have spent all day here but we moved on to El Djem where we were amazed by the spectacular coliseum here.  This edifice is apparently the third largest coliseum in the world and is amazingly well preserved.  Operatic performances are held here during the summer and original seating still used.  By the time we arrived in El Djem, it was mid-afternoon so we had a bite to eat at a restaurant facing the coliseum before entering the theatre for a visit.  We then visited the museum at El Djem which houses an amazing array of mosaics excavated from a variety of villas that existed in the area during Roman times.  Many were very well preserved and some have been carefully restored, but all are beautifully displayed in the museum.

We had a long drive back to the marina and although it had been a long day, with some rather confronting traffic situations, our driver brought us back to our boats safely.

                                                    The Great Mosque at Kerouan

A traditional way of creating weaving spindles of wool

                                            The coliseum at El Djem, Tunisia

One of the many spectacular mosaics in the museum at El Djem

Arriving into Port Yasmine, Hammamet, Tunisia

Surprising Sardinia

We left Menorca before dawn in barely a breath of wind.  The water was dark and glassy and the coastline was still lit with the street lamps and other night lights.

The sky was overcast by the time it grew light and the air was hot and muggy – just the sort of weather you get before a big thunderstorm.  We were not overly concerned as there was no prediction for stormy weather, but we knew we would have overcast skies at least until the next day.

The winds were fickle and we had to motor-sail almost the whole way across the Sardinian Sea – the seas were rather choppy as there was a small swell coming from the southeast which was countered by a northwesterly wind but it was not uncomfortable on Bisou.

We passed the time as we usually do – reading, chatting, looking out for sealife (we did get a couple of pods of small dolphins who came to check us out but didn’t stay long, and a sea turtle which we saw floating on the surface but dived as soon as we approached), napping and eating.  It’s hard to believe that 30 hours can go by as quickly as it does, but the time does tick by.

I took the first watch of the night as I usually do – Tad is quick to fall asleep whereas I take longer and as I had just started a new book on my Kindle I was eager to spend some time reading.  With the radar on as well as the chart (on which you can see vessels which have their AIS turned on) I was able to see the two freighters which were the only ships that passed us during the crossing.  It was a dark night, overcast still, and the radar showed squalls all around.  Fortunately there were no strong winds or thunderstorm activity associated with the squalls and all we got was a little rain.

Shortly after 9am the next morning we sighted land  - this is always exciting as even though we were still some hours from our destination, we were looking forward to being in a new country!  It was rather surprising how few boats we saw along the south coast but being the end of September, we surmised that the season was over for most, and being a weekday, even the weekend sailors were at work.

We arrived at Porto Teulada, our chosen destination by about 1pm, however we decided that we would drop anchor in the beautiful bay just west of the marina as it was sheltered from that day’s wind and had a sandy bottom (our favourite for anchoring) and a lovely beach.  We took the dinghy around the point to the anchorage area listed in the cruising guide and found a spot that should the weather become inclement or the winds change dramatically, we could move to.  We also parked the dinghy at the marina hoping to get some information about the marina and the area but it was almost deserted.  It seems that the end of the ‘season’ in this area is 15^th September and although the lady in the marina office spoke excellent English and tried to be helpful, there was not much she could offer.  We enquired about the bus that supposedly went into the nearest town about 8km away but were informed that we would need to take a taxi as the bus finished on the 15^th.   By this time it was later in the afternoon and we decided to wait until the next day to make the trip into town to refill our campinggaz bottle and get an Italian SIM card.

There was a campground on the beach side of the point, and since we were already ashore we decided to take a look as apparently there was a small grocery store on the premises.  It was a large campground with lots of trees and although basic, it was nicely laid out.  The shop was remarkably well-stocked with an amazing variety of items including meats and cheeses, but as we had provisioned sufficiently in Mahon we really didn’t need anything.  We bought a couple of ice creams, returned to the dinghy and then went ashore on the beach. 

The Porto Tramatzu, as this beach is known, is exquisite – the sand is clean and soft and extends until well out into the bay.  The bay is somewhat protected from southerly swells by a large island at the entrance to the bay and we were the only boat anchored there.  At first we wondered if we were even allowed to be there as the area borders onto the military zone where they do target practice, but no one came along to tell us to leave so we stayed! 

We had a wonderful peaceful night with no swell, incredibly bright stars and no noise whatsoever – heaven!

The next morning Tad took me to the marina where the staff member kindly called me a taxi ; the female taxi driver spoke no English and my Italian is non-existent although I can make myself understood, but she saw my campinggaz container and knew where to take me.  The drive into Teulada was surprisingly green with oleander bushes planted alongside the road and green crops of some sort in the fields.

I had momentarily forgotten the speed with which Italians navigate the roads and Sards are not different – the 8km distance between the marina and the gas store was spanned within minutes!  As the road was fairly flat I judged that it would be a pleasant ride if we wanted to cycle into town another day.  Exchanging my empty campinggaz container for a full one took a matter of minutes and then we went in search of a SIM card seller.  The taxi driver, ever helpful, asked a number of people and off we drove down a number of alleys until we stopped outside a doorway. No signs, no indication that this doorway was not someone’s home, but we walked inside and in the gloom I saw that it was a little grocery store.  The taxi driver greeted the two ladies who were apparently the owners of this little neighbourhood shop and we continued walking straight through and out the other side – crossed a courtyard, up some steps and into another doorway and another darkened room.  Once my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I saw that we were in a shop which sold electrical goods and also phone SIM cards.

Luckily they had a Vodaphone SIM although since my dongle has been unlocked I imagine that it would take any SIM (not sure about this though) – the rather ancient gentleman behind the counter took my passport (which I had fortunately remembered to bring – you need this everywhere you want to buy a SIM) and proceeded to single-finger type my details into his computer.  Did I mention that he had to turn it on first which took about 10 minutes while he and his colleague chatted with the taxi driver?

Yes, it all took awhile but in the end I had my 6Gb for Eur 25 (super-cheap compared with Spain which was 2Gb for Eur 20), and was ready to head back to the marina.  The whole trip which took about an hour and during which I was accompanied by the taxi driver cost a mere Eur 20!

Tad came to fetch me in the dinghy and we went back to the boat for lunch.  In the afternoon we decided to go ashore to the beach and have a walk then relax.  We went into the beach bar to have a look around and the proprietor, an older gentleman told us that we couldn’t park the dinghy where we had anchored it.  I sat on the beach while Tad moved the dinghy and met one of the young men working in the beach bar area.  It turned out that he and his brother managed the beach bar, the lounge chairs for rent and also RIB rentals.  The season was pretty much over and they would be packing everything up at the end of the week.  Tad was able to have a good chat with Alessandro as he spoke good English and we arranged to have a drink with him and his parents (who ran the beach bar) after work at 6:30pm.

It turned out that the parents spoke excellent French while Alessandro and his brother Roberto spoke English, so while Tad spoke to the younger generation (aged 38 and 32) I conversed with the parents “Gigi” and “SiSi” (short for Luigi and Sylvia).  We had a couple of beers and agreed to meet the next morning for a quick breakfast as we had planned to move on to another bay the next day.

We had another peaceful night and headed ashore to catch up with our newfound friends the next morning.  SiSi had kindly brought some lovely sweets from the local bakery and served us tea.  We chatted about sailing (they had a Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi, 7 years old, on which they had sailed to the Balearics, Tunisia, and Malta during the winters when their beach bar closes down), Sardinia, travelling and much more during the brief time we were there and wished we were staying longer!

By this time, although we had been in Sardinia only a couple of days, we had seen that the next weather window to Tunisia would be sooner than expected.  If we didn’t leave by Friday (two days away) we would have to wait another week and in the meantime the weather in Sardinia was forecast to be blowy from the east and overcast.  We therefore decided to leave, in spite of the fact that we had not stayed long and wanted to see so much more!

Our next anchorage was a mere 5 nm away so we sailed and had a look around the beaches of Malfatano.  We found a good anchorage and were surprised to see several other boats, including another catamaran join us over the course of the afternoon.  By sunset there were about 8 of us in the bay but as it was large there was plenty of room. The flags were French, German, Sard and ourselves.

We awoke the next morning to the rumbles of thunder (although we thought they might be from the firing range) and as I looked out our bedroom window I could see very black clouds coming from the west and forked lightning.

The portable instruments went back into the oven, and we ran around closing all the hatches in anticipation of some rain.  We were completely unprepared for the surprise that came next …

As the storm neared us, the lightning flashed and the wind began to increase – within minutes we were surrounded by wind, rain and metre-high waves and could barely see to the end of our boat.  A short time later, boats started floating past us as their anchors dragged and we feared for ours although it appeared to be holding.  Tad ran up to our helm station (which is completely enclosed, thank heavens) and started the engines as he felt sure our anchor would not hold.  Although we did not have our instruments turned on, we believe that the winds were in excess of 50 knots with 100 knot gusts.  Tad had both engines on full with Bisou’s nose into the wind to try and hold us in place.  There was little I could do but look around and check to see that we didn’t have any boats crashing into us and that we were clear of any rocks. The lightning continued to flash and the thunder roared as the storm passed over us.

The whole ordeal probably lasted less than an hour, although it seemed like an eternity!  The storm moved on, and the sun came out and started to shine.  Although we had moved from our anchored location, we were well clear of rocks and had not moved far.  Many of the boats had been blown out to sea and one unfortunate yacht had ended up on the rocks in the neighbouring bay.  We had been lucky that our anchor had held as well as it did and that Tad knew what to do with the engines as far as holding us steady.

We raised the anchor, motored back to our original spot and dropped it again, and only then did we feel we could breathe easily! Time for breakfast!  The rest of the day was sunny and warm and we went out in the dinghy to see how the ‘wrecked’ yacht was faring – they were Italian and had called the coast guard who had tried to pull them off the rocks without success.  The coast guard had then called a salvage diver who was able to refloat the boat with balloons and then the coast guard towed them back to Cagliari about 50 nm away.  We felt so relieved that we had gotten off so lightly.

That night we headed to bed early as our plan was to leave for Tunisia the next morning, once again before dawn.

We would have liked to have visited Nora, a historic site not far from where we were in Malfatano as well as Villasimius but those places will have to wait for the next trip!

                                          Bisou at anchor in Porto Tramatzu, Sardinia

The watchtower at Porto Teulada, Sardinia

The beach at Porto Tramatzu

Alessandro at the beach bar with Robin and Tad