39:06.80N 09:31.30E New Friends

Oboe D'Amore's Web Diary
Nigel Backwith
Thu 28 Jul 2011 11:41

We slipped back into Marina Sant’Elmo in Cagliari at about 2000 hours after a long and relaxing day sail with Piers.  It was his last evening and we settled down to a well earned cocktail in the cockpit  and a now very familiar plate of antipasti.  We had berthed in a private slip and this proved to be a good thing, as the neighbours were very friendly!  We were soon invited to a pontoon aperitifs for the following evening by Stefano and his 2 year old pincer – yorkshire terrier friend Lupio!  Pierstefano came over and chatted to us and we became instant friends, learning about his life before retirement with Nestle and the pride in which he held his son, now 32 and working both as a home visit chef (www.cook44.it) and a freelance photographer/creative director in Holland.

 

So, as Piers departed for a convoluted flight to Cyprus via Munich, Gill and I set about cleaning Oboe once again, to walk into the now increasingly familiar Cagliari to the little supermarket and stop for the customary espresso and cappuccino. The day slipped quietly by, except for the incessant Mistral, now in its 4th day, until cocktail hour arrived and we became part of a small snake of people making its way, contributions of drink and antipasti in hand, to the tented area set aside in the marina for gatherings of “ships that pass in the night”.  Wine and Aperol Spritz loosened the tongue, as my minimal Italian stumbled out of my mouth, only to find the couple I had approached were English! English became the language of all – local Sards, Italians and French, except Tomas, aged 10 who was limited to fluent Italian and French!  What a charming group of new friends and what a hangover the following morning!

 

Pierstefano was alone on his yacht, as his wife had returned for an appointment in Milan.  He offered to spend the day with us touring Sardinia, especially the Oristano area on the west coast, where he showed us his holiday home, nestled in perfect sand dunes with a spectacular view over a wide surfing beach – a little bit of heaven and impossible for foreign tourists like us to find, as the roads seemed to be void of sign posts.  We took photos on the headland, ate a snack in the village and eventually drove by a different route back to Cagliari.  Enjoying his company so much, we agreed to meet up again in the evening and by way of a big thank you, buy dinner. Pierstefano is a bundle of energy, full of inventive ideas and stories, two of which have already been published as internet novels.  He tells us that he gets his inspiration from days sailing alone, when he scribbles down the plot and uses real experiences to enhance the stories.

 

I needed to visit a phone shop in Cagliari, so jumping in a taxi, I asked for a recommendation for a restaurant.  “Questo ristorante e tipico della Sardinia”, I’m told.  Good enough for me and that’s where we ended up - Ammentos, after first sipping Mojitos for an hour on a terrace at the very top of the roman citadel with spectacular views over the bay of Cagliari. . . .

 

 

 

Follow our progress here:

 

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Fair winds to you all.

 

 

Nigel

Gill