After the usual post passage organization, they hopped on one of their paddle boards and paddled over for a catch up, bringing a dry bag with drinks and snacks. It was terrific to see them and hear about their adventures and future plans. We were still catching up at dinner time so we cooked up a batch of shrimp and rice to sustain us, and give them the energy needed for the paddle back to their boat later on. They’d been cruising down the west coast of Corsica, into Bonafacio (which they said was truly amazing), then across to Northern Sardinia at Port Torres where they cleared in, and down the West coast of Sardinia stopping at Isola d’Asinara, Porto Conte, Alghero, Bosa, Capo Mannu. They entertained us with their story about the clearing in process that took 4 ½ hours with lots of confusion as to what paperwork was needed to complete the “Constituto”, a trip to the tobacco store (Tabacherie) for a stamp, and then the use of someone else’s exit paperwork to guide the authorities through completing the check in. (This was very reminiscent of our first trip to Mexico in the 90’s, and it turns out, you may or may not actually need the Constituto, and as everything was done on paper, there is no way for other ports to verify that you were in the system anyway). Doug and Sandra were also planning stops at Malfatano, and Capo di Pula, the night before heading into a slip downtown Cagliari to meet friends who were arriving by ferry from Naples on 8/1/18.
Our plan was to head straight for Capo di Pula in the morning, (before heading into the marina the on 8/28/18), which also happens to be the site of the ancient city of Nora, which is partially submerged. We were going to spend the night there and watch the Luna eclipse, which was going to be visible on the 27th from 8.40pm to 1.20 am.
The next morning after calling goodbyes to our mates, we headed off and motor sailed (no wind expect what we were making ourselves), down and around the coast to Capo di Pula.
It was a long hot day with the breeze picking up only when we were anchoring. There were actually 2 anchorages to choose from on either side of the point, so depending on wind direction you had a couple of options. The cruising guide warned about submerged ruins and patchy holding, but the east side we chose was large, and we found a home for the night. There was a conspicuous tower on the point, and we could see fenced off areas of ruins close to the peninsula. There was also an amphitheater, and as dusk came on, people were lining up to enter. It looked like there was some organized event to mark the eclipse, and it made us wonder about the various religious and pagan ceremonies that must have been held here all those many moons ago.
The moon was not up until dusk, and then it was already partially in shadow. We watched from the cockpit and trampoline, along with all the anonymous people on boats and ashore, as the moon fully eclipsed. It stayed that way for ages and I ended up falling asleep before it returned to its normal bright silhouette, but Todd checked on it in the wee hours and assured me all was back to normal. There were some odd currents in the anchorage but we couldn’t tell if this was a normal phenomenon or if it was Luna related, and it didn’t create any problems with the boats around us.
