We had hoped to go on a boat trip that tours the islands of the Maddelena Archipelago, but it's too windy and the boats won't be able to dock at the islands. So we decide to take the ferry over to La Maddelena and explore on our own.
We walk around town and decide to take the bus to Isola Caprera, an island east of La Maddelena that's joined by a causeway. The bus drops us at Casa Girabald, the home of Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the father's of Italian independance. He bought Isola Caprera in 1855 as his retirement home and it's now a nature reserve. Nice retirement!
Who wants to go to an easy, accessible beach?? NOT US! In the Lonely Planet, we read about a beautiful, secluded beach called Cala Coticcio that's just a "35 min. trek" or can be visited by sea. Meh, doesn't sound too bad. We ask the guy in the snack shop where to find the trail. His english is limited, but we understand we have to walk back down the road to the rotunda, turn left...something about a car park.....1 hr. Doesn't sound too bad.
After some false starts, we finally see a sign for Cala Coticcio and start walking down the road. **NOTE** If you're ever travelling in Sardegna, learn to drive manual. Sophia was ready with her international driver's license, but neither of us knew how to drive a manual tranmission car, and looking online, it was too hard to find an automatic car to rent, so we were dependent on our own two feet and the local bus system. We would have saved a lot of time by car, but we did the best we could, and the experience was worth it.
We walk for 45 min. - 1hr. on the road as cars and RTVs drive by, drivers gaping, because we are the only ones walking. Around each turn, we hope to see the start of the trail, but we haven't seen a sign since the first turn-off, and we assume we're on the right track. The landscape is lovely with large granite rocks looming over us and the water to the west.
Finally, we see a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road and the entrance to a larger gravel lot where the trail begins. And so begins our trek through Mordor. The trail starts easy enough, but soon we find we're making our way through loose and craggy rocks, going up and down the landscape, and squeezing through narrow passages lined with prickly plants. We pass by some fellow beach-seekers who look like they're going to turn back. We've come to far, there's no turning back for us.
After about 45 min. and a lot of sweat and dust, WE ARE THERE!!! Soph accomplishes this in 6 euro flip flops! (Her sandals have been giving her trouble and we didn't expect this rocky terrain). It's a small beach, but beautiful among the rocks. The water is sparkling. We settle in and enjoy the view (appreciating the Sardinian beach bods). We only have a little more than an hour to relax before we have to make our return trek back to catch the last bus back to La Maddelena and then the ferry back to Palau.
We figure out our plan for the next day and find some pizza. It's been a good day.
Satellite image of our day's trek.
