Another early morning and we're sitting on the dock in Palau waiting for the bus that will take us back to the Olbia airport. From there, we will catch another bus to Dorgali where we'll stay for a night. The sunrise is beautiful over the water.
The bus drops us off in the town and we make our way to Hotel Il Quercato just on the outskirts of town. Walking into the garden entrance, we see bikes and MEC bags...Canadians! We meet Ron and April from Vancouver who are cycling through Sardinia, Elba, and then parts of mainland Italy. I'm in awe of their endurance, just experiencing the winding, hilly roads on bus alone, let alone cycling up and down them. They're so kind in calling us and we arrange a ride to the bus stop together to head to Cala Gonone, a popular vacation seaside town. There are many beaches and scenic cliffs along this stretch of the coast of Sardinia.
Sophia and I go off to explore the coast and we manage to get the last boat out that will take us to the Bue Marino Grotto and Cala Luna beach. We board a rubber dinghy with an italian family, and a german couple and shoot across the choppy water to the Grotto. The Germans keep dropping stuff from their knapsack as they make their way to the back of the boat and I pick up after them. When we reach the grotto, the Italian mom emerges from the back of the boat in her bikini like Sophia Loren. Yeesh, the Italians and their je ne c'est quoi. I hope I look that good after 2 kids...hah, I don't even look that good now.
We're not allowed to take photos inside the Grotto for copyright restrictions. Boo! But don't worry folks, many more caves and grottos to come! This grotto used to be home to monk sea lions escaping urban encroachment. Sadly, the sea lions have mostly disappeared from this area.
After the cave tour, we're picked up by the dinghy and transported to the beautiful Cala Luna. We have about an hour to relax before the boat picks us up for the return trip. I take a walk down the beach while Sophia enjoys the sun.
German man just stands on the beach. Maybe he doesn't like sand. I feel bad for him.
We head back to Dorgali for the night, stocking up on food at the supermarket. We're just in time for the sunset behind the hotel.
