Beautiful parking spaces and rocky beaches of Sardinia

Sardinia - a fascinating island. A bit like the European Caribbean: crystal-clear water shimmering in shades of blue, enough waves for surfing, canyons and mountains for hiking, and small sleepy villages as well as impressive large cities. There is something for everyone and we also tried different things, admired the rapidly changing scenery and nature, and made the most of the week and the weather we had.

Admittedly, the clothes hanging on the clothesline were still wet the next morning, and unfortunately the beautiful morning sun was not enough to dry everything sufficiently. That was one of our main problems because we wanted to be on the road until the sun has enough power to dry everything, and during breaks during the day we didn't necessarily want to sit in the car and guard it, so we didn't hang up anything big.

On that morning the sun was shining and quickly peeked over the peaks into the valley. After the obligatory porridge, we drove up the switchbacks, through a small tunnel, and then down the switchbacks directly to the coast. From there, we hiked along the coast to the popular bay of Cala Luna. Along the way, we, as is typical among campers, got into conversations with other hikers and travelers. The bay has a narrow beach, is a great photo opportunity, and invites you to swim in the clear water. We tested the water, let the sun dry us, and started the return journey. As always, we took our time for pictures and small views to the right and left of the actual route, so we arrived at the car quite late. After a quick shopping trip, we set off for the next planned sleeping spot. In general, we had a bit more difficulty finding a sleeping spot in Sardinia than usual. Firstly, wild camping is prohibited here and there are quite high fines (in the main season, it is certainly more closely monitored than it is now at the end of October), secondly, the drive along the small secondary roads takes a long time due to the road quality and the many curves, so you can't search countless kilometers in every direction, thirdly, there is a lot of fenced-off areas, most of which are pastures with sheep or cows, and fourthly, it gets dark quite early, so there wasn't much light left after hikes to illuminate a spot. Thanks to Lotti's research and navigation, we always managed to find a great, if not excellent, sleeping spot. That evening we wanted to drive to a designated 4X4 spot. It was so steep, narrow, and rocky that we stopped just below the intended location and positioned ourselves a bit more sheltered under a few trees. It was a windy night and the flapping roof tent woke us up repeatedly.

What you drive up in the evening, you usually have to drive down in the morning, and that was also the case here, and Willie's brakes squealed more and more every day. We spontaneously decided to cross directly to the west coast and not to drive further south. So the navigation system led us to Bosa, where we visited the castle of Serravalle. Unfortunately, it is not particularly recommendable. So we improved the day with an ice cream and a huge bag full of pastries before we set out on the hunt for a sleeping spot - and successfully found a great spot. We slept next to a spring, falling asleep to the sound of trickling water, and finally had enough sun in the morning to hang out all our things. As we were sitting there, eating porridge, with all the towels and shirts on the makeshift clothesline between the car and the tree, and showering in the spring, friendly mushroom pickers from the nearest village passed by again and again. Everyone greeted us kindly, and some proudly showed us their finds.

With everything dried, we packed up and drove along the coastal road from Bosa to Alghero. After just a few kilometers, we stopped, took the backpack, and "hiked" the few meters to a small bay. There we climbed from rock to rock into the individual bays and caves and strolled through the pools of water. Arriving in Alghero, we explored the old town, enjoyed an Aperol at the old city wall in the sun, and sat on the harbor wall with our feet dangling, eating a focaccia. We spent the night a bit north of the city in a pine forest from where we could walk directly to a beach the next morning. Here we were negatively surprised by all the small pieces of plastic that were washed up on the beach, making it sparkle in all colors. It must be said that if there is something negative on this island, it is the trash. No matter which parking lot, which spring, or which corner, there is trash everywhere, from PET bottles to large rusty bulky waste. Very sad, considering the impressive nature. And sometimes it's hard to find pizza at lunchtime. =) So we quickly moved on, Lotti had prepared a tight program, so we went to Castelsardo, a fortress right by the water, which we walked once, then couldn't find a restaurant that had pizza on offer outside of the season at 1:30 p.m., and finally drove on to the Elephant Rock. There's not much to say about it, it's just a stone into which you interpret an elephant, but see for yourself. Not necessarily on the list of things you should see in your life. But it's nice that we were there. The rest of the day's plans were canceled due to the rapidly setting sun. So we went straight to the sleeping spot - and here we are talking about one that you imagine when you talk about #Vanlife or rooftop tents. Lotti had found something right by the water, so we were only 3m from the water, watched the sunset, fell asleep to the sound of waves, and watched the sunrise from the tent. We enjoyed the evening, playing Yahtzee on seat cushions without chairs, and watching the clear sky.

After a relaxed morning with, believe it or not, milk noodles, we went to Capo Testa, a small peninsula in the north with great rock formations that we walked around and jumped into the turquoise water again before heading to Olbia by car to catch the booked ferry that will take us to Livorno on the mainland tonight. We will be back, whether with a rooftop tent or gladly with two wheels (or as we now call it: 1-wheel drive).

Sardinia - a fascinating island.