I had just one goal with my birthday this year: a warm environment to celebrate. Please, don't immediately link the title to the first sentence. I wanted a nice place, where the sun shines and I can get a bit of a tan. The Netherlands and Germany were not selected this time of the year. I had to spend some money on an airplane ticket. The birthday party was planned on the island of Sardinia. Not a bad choice.
The starting point of the clumsy walk
How we got to Sardinia
First of all, my girlfriend came up with this idea. And I have several friends that recently shared good stories about the island. It's off-season, prices are low. I would normally go by van, but the garage is still busy recovering the damage that they caused early December. Let's book a flight! Well, my gf was so excited...she already booked before I said yes. I also booked my flight. Because of these 2 separate bookings, we had some 'me-time' during the flights. ITA Airways thought it was a good idea to split us during these 4 flights, she in the front row and me in one of the last. Don't expect lunch and unlimited drinks these days and also don't expect any space for Dutch legs. We tried to fly as cheap as possible and took only hand luggage. I was surprised that my gf managed to take 5 pair of shoes! As I explained in my earlier posts about Sardinia, it was easy to travel around on the island. We 'complained' about the bad road quality, but in Germany there are also a lot of holes in the asphalt at the moment.
"Hey, I was suppose to have a warm and sunny birthday...where are we going?"
The event
There were no plans for my birthday. The only thing we knew was the fact that the day of the event it should be the hottest and sunniest day of the trip. Let's go to one of the most beautiful beaches and go for a swim. And there was another goal, finish the day with a 'Tartufo Classico' (my favorite Italian dessert: ice cream with cacao and Amaretto). The bottle of Di Saronno was already in the pocket and the morning coffee was full of it. The whipped cream was an important part of the early morning coffee session.
"HuLaLa!" I said, when my gf walked in with my birthday breakfast.
Thanks!
"No, it's not for you...it's the brand mentioned on the spray can of whipped cream: HULALA"
Maybe this not-that-tactic comment was the start of my karma today. We planned a hike from Cala Fuili to Cala Luna. Starting with a 1,5 our winding drive to the starting point. The Amaretto was maybe not the best combination with these unlimited amount of hairpin bends. After drifting between the donkeys that popped up in front of our car (it felt more like a computer game where you should hit as many donkeys as possible...don't worry, I love donkeys), we arrived just in time at the sunrise spot. While I was shooting images, I was fed with strawberries and HuLaLa. My gf became a feeder.
Good morning..."Ieeee" said the break... "Ahhhhh" said the donkey
The first piece of straight road after 1 hour and 20 minutes
Not too bad...for a carpark view. Don't expect a real carpark, it's just a space along the dead-end road
The sunrise
The hike was about to take 2,5 hours before we should arrive at this amazing beach. Well, it should be worth it right? I've never done such a boring and painful hike. 2,5 hours of no distance views. Just trees, a few bird and yes...Sardinian Rocks. On the Google reviews was mentioned, that this hike is pretty easy. I guess we picked the wrong trail on Komoot. There seem to be 2 routes and the one I picked was not that easy. There were a few spots where you could get off the route and visit a 'highlight'. The first spot I picket was a little cave. When I arrived at the cave, it was locked with several methods of fencing, to avoid people getting in. Let's get back to the trail. I hit my head against a twig, almost in my eye...I see this as luck. The next stop I wanted to see, was a sandy beach. Because the trail goes around the higher part of the cliffs, you need to go down deep to reach a beach. I tried to reach it, but when someone screamed at me...I fell off a big rock. That shit hurts! Luckily I was wearing long zipper pants (I know, not that sexy). I decided to climb back and focus on the main target: Cala Luna. Continuing the hike, it was hard, my leg hurts a lot...I am not a pussy, just walk.
The trail, a rocky road...leave your flip flops in the car
No entrance to the cave
Caving
The reason why my gf wanted to visit this specific beach (Cala Luna), was the cave and the raving reviews about the Robinson Crusoe vibe. On Google Maps and Komoot the main viewpoint (called Belvedere Cala Ilune) should be there in a few minutes, before going down to the beach. I guessed we missed it. Meanwhile, I was having more issues with walking. It was not only the painful leg. The Salomon shoes were already worn out after a few weeks. My gf started to stumble a few times and we described this birthday hike as: Clumsy & Clumsy go for a hike.
Maybe I had a few shots of Amaretto too much in my coffee this morning...
The condition of the trail, this is the main track and more easy going
We reached the lower grounds and were shocked. Is this really the Cala Luna beach where so many people talk about? Maybe it's just the entrance that is ugly, I said. We reached the beach and I decided not to go in for a swim here. The current in the ocean was too strong and the drop from the beach in the ocean was deep and steep. We managed to find the cave, you need to enter from the beach. It looked different compared to the images we saw online. We walked around the cave and again I slipped. During my cave discovery, my gf decorated the rocks outside with streamers. When I was invited to the private party, my ice cold favorite beer from Sardinia was there: Ichnusa Non-Filtrata. Together with Hulala and some Italian bread with cheese and salami. After eating the bread, I wished for a voucher...for a dentist. The bread on Sardinia is so hard, you need titanium teeth to chew on it. I loved it, sitting in the sand with just my shorts in February. 20+ degrees and getting a tan...tipsy tan. Oh wait, beside food and drinks there was something else in the sand. There was a card in the form of a cat. I have to explain a bit, I like cats and cats like me. Not only the real fluffy animals, also women called 'Kat'. Or my favorite licorice from the brand 'KAT-JA'. And I love wild cats...yes, the animals. I once worked with wild cats in South Africa (Cheetah, Lion, Caracal, Serval & Leopard). I forget it sometimes (it's the age), but my gf's name is also KAT.
I'm already starting to see things double
Time to purr
And now we come to the point. Some of you might remember my post about the birthday present in 2023: What do I want for my birthday...DICK (I recommend to read the full story to understand the title). This year my birthday present got even worse. One of the presents my gf gave to me on the beach (I didn't see it, because the paper around it was sand colored),was a t-shirt in my favorite color (ocher yellow) and with a print on it. There was a little cat on the chest, suggesting that it was crawling out of a chest pocket. I was laughing out loud and my gf didn't get it.
What's wrong?
"You really gave me a POCKET PUSSY for my birthday?!" I said
Huh?!
She never realized that you could call this a pocket pussy. I asked if I need to use it today.
This pocket pussy needed some liquid
After some drinks it was time to get wet and maybe enter another cave. It got hot and sweaty on this lonely beach. I know where most of you think about now... But really, I discovered another cave...a huge one! Actually, the one we were locking for earlier. The cave where I celebrated my birthday party in, was not called 'Kat', but 'Grotte di Cala Luna'. The other one (Grotte di Dorgali) was a bigger hole. Yes, this beach has several holes. I was out of whipped cream and the beach was not that private anymore. Several hikers arrived. Let's get dressed again. It looked like I was attacked by a big cat, the wound on my leg was a serious big cut and still bleeding a bit (I won't post the picture of it here, you might pass out).
Several shots from Cala Luna and the 2 caves
There was supposed to be a boat around at certain times (also during off-season), that takes people back to the parking area. Although, we never saw it coming. Let's walk another 2,5 hours back and this time take the main trail, which was actually a lot easier. During the 2,5 hour walk back, we saw 2 open spots with a little bit of a view, fell down several times and it reminded me of the donkeys this morning: a donkey never hits the same stone twice right? We just hit a lot of different rocks today, not the same. Or maybe same same, but different. When I reached the end, the ankle of my other leg doubled and I rolled a few meters down. I was so used to pain already, I didn't even make a noise. I asked my gf where my other shirt was and we realized it was lost somewhere, because it was not in the bag anymore.
Should we walk back another 2,5 hours (+2,5 hours to return) and search for it?
"No way! I am done and actually quite happy that you gave me this pocket pussy today. I like to use it now."
You have to be a bit taller, to have a view from Belvedere Cala Luna. On the way back we managed to find it
Rocky trail, I am used to it by now
Besides the birds, this is the only wildlife that you will find on this trail*
Satisfaction
Maybe we should finish hiking today and just relax in a bar or something. We searched for something open in Cala Gonone, but this holiday town was totally deserted. No ice cream (not to confuse dessert with deserted), the beach wasn not worth a swim and we needed petrol (for the car, I had enough). We went to a town further on the road: Dorgali. Petrol we found, but we were confused. There were several signs with 3 different prices. You need to be aware that when you let them fill up your tank, you have to pay an additional 19 cent per liter as 'service fee'. But there was another sign, we asked what the real price was. "That sign is the average price on the island and the one next to it is my price" the owner said with a big smile on his face. Yes, his price was a lot higher. We drove from Dorgali to Baunei on the SS125. This part of the SS125 is one of the most scening routes on the island. We stopped several times. Not for donkeys this time, but for making shots. 1 hour of "Ohh.... Ohhhhh" and no more "Ie.... Ahhhh". Hardly any traffic today, we could chill and relax on the road. If you want to have a stop, with good views and were you can actually park and walk? Stop at Campo Base Gorropu. We did a little walk and also here the local cat loved me and kept giving me cuddles and company. My Kat got slightly jealous. Miaow!
The sleepy holiday town of Cala Gonone
The views along the SS125 from Borgali to Baunei
Garfield tried to push the tree out of the way...for a better view
The views from the rooftop restaurant, 2 days before
Before reaching Baunei, you will see the best located soccer field in the world (my personal opinion) and I guess the sunset made it extra impressive. The rooftop restaurant in Baunei that was supposed to be open (we asked it at the owner earlier this week), was closed today. Let's end this day with a Tartufo and some Amaretto at the B&B. Clumsy and clumsy survived today, although I had a bit of a hard time. I got several things I wished for. I didn't see that pocket pussy coming. And I am very happy that Sardinia gave me the sunniest day of the trip during my birthday. I heard the next day, that after a few Amaretto's I described a Tartufo as a satisfier for men ...
My favorite Italian dessert: Tartufo (with a bit of Amaretto around it)