Bus

Hey all,

Bit of a nothing day. Wandered around Santa Teresa for a few hours this morning – supermarket and a shoe shop where I got some cheap knock-offs of those ugly rubber duck-billed sandal things because my thongs are just about chopped out and I don't want to wear boots for a couple of days while the feet heal.  

Got a bus to Cagliari – had a chat for a while to a retired couple, half Scottish, half Dutch, but both Australian for a couple of decades – then went to sleep, which is always a nice thing to do in a bus – for a chronic insomniac it is a pleasant thing to drift off with my head against the window. Got woken up after a couple of hours to change bus – asked the new driver if I could go to the toilet – he clapped his hands in a “yes, but hurry” kind of way and pointed at his watch. As I came back some other passengers had the same idea, asked the same question – he clapped his hands so frantically that they both started running towards the terminal with panicked expressions. Stared out the window at the scenery and listened to the Cat Empire – is an interesting place – huge alien granite mountains like Corsica and then patches which remind me a lot of North Eastern Victoria – complete with clumps of eucalyptus all over the place. Answered a few emails once it got dark and then got into town – rorted for a map at the station, but I planned to be cheap and walk to the B&B – but then it was so far away and confusing that I got a taxi anyway – which costed the same as the bloody map, so would have been cheaper just to do that to start with. Not a real cab, just some old bloke in his private car lurking around the terminal asking if people wanted a taxi. He was cheap – he also took me to the wrong place – a flash hotel that fortunately was not too far from where I had to go – the flash hotel took pity on me, gave me directions and, bizzarely, gave me two home baked cookies to eat – admittedly I am looking pretty lean after the better part of three weeks clambering around Corsica...

Looking forward to exploring Cagliari for a couple of days – it does not feel like a tourist trap, though has heaps of interesting stuff to see – also, downloaded the Sardinia chapter from the Lonely Planet hiking guide to Italy, which is a lot more use for what I want to do than the general guide – there are a couple of walks that look interesting, just got to decide on which one – will find some maps tomorrow. 

Nice to be back in Italy – a much friendlier bunch – in general they find it funny when there are problems with translation, as opposed to Corsica, where it is often treated as outrageous, scandalous, abominable – the kind of reaction one might get in Australia from a total stranger if you suddenly bared your ass at them without warning. Admittedly I do stumble through an Italian word or two in a pathetic kind of way – the present tense general version of a verb when I should be using the past imperfect masculine, or something else hideously complicated like that.

Nice B and B here – 35 EU – more than I wanted but all the dorms in town were booked out – tried several sites – still, own room, own fridge, own balcony, own bathroom – can't complain too much. Is a long way out but on a bus line, so should not be too much of a drama – and if all the cabbies are as cheap as the one I got today I don't have to worry too much if I get stuck.

Photos: 1.  Corsica, from a safe distance.  2.  Sardinia is famous for its beaches - depending on the walk I choose I might find a couple of more secluded ones - as for the sea here - you may as well be in a lake.  3.  Not too bad for the cheapest place I could find online - on the right, behind the curtain, is my own balcony.  4.  The view from which is not wildly inspiring

Cheers, B.