Sardinia

 Hey guys, 

So as I said at the end of last blog, we were on our way to Sardinia to visit Karo and Jaime and check out their new lives there. Our first job was to pick up the campervan and some groceries. Here we are outside the supermarket, in our AWESOME campervan. It was so fancy, there was a full kitchen and bathroom as well as beds. 

After supplies were in order we high-tailed it to Tuerreda Beach, to finally meet up with Karo and Jaime.  We were all so excited to see each other. This will be our 9th time meeting up, all over the globe. They took us to such a beautiful, white sandy beach. 

Jared, Jaime, me and Seth. Karo was being an excellent photographer. 

And I guess we should count Cole, who was really starting to show himself in these early photos! 

Getting thrown up in the air became a real 'thing' for Seth in Sardinia. It was really nice for Seth to get to do kid stuff after being packed through airports and cities for the past 48 hours. He was also really enjoying their dogs- Esperanza, Pancho and Buddy. 

We drove to Porto Botte that night for a wild camping spot. Karo and Jaime had prepared a beautiful BBQ with sausage and pecora (mutton) as well as antipasti. Jared and Jaime drank an entire bottle of gin together, like they were teenagers. 

We woke up in this beautiful campsite. I could see the sunrise out the windows. Seth was fired up to go so we took a walk along the access road. There was ocean on the right and salt flats on the left, complete with flamingos. Everybody was feeling better after a big breakfast, and we headed over to Sant'Antioco, which is a little island off Sardinia. Apparently the city of Sant'Antioco is the oldest city in all of Europe, because there were people living there in caves in Neolithic times. 

We met up with Karo after her work day at Maladroxia Beach. Seth had no problem getting comfy in the sand. It was a sunny day, so even I went for a swim! 

We hiked up to an old Spanish tower and took in the views. We were lucky that we came upon it when it was open. The Spanish had conquered this part of Sardinia and erected a bunch of towers along the coastline. Many of them are still partially standing and they are beautiful. 

Our sunset stop was to Cala Grotta, a cave and swimming hole with really clear blue water. 

We went for a late supper that night at Due Fratelli. They are right on the harbour and famous for seafood. Everything we had was amazing: seafood antipasti, squid, shrimp, smoked salmon, tuna, mussels. 

Karo and Seth were having a great time. 

The next morning we left Karo to do some work and Jaime was our tour guide. He took us to Nuraghe Barumini. They are very old fortresses, built by the Nuraghic people in 1500 BC. These are the oldest things I have ever seen, other than some pottery in a museum in Athens. This nuraghe was quite a good example, as the archeologists had unearthed the whole structure with the central and lateral towers somewhat intact. There were metal stairs built to allow visitors to access the site. These fortresses fall into the megalithic period, along with places like Stonehenge. It was quite a thing to see. 

We also visited Casa Zapata, this was a medieval villa that had been built on top of  the ruins of another nuraghe, and it was only discovered and excavated in modern times. They had preserved the external walls of the medieval castle, but dug inside to expose the nuraghe, and then put down a glass floor so you could look from above. The ladies at this spot were also very sweet on Seth, one lady was like his Nonna Sarda, and she was carrying him around and showing him things while we had a coffee. 

The next morning Jaime took us to Porto Flavia, to do a hike down to a mine. I chilled out in the campervan with Seth, sleeping while the boys did most of the hike. The water was crashing up on the cliffs here, it is really beautiful coastline. 

The little loop for less than energetic pregnant ladies. 

Cruising back to meet up with Karolina at Porto Pino, our beautiful campsite for the night nestled in the pine trees. 

Seth and the dogs, having all the fun and getting covered in all the dirt. 

We hiked out to an old bunker for a great sunset view. 

Although not a swimming beach, the crashing waves were spectacular to watch

What a great camping spot!!

We had a great night over supper and drinks, catching up on crazy travel stories. Jared and Jaime drank another bottle of gin together. I don't know what is going on with these guys. 

We enjoyed our beautiful campsite over breakfast. For the morning, we did a little beach walk out to some sand dunes. It was so great once we got out there. Seth was running around like crazy, as were the dogs. 

There were a bunch of wrecked little boats on the coast line. We learned the economic migrants are coming from Algeria and using Sardinia as an entry point to get into Europe. It was crazy to see these crappy little boats that make the three day journey on the high seas. 

After some lunch we hit the road for Feraxi Beach. It was a longer drive because it was on the other side of the island, on the east coast. We still had some daylight to enjoy the beach. Seth immediately got playing in the wet sand. What a fun day for the little guy. He is really enjoying Karo and Jaime, giving them lots of nice leg hugs. 

One of our last activities together was to head for a luxurious pranzo (lunch) at Agroturismo Paraidis. I don't think I've every eaten so much food in one sitting in my life- and I did it pregnant! What might be even more insane is that fact that our 16 month old sat like a little angel for the entire 4 hour lunch! 

For the meal, we had three courses: anti-pasti (starters), pastas, and the roast meats. 

The starters were pecorino cheese, salami, speck, olives, prosciutto crudo, zucchini bread, foccacia, orange slices with bottarga (eggs), bruschetta, and artichoke salad. 

For the primi: fregola pasta with pork and porcini and ravioli with potato and onion in tomato sauce. 

For the segundi: maialetto (roasted piglet) and pecora (sheep)

For the dolces (desserts): copa de frutta and a lovely assortment of cookies done in the traditional Sardinian way. The best thing on the plate was a sweet ravioli filled with ricotta. 

We drank coffees and then there was a digestive- a fruity, boozy shot. We had the choice of mirto or aranciello. 

Me- in complete bliss that my child is such a cherub. I couldn't have chased after him even if I tried. 

There was one other little boy there, he was having a christening and his whole extended Sardinian family was there to celebrate him. 

Pretty Stuffed

We were sad to say goodbye to Karo and Jaime after such a fun few days. They are such special travel friends and we hope it is not too long before we see them again. 

Until Next Time! 

Venice

Hey Guys! 

So as mentioned, we headed out on a whirlwind trip to Venice on our way to Sardinia. This involved a very early flight, and it was in the airport that Jared learned we were headed to Venice. I had kept it a secret, all he knew was that we were going somewhere on the way to see Karo and Jaime. 

Seth was a little trooper, heading through the airports and the manic pace of the next 24 hours. The first thing we did once we landed in Venice was take a vaporetto (boat) along the Grand Canal to the Plaza San Marco. There was hardly anybody else on the boat and we had the little 'stern' to ourselves. Seth wanted to run all over the place, which was a little terrifying on a boat, but we kept him corralled.

 

We got a great snapshot of Venice this way, with all the grand facades and boats going by 

Looking back at the Rialto Bridge 

At the Plaza de San Marco, there was a bit of a line for the Basilica, but Jared walked around with Seth and I chatted with a guy from Spain in the line, which was actually moving pretty quick. I'm so glad I waited, I regretted not going to the Basilica de San Marco the last time I was in Venice (2009). It is hard to find the words to describe how beautiful and awe-inspiring this church was. It is huge, in the shape of a cross. The entire interior is decorated with mosaic tiles, many in gold but also full colour to depict various religious scenes and the saints. There were marble pillars everywhere, the floors were beautiful tile mosaics, and there were lots of carved marble figures. 

I paid extra to see the 'Pala D'Oro' which was an altar embellishment, but was really such a spectacle in itself. It was in a massive frame, with all sorts of scenes from the Bible depicted in gold and inlaid with precious stones.  

Jared and Seth on a walking tour while I was in the church. 

This is the 'Bridge of Sighs' which is the bridge people would take from the interrogation rooms in the Doge's palace to the new prison (Prigioni Nuove). It was many a convicts last look at the beautiful city of Venice before being taken to their cells below. Hence the sighing. 

We all met back in the square, and Seth got to do his favorite activity: chasing pigeons. Check out the beautiful  Basilica de San Marco in the background. 

 We were totally exhausted by the time we got to Sardinia, but I think in the end it was worth it. 

Until Next Time! 

Greece- Santorini

 

Once on the island of Santorini, we settled into an awesome AirBnB. Here we are hanging out on the roof, with an amazing view over the town, close to a local church. 

Santorini is a really unique place. It used to be one big island, but a volcano erupted and left a large crater rim, with a few steaming islands in the middle. We spent the first morning strolling around Thira town, appreciating the amazing views over the Aegean Sea. 

The 'Three Bells of Thira' looking out over Nea Kameni (new burnt island) and Palea Kameni (old burnt island), two volcanic islands. More on them later. 

Poor Seth, he was barely tall enough to see over to appreciate the view.

That evening, we took a bus to Oia, a very quaint little town on the north end of the island of Thera. It has some great western exposure, so many people come out here to watch the sunset. 

The white buildings really do glow a beautiful orange in the setting sun. Can you spot the windmill near the top of the hill? These would have been used to grind flour, and most that remain on the island today were built in the 17th Century. 

The next day we headed out on a catamaran tour of the islands. It didn't occur to me until we were actually on the boat that this could have been a really bad idea with Seth, but he was totally awesome. The two guys taking us around loved kids (like all the Greeks, basically), and we actually got to enjoy ourselves. This was the coolest thing we did on Santorini. We boated from place to place inside the crater rim, and enjoyed a fantastic Greek BBQ before watching the sunset out on the water. 

There were some fantastic rock formations along the way, thanks to all the volcanic activity

High atop the hill you can see the Akrotiri lighthouse. built in 1892. 

We headed for the two volcanic islands in the center of the flooded caldera. The first stop was Nea Kameni, which is thought to have been formed around the time of Christ, according to the historical texts of the day. It is pretty barren, just a bunch of black volcanic rock, which is why we found it kind of wild there were people living on it. They even kept some pigs and goats. It was a bit of a ramshackle existence, but I suppose that's one way to live mortgage free...

We circled around to the other side of Nea Kameni, to the hot springs. Jared was the only one in our group to go for a swim. I was told the sulphur was bad for pregnant people, so I sat this one out. He said it got warmer as you went deeper into the mouth. 

The next stop was to Palea Kameni, which is a little bit older, and looks to have just a bit more greenery on it. It was no problem for me to take a swim here, even though it was a bit brisk in November for ocean swimming, even in Greece! 

Seth took a little nap while we caught the sunset. It was a fantastic day. 

For our final day in Santorini, we headed down to the Old Port in Thira. Thira town is up on the ridgeline, it was built like this to protect the inhabitants from marauders. However, they needed access to the sea, so there was a bustling port at the base of one rather lengthy staircase. We took a little tram down, thinking how nice it was to 'take the easy way out.'

After walking around the Old Port, it was time to head back up. Unfortunately, the line was insanely long for the tram, so we decided to walk up all 900 stairs. Kudos again to Jared, who had to carry Seth. There was also the option of donkey rides, but due to a combination of cheapness and not knowing how the backpack carrier would fit into a saddle, we gave them a pass. However, I very much appreciated seeing them all tacked up and ready. It was very 'Greek island culture' for me. 

Here we are about halfway up. Lots of breaks were taken!

Almost there! This was the donkey stable right before the top 

On our last morning, I took Seth to a playground. We snuck in some nice views along the way, because you have to really keep your head down if you don't want to see beautiful things around here. 

After Santorini, I had planned a very manic, surprise visit to Venice. All that Jared knew was that we were going 'somewhere' for 24 hrs before landing in Cagliari, Sardinia. It involved an early morning flight to Venice, spending the day there, and then flying out early the next morning to Sardinia. There we would meet up with Karo and Jaime, our old travelling buddies from South America.

Until Next Time!