Day 229 Fri 1 Jun 2007 Rome to Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, Italy

An early start but the hotel manager, awakened from his sleep on a couch can’t find the key to the garage. Minutes pass anxiously as we have to be at the ferry by 7.15 but fortunately Kenny finds the autostrada after only several wrong turns and a short cut through a carpark, and we are soon cruising at 160km through the dawn to the port. It’s very confusing as there are few signs and lots of wharves but eventually we spot a large yellow ship which we drive onto just as they are raising the gang-plank. It’s a long and boring crossing spent reading about the Popes Daughter and watching Strong Bad podcasts before arriving in a sunny but windy Sardinia in the late afternoon. We head north up the Costa Smeralda to a little marina where we find the Sirene hotel, finish the whisky and dine on pizza overlooking the harbour. The place is a base for charter sailing so we make a mental note to return one day. Packer’s ugly tugboat-like yacht is moored in the bay so we’re obviously in the right place but he doesn’t stop by to say hello – perhaps its too windy to come ashore.