From Sicily back to Sardinia

We are now almost 5 months on Sicily and I (Torgit) could stay here felt forever. There is still so much to see and discover. But Marc wants to go on and that is also good.

There will be a lockdown again over Easter, for one month from mid-March to mid-April. Sicily is zone orange, Sardinia is white zone. So we booked a ticket for the ferry from Palermo to Cagliari on short notice. There is only once a week a ferry from Grimaldi, always on Saturday evening for € 190, - incl. cabin. In Cefalu we get ready for departure: we go to the hairdresser, wash clothes and do a bulk shopping. Then we drive the coastal road to Palermo.

In the port in Palermo

Arrived there in the port of Palermo, we do not find our way. There is absolutely nothing signposted, and because of construction nothing is where it should be. I'm starting to wonder if this is intentional, they just make it hard for travelers? We ask ourselves through.

When we finally found the ferry to Sardinia, we are told we are wrong and must first go to the ticket office. That opens in about an hour. There they send us to another ticket office, in the container opposite. In the next ticket office we have to wait a long time, although there is nothing going on. Then they tell us that we cannot enter Sardinia at the moment. After many discussions and even more forms, I (Torgit) get back into the van with Marc and tell him everything.

The accident

We are just about to start the engine when our van moves forward. For a second we don't understand anything, then we realize: The 30t truck behind us is backing up and pushing us. Marc hits the horn. Our van stops. Torgit jumps out of the van to the truck, the driver has not noticed anything. He has simply overlooked us. We inspect the rear of our bulli: At first glance we see nothing, and the tailgate can be opened. It seems that we were lucky. The SUP on the tailgate must have acted as a buffer.

We have just other worries than to discuss with the Sicilian and go back to the ferry. No, we would be wrong here, we would have to approach from the other side. There, everything is controlled again and recorded analogously. Finally we are in the right queue. Thank God we have calculated this and are early enough. After a quarter of an hour there is a knock on our window, we should please come to the container behind us and present our papers. We stand in line in the pouring rain, get forms again, fill everything out again. I wish for a copier. All is well. We are allowed back into the van. Finally it starts, the vehicles are allowed to drive onto the ferry. A policeman comes and goes from car to car. So nothing with driving on the ferry. When he is with us, we get forms to fill out again. I see the ferry already driving without us, but in all vehicles around us, forms are filled out hectically, we are not the only ones.

On the ferry

Then we are finally, finally allowed on the ferry to Sardinia. Now just quickly our cabin keys and into the cabin. Phew, first take a deep breath. Now everything is good. Typical case of Denkste. We read a bit and when the ferry leaves, it quickly becomes clear that this night will be restless. Apart from the fact that the ferry is very loud, we have heavy swell. Our beds rock violently. We doze a little, sleep is not to be thought despite Ohropax. We set the alarm clock for 8:15, at 9 o'clock the ferry docks according to plan.

At 8 a.m. an announcement wakes us up from our lethargy: All drivers are to go to the Infopoint. We are surprised, take a quick shower and at 8:10 a.m. we are standing with many other people at the Infopoint. When nothing happens there, we go outside. Crowds are not our thing right now. And wait there until 9 o'clock. Then we dock as scheduled and are allowed to go to our vehicles. You don't have to understand that, do you? Do you also know this from your ferry trips?

The arrival in Sardinia

We get off the ferry in Cagliari and stand in a long line of vehicles. All get out and go to the tent. The whole area is hermetically sealed. There are policemen and forestry officers everywhere. In the big open tent we do a Covid test, tampon in the nose. It's funny that everyone is watching. It's great that up to now all our Covid tests in Italy have been free of charge. I guess that's not the case in Germany. The test result is supposed to be sent by sms. We get an information sheet. With our rudimentary knowledge of Italian, I understand that we are supposed to register on a homepage after receiving the sms. Unfortunately, we did not receive an sms and cannot log in.

We wait with many other people in the cold for things to come. One by one names are called, these people are allowed to go. When Marco is called, we wonder if Marc is meant. After about 20 minutes Torgit is called and we are allowed to go.

In Sardinia

Completely overtired, we drive west from Cagliari. When we see flamingos in salt flats, we stop. We can't miss that. Tiredness or not. Then we drive on. The way to our planned campground is quite difficult. Would be doable for us, but we are just too tired for offroad driving today. We continue to Capo Mafaltano. Here we stand all alone quietly by the sea. This is exactly what we need right now. Here we can relax.

The next day we learn that Sardinia is now also orange zone. And over Easter, all of Italy becomes red zone. Actually, this is only to restrict travel. However, the indices are already so high again that 10 regions of Italy are red zone again.