Lockdown in Sardinia and ferry to Sicily

Lockdown in Sardinia

This morning came the news of the impending lockdown because of Corona in Sardinia, with discontinuation of the ferry connection. It was bound to happen at some point, but we didn't expect it so soon. It's not entirely clear whether ferry service will be discontinued altogether. But at least it will be harder to take a ferry south. Ferries for those returning to their home countries will probably continue to exist, but that's not where we want to go.

The lockdown is to be limited to 2 weeks for the time being. What will follow is uncertain, as many things are at the moment in these uncertain times. Do we want to sit out the lockdown in Sardinia? What if the lockdown is extended? And we are stuck here longer? And possibly spend the winter in Sardinia? Actually we wanted to stay here only a few weeks and then drift south with the sun and the warm temperatures to spend the winter on Sicily. The weather is becoming more and more unpredictable globally, but we assume that the winter in Sicily is generally milder than in Sardinia.

The app for the ferry: Aferry

That's why we don't particularly like the idea of being stuck in Sardinia over the winter. We check the ferry connections with the app Aferry. You can still book ferries, there are still some seats available.

Would we like to visit our friends in Milan and store a few things there that we probably don't want to take with us on our trip? A small fact check and short consultation with Ilka from Milan makes it clear that there is a risk that they will not let us drive south again. The risk is too great for us, so this is not an option for us.

We do not make the decision easy. And then book a ferry from Cagliari to Palermo. Our favorite Moby is unfortunately not available. This time we go with Tirrenia, will probably not be so bad. Since the ferry again goes overnight, we book again a cabin in addition. At our age we have no desire to beat us the night around the ears.

Dune di Piscinas

Since we still have time, we drive first once again to the Dune di Piscinas. There we would like to make actually only a few photos. But as so often in life it comes differently than one thinks. Here still the Impressions at the dune. 

Then we drive comfortably in the direction of Cagliari. Stop briefly at the nearest supermarket and stock up our supplies. One never knows. Only tomatoes I may not buy, after that Marc would rather look at Sicily.

In Cagliari before the ferry

In Cagliari we find directly the parking lot at the ferry dock. I (Torgit) march off, because we have this time no ticket printed out, but only the online ticket. Somewhere there will be a check-in, where they change our online ticket into a real ticket. So we know it from our previous ferry trips. After half an hour and many questions later, it is clear that we can simply drive on the ferry with our online ticket.

We quickly find the tracks to the entrance of the ferry. Everything seems quite small here. We are used to bigger things. We are too early. A good opportunity to eat something first. Then Marc grabs his book and lies down on the quay wall. After a while he comes back and opens the office in the van, calls the bank and God and the world.

It's off to the ferry

Then it starts, we can drive onto the ferry. Marc starts the van and looks for his glasses. And then the drama takes its course: Marc can't find his glasses. Now quite apart from the fact that his Casall glasses are over 20 years old, and it is therefore already a drama, if they are gone, he also needs them to drive. Bummer. Do you remember our Ferry drama in Croatia? Please not again. He quickly runs to the quay wall, but they are no longer there. Marc's great glasses are just gone, I could cry. But crying doesn't help right now, Marc can't drive a car without them. So I get into the driver's seat. Marc looks skeptical: "Have you ever driven on a ferry?" No, why? Is just the wrong question, does not build me up now and we have no choice. We join the queue heading for the ferry.

The chaos at the ferry

It quickly becomes clear that chaos reigns here. The ferry says something in Greek, is it really going to Palermo? Although, Greece would also not be bad, there it is also warm and the food delicious and the Corona case numbers also better. When it starts, 4 lanes are to become one. A funny undertaking. One check-in lady in particular catches our eye. She tries very resolutely to order the chaos. She looks like a little sergeant. We put on our masks. At the 1st check, our Maxtrax & water bag on the hood are critically eyed and we have to open our sliding doors. No, we are not smuggling people. Marc suddenly gets out of the van, goes to the back and opens the tailgate. And oh wonder, he comes back with his glasses. He had put them back there in his mind. We change seats, all is right with the world again.

And on to the ferry

Our online ticket is scanned and a sticker is affixed to our wing mirror. Then the temperature is measured. Everything is okay. But our cloth masks are unwanted. Here in Italy, medical masks are mandatory. Unfortunately we don't have any. We are supposed to get them at the reception on the ferry, then we are allowed to pass. Parking is a bit chaotic, but unspectacular. We pack a few things for dinner and get our key for the cabin at the reception. When we ask for the masks, we only get astonishment. Then they give us very strange parts, like we have never seen before. Of course, masks are compulsory on the whole ferry. Then we move into our cabin. The Tirrenia cabin is ok, but we liked the Moby cabin better. There is a TV, but everything looks a bit older. And we are not interested in TV anyway.

Crossing to Palermo

The crossing is quiet. I never really sleep well on ferries, but with earplugs it's okay. We have loaded the app SiciliaSiCura and filled out everything dutifully. If anyone has any problems or questions about the app, please feel free to write to us.... Since we spend the whole crossing in our cabin and don't get too close to anyone else, we feel safe. When we arrived in Sicily, no one was interested in us. We left the ferry without any controls. Here in Sicily, no one has taken temperature or checked if we have the mandatory app installed. We find this a bit strange, but this way we get ahead faster without traffic jams.

Due to all the excitement caused by Marc's missing glasses, we unfortunately don't have a photo of the ferry for you today.

Was leaving Sardinia the right decision? In retrospect, we could have stayed in Sardinia. But who could have known that a lockdown would be announced but not implemented? If we had known that beforehand, we would have stayed.