Pizza Paddling; No Paddle in the Park

Paddling from one pizzeria to another is not a paddle in the park. We launched from Melisenda Sunday morning with the sea a shiny mirror. But as predicted, the calm morning would become a moderately strong headwind. We had slept camped on yet another beach which posted a "No camping" sign. Thankfully we did not need to post a "Do not disturb" sign on our fabulous Hilleberg tent. With our two recent encounters with the Italian police, camping on public beaches where it states clearly that it is forbidden always makes me nervous.

The morning was warm, with dramatic skies and towering mountains with rock eroded in whimsical formations. I heard bleating and found several goats very sure footedly scrambling over near vertical cliffs. Then, we met Francesco M. and his son Andrea kayaking Francesco showed us a few jewels along the shore, nooks and crannies and hidden coves. He also offered invaluable advice for paddling the shoreline north of us. He owns and operates Cardedu Kayak, Scuola e Turismo. As Rene surfed ashore to get Francesco's card, I waited beyond the breaking waves for 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes and I lost my patience. I turned my kayak which bobbed in increasingly bigger swells as the wind picked up. I was frustrated. We had made little distance with delays, and I realized that my pace of journeying by kayak is different from Rene's, who is not a morning person. But as Rene pointed out, Italians like to talk:-)

And then we had a slog into a moderate headwind which set flags fluttering perpendicular to their poles. I enjoyed the waves, many washing over my kayak and splashing me soaking wet, but they were tepid in temperature. Sometimes my kayak climbed steep faces and slid down from the crest, burying into the trough. In my best estimation, within half an hour of the wind starting, the waves had grown to 1.5 meters, with some 2 meters in height. But Rene seemed to paddle so slow. So, I decided to make the paddle in the waves a photo opportunity. Waves always seem to be bigger when one is kayaking in them.

Nevertheless, the best advice Francesco gave us was to paddle towards the tower in the distance where we would find a sheltered landing place along this very exposed shore to the northeasterly winds. These winds can bring a good punch and are known as grecale.

Here we found an old pirate watch tower, Torre di Bari. Most towns are located inland, away from the coast so the island's setttlements were not visible to marauding pirates and armies. This makes it more difficult as a kayaker to replenish our supplies as coastal communities are mainly tourist facilities and summer homes. And, we managed to have the sea steal our last fuel bottle a few days ago at Spaggia San Giovanni near Murevera. And thus, we have been paddling from one pizzeria to the next... but pizza paddling as Rene points out, is no paddle in the park with the headwinds we paddled against. Now we are at Bar Chiosco Su Zilleri at Torre di Barre, but this evening, there's a pizza place next door. So, who says that expedition paddling needs to be remote and food prepared on a campstove? Music plays comfortingly, Dire Straits. And ironically, as we landed on the pebble beach with a handful of sunbathers, a deluge of rain poured from the sky accompanied by rumbles of thunder.

And now it is Monday and we ventured inland to Bari Sardo. Ironically the sea again beckoned us with a gentle mood but we needed to replenish our food supply and obtain fuel because pizzerias are not located on all beaches. Rene also ruthlessly eliminated surplus gear which was sent to ur host, Giacomo Della Gatta, in Palermo. I had to laugh. Before arriving at the post office wicket, we played "The Price is Right". We were certain that the full banana box would cost a mere fortune, but the clerk announced 7 Euros. I keep telling myself, "This is Italy."

We are blogging in a gelateria, icecream bar. Gelato in Italy is another culinary adventure not to be missed.

The weather forecast looks very good. We'll continue heading northwards towards Santa Maria Navarrese.