Future plans

Since my part of Kayak Island Quest got blown off course in late October, I have thought about what to do. I knew immediately that I wanted to finish the journey at some later time, the only problem was when and how.

When Wendy and I first started, my wish was to paddle around Sicily. Sicily has held a special place in my heart for over 15 years, since I first travelled there in 1992 and later during my studies and writing about the Sicilian mafia. Wendy wanted to paddle in Sardinia, so we joined the two projects under the name Kayak Island Quest.

My journey in Italy this autumn has been marred with bad luck since the very beginning. First I manage to lose all my personal and vehicle documents on my way through Germany towards Italy. That left me in Venice without wallet, passport, driver's licence, two credit cards, motorcycle registration papers and medical insurance papers. I only had one credit card left, my mobile phone and a group of paddlers to guide in Venice. Within a few days my last remaining credit card died too. At that point I started to feel a bit of stress.

The lack of personal documents kept me in Venice for much longer than anticipated, until the local Danish consulate issued a temporary passport and I had my last remaining credit card sent down to me. At that point I had missed our rendezvous in Palermo, and Wendy came to Venice instead. We then had loads of problems getting two kayaks transported to Civitavecchia on a rented car. The 600 km trip took five days, a prolonged encounter with the Bologna police, a fine, two rented cars and an unplanned day visit in Rome before we could board the ferry to Sardinia. In all expenses of over €800 just for that little journey.

Once in Civitavecchia Fortuna Mala lost her precision. My camera almost died on me, Wendy's Nokia Nseries Internet Tablet almost got stolen and our kayaks almost got crushed under a truckload of wood, but we did arrive unscathed and could start our kayak journey the same day with only a few hours delay.

The demise of our partnership was just the icing on the cake after such a series of incidents :-)

Seen in a larger picture, the journey in Sardinia was probably the most beautiful and wonderful adventure I have ever been on. Sardinia has a coastline beyond belief, which no photo can render full justice. Paddling in crystal clear water, under towering mountain walls, in deep caves, along white sandy beaches, with flocks if little fish fluttering around the kayak, has all made it an unforgettable experience.

In any case, I'm not of a type that gives up easily, and I hate leaving things unfinished, so I will finish what I have started, sooner or later. It always was just a matter of when and how.

Naturally, there are many uncertainties in life, but I have decided to work towards a return to Sardinia in late April or early May to finish the circumnavigation of Sardinia. If possible, I will then continue to do the circumnavigation of Sicily. I expect to travel alone this time.

If I'm lucky, this will also allow me to participate in other kayak or paddling related events in Italy. I would dearly love to participate in the 34th Vogalonga in Venice on May 11, and in the Elba Mare Maratona on the island of Elba.

The journey continues...

Arrival in Sicily

Today the ferry arrived in Palermo, Sicily, 24 hours later than scheduled due to the rough seas. My friend Giacomo Della Gatta greeted me at the ferry and assisted in helping me with my Current Designs Solstice GTS kayak which paddled more than 900 km of Sardinian coastline. I appreciate the hospitality of Giacomo and his family and the support of Current Designs, who recognize that I am committed to achieving my goals safely. The logistics of this journey were simplified greatly through Giacomo's support. And through using sound judgement regarding my personal safety, this journey will continue when calmer seas will prevail. This journey is not over, this journey, like my ferry, is delayed:-)

Giacomo, an accomplished sea kayaker, has started a blog which is linked on his website.

For now, since my Sardinian circumnavigation is halted and since an unexpected change in circumstances has occurred, the continuation of "Kayak Island Quest-Sardinia/Sicily" will occur in May, 2008. Until then, I will be blogging at Kayak Wendy.

Ferry Delay in Cagliari

I know I've made the right decision to return in May to complete the circumnavigation, a mere 120 km remaining. Even my ferry boat to Palermo has not left dock. Why? The sea is too rough! I'm not surprised.

Thank you to Stefano Diano,local kayaker from Diana Canoe for assisting me in loading my kayak on the ferry from Cagliari to Palermo. He made my day with a simple gesture of kindness. Grazie.

So now, I'm exploring Cagliari, a beautiful city perched on a steep hillside with a labrynth of narrow, cobbled streets. I just go with the flow. The adventure continues, and will continue in May.

Last night was my first night in 1.5 months sleeping in a bed, in a cabin on the ferry for only 20 Euros for two nights! The feel of cotton sheets was divine.

Thank you to all who have helped me get this far in my journey.

Everything Happens for a Reason

I am a staunch believer that everything happens for a reason even if the reason is not clearly apparent initially. René's withdrawal was a blessing. I had two absolutely perfect days of solo paddling on calm water along striking scenery with caves, pinnacles, arches and dramatic capes to meet up with French kayaker Sylvain De Maio. Sylvain has a true joie de vivre spirit and has been an extraordinarily fun and reliable companion since meeting him so unexpectedly.

Both Sylvain and myself have decided to postpone the continuation of our journeys with some reluctance due to the prevailing, relentless, strong northwest winds which have blocked our progress at Portoscuso with no real respite predicted in the foreseeable future. This is November in Sardinia, and thus I plan, like Sylvain, to complete the last section of my Sardinian circumnavigation to Cagliari in May when more stable weather will hopefully prevail. I'm sure the reason will become apparent too why I am meant to return to complete my journey.

Familiar Places in Portoscuso

We have our favourite places here in Portoscuso. We visit the Mistral Café for accesing the internet, Su Strintu pizzeria/restaurant for dinner and il faro bar for cappucinos and hot chocolates. Hot chocolates here have the consistency of hot pudding. Alessandro (centre) works at the "il faro" bar and is an avid, talented kite surfer.

Well Fed in Portoscuso

It sounds much like a broken record, an onslaught of waves thundering into the bay at Portupaleddu, beside Portoscuso. We, Sylvain and I, continue to see the fury of November winds along the west shore of Sardinia. It is autumn and rank after rank of gigantic waves shudder the earth as they steamroll along, at least two meters in height.

But the afternoon was unforgettable. Our new friend, Cremone Angelo Verdi from Portoscuso, invited us for lunch with his friend Pauline. We savoured a four course meal at our favourite restaurant, Su Strintu. It was a meal to remember with huge platters of seafood and free flowing red wine. We conversed again through gestures, sketches and my Italian phrasebook and dictionary. It was fun and we enjoyed numerous laughs, toasting to friendship and life. Ufortunately, a life was lost at sea today, as a small boat tipped in th wind.

My sincerest thanks are extended to Angelo for the best meal of the journey!

Wind and Waves...Again

I'm becoming quite familiar with Portoscuso and the surrounding area. Sylvain and I continue to be delayed by the weather. On Friday evening, in the lee of the hill, Sylvain measured the windspeed at 107 km/h, and that wasn't at the top of the hill.

As a result, waves roared like a train and I could feel the ground shudder from their force and weight. According to the weather forecast that Karel sends me, no real respite will occur in the near future. Visions of emerald waters and calm seductive coves seem impossible to imagine if one could only see the Mediterrannean Sea under the influence of the powerful and enduring NW winds.

As Sylvain and I lunched beside our kayaks and tents, a gentleman surveyed the sand particles next to our spot. He pointed out the dark particles were created by pollution, boats illegally dumping their bilge waters. Cremone Angelo Verdi proceeded then to invite us to his home for coffee which we accepted.

Through gestures, sketches, maps, photos and broken phrases in Italian, we were able to communicate. Cremone Angelo is pictured here with me. Thanks Cremone Angelo for your hospitality which included use of a hot shower and an invitation to lunch tomorrow(Sunday) :-)

Mobile phones in Italy

I have understood from a previous post that Wendy travels without a mobile phone, and hence have limited internet access. Here is how you get a mobile phone with internet access in Italy.

There are three mobile phone operators in Italy: TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile), Wind and Vodafone.

TIM has a red/blue logo, Wind is orange and Vodafone is red/white. They have affiliated shops all over, also in smaller towns. It should be easy to find a shop for one of them.

In the shop (there will likely be at least one person who speaks English or French) ask for a cheap mobile phone (telefonino economico) with a prepaid contract (prepagato) and internet access (accesso internet).

Un telefonino economico, prepagato con accesso internet.

Internet access can be with GPRS, EDGE or UTMS. The phone must have support for Bluetooth, but I guess all have by now.

They will ask for a document of identity, for example a passport. In some cases they will also ask for an address, where I have just given the address of a friend. They won't send anything to the address anyway.

I don't know how much the phone itself will cost, since I had an unlocked GSM phone with me to Italy, but phones aren't that expensive anymore. My guess is that it should be possible to find a usable phone for €100.

The prepaid account costs €10 of which €5 are for talking.

Activating a new SIM card can sometimes take a while, so be prepared to wait for a couple of hours at this point, until the phone gets a signal when turned on. When the phone is connected, return to the shop.

Internet access requires a configuration on the phone to work. The people in the shop will do that if asked. It only takes a minute or two.

Mi serve la configurazione per l'accesso al Internet, per favore.

At this point the phone should be ready to go.

Internet access with the mobile network can be expensive in Italy, but there is a plethora of ever changing discounts, offers, incentives and so on. It should be possible to get a "100MB for €20" deal or something similar. It depends on the operator.

The Nokia Nseries N800 Internet Tablet

For use with the Nokia Nseries N800 Internet Tablet a few steps are needed to get the tablet on the Internet through the phone.

As I have managed to fry the charging circuits on my own Internet Tablet, I cannot check the correctness of the description below. It is written from memory, so please excuse me if there are inaccuracies.

On the tablet, open the Connection Manager. It is in the "Applications" menu (third from the top on the left) select "Tools" and "Connection Manager".

In the menu of the Connection Manager (menu at the top of the display) select "Phones" and a new window should appear. Click the "New" button and let the tablet find the phone. Don't forget to enable Bluetooth on the phone first, or it won't be found. Once the phone is found, select it and follow the instructions to connect the two devices. It will involve entering a numeric code on one device and then the same code on the other device. Its a one time thing so I haven't done it all that often.

Once the phone and the tablet are connected (or paired as it is called), an internet connection can be set up through the phone.

Still in the Connection Manager, select "Connections" from the menu (it might be on a sub-menu, I'm not sure) and click "New". Follow the instructions. The tablet should ask a series of questions about the connection, the phone and the operator. The connection is a "Packet data" connection, and it should be associated with the phone. The tablet will then ask about country, operator and such. When that is done, the tablet should be able to access the internet using the mobile phone.

That should (hopefully if my memory has served me well) suffice to get back in Beach Blogging mode.

The Nokia Nseries N800 Internet Tablet isn't a very common device yet, so it is unlikely the local mobile phone shop will be able to help with the setup, but it doesn't hurt asking.

Mamma Mia

Mamma mia! The wind sounds like a train. The waves roar like a train, at least three meters in height, slamming into rocks near Portopaleddu. We moved the tents to a more sheltered spot. Now the wind doesn't heave the tent, but I'm on a slope. I don't know which is worse. The sea completely washes over the beach. Saturday, the sea will continue to be stirred into a frenzy with force 7 to 9 winds. We are becoming "regulars" at the pizzeria "Su Strintu" with our own table and the waiter is familiar with our drink order.

The photo depicts the sea at force 6 before the evening spectacle that completely awed us at force 8 and higher. As the Sardinians say when we explain our circumnavigation, " Mama mia!".

More Wind in Portoscuso

Yesterday, Sylvain and I had the opportunity to access the internet, something which became more challenging for me since Rene quit the expedition. Rene and I had decided to share essential gear and thus, he stranded his partner in more than one way by not being committed to the expedition no matter what problems he faced, his sponsors and his personal goal of circumnavigating the island. Expeditions demand that people dig deep within themselves.

The evening was very enjoyable as I met Alain de Maio, the father of Sylvain who has been very supportive of the Corsica/Sardinia expedition that Sylvain is making. We had the opportunity to use a hotel shower, access the internet, and enjoy a delicious meal together at our favourite pizzeria provided by Alain, Su Strintu, where pizzas are very reasonably priced and the menu has a huge selection of choices. Pizzerias in Italy make personal pizzas for each client. The woodstove is a prominent feature within the restaurant where the pizzas are cooked to perfection. I have been speaking French since meeting up with Sylvain. I had imagined I would become more fluent in Italian but interestingly, my French is hopefully improving.

Today, Friday, Alain took us on a reconnaissance tour of the upcoming coast where we viewed the bridge at San Antioco and beaches at Porto Botte and Porto Pino. We also saw the massive cape looming ahead where an onslaught of waves battered the rocky cliff.

November winds have strength and endurance here in Sardinia. So we are enjoying our experiences on land as we remain at Portoscuso for the wind and waves to relent. Force 7 winds are howling with much stronger gusts.It is a sight to behold.

Photo by Alain de Maio.

Windbound at Portoscuso

Sylvain and I continue to be windbound at Portoscuso with wind predicted for the next few days, force 5 to 7. We are camped just south of Capo Altano a Giordana. Waves of unbelievable force plough into the rocky shore two hundred meters distant. We will practise patience and continue to try various pizzas on the menu at Su Strintu, a local pizzeria. Yesterday, the pizza of Sylvain was covered in french fries and meatballs!

Sylvain and I enjoyed visiting Carlaforte yesterday on Isola di San Pietro. We took a ferry boat to the island situated off the southwest coast of Sardinia and arrived at a charming town with colourful buildings three stories high lining the waterfront and retreating into the back alleys. Tall, narrow windows, shuttered, had wrought iron balconies. Laundry hung suspended from these high balconies, fluttering in the wind and benefitting from the sun. Towering palm trees with draping fronds lined the promenade. It looked very Mediterrannean to me.

We saw a postcard with a remarkable rock pictured on it. Like detectives, we purchased a map, found its location, and wandered into the countryside, surrounding by the scent of pine and Mediterrannean shrubs on the wind. Whitecapping waves rolled endlessly far in the distance. With persistence, we found an unmarked trail and eventually the spectacular natural phenomenom, Il Fungo. It is a rock resembling a mushroom with a large cap balanced on a base resembling a human torso. Since Rene departed from the expedition, I was left without internet connection, making updating of the blog and uploading of photos very difficult.

I would like to thank Wenley Palacios Iglesias for the previous two updates and Allesandro from the bar Il Faro in Portoscuso for internet access on his laptop computer.

Sylvain and I, despite the wind delays, are having a great time journeying together, both on and off the land.

Whatever Rene feels the need to say publicly, is solely his opinion, and not mine. He is speaking for himself only.

Team paddling experiences

After Wendy and I stopped paddling together I have naturally thought a quite bit about what went wrong. I have written a long post about it on my own blog, so this space doesn't get too cluttered.

I do want to learn from that experience, so I would like to encourage everybody to leave comments with what you think and with your own experiences on paddling in a group.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007. Portoscuso.

We arrived at Portoscuso, a picturesque town in the Southwest of Sardinia, as the waves and wind are building. Sylvain will follow the coast until we make it to Cagliari.

We might have to keep our camp in a little sheltered beach as the forecast that Karel Vissel has managed to send me predicts a storm for tomorrow with 7.11 seas and other squall for Saturday, where waves might reach up to 6 metres of height.

Any previous ideas of a moderately calm Mediterranean have dissipated as soon the good weather did.