Km 720 Pantelleria

Ape riding in Pantelleria from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

Off corse I had to take the ferry (from Trapani) to get to this enchanted island, but once there I cycled my ass off on the up and downs of the many mountains it has!
Are you looking for nightlife and disco times?! Choose another place for your summer vacation...this is for sea and wild nature lovers!

Il bacarozzo ubriaco

Camminare scalzo è ormai la normalità dopo quasi tre mesi di vagabondaggio x le isole del basso mediterraneo italiano, ed a volte il nero sotto la mia pianta del piede fa addirittura fatica ad andarsene dopo svariate passate di olio di gomito abbinato alla mia fida amica saponetta. Gli unici momenti in cui indosso le scarpe sono quelli in sella alla mia bici, che ormai da mille kilometri mi sta accompagnando in questa fantastica, colorata e profumata avventura; ma già questo è bastato a ridurle ai minimi termini.Lo sfregare del tallone ha sbrindellato il tessuto nella parte posteriore, la terra mista a sabbia e polvere le ha rese irriconoscibili da quello che pochi mesi fa erano, ed il sudore puzzolente della fatica non può più permettermi di versarci dello champagne dentro e brindare alla vita come si potrebbe fare in stile holliwoodiano con una scarpa da donna col tacco a spillo!
Anche io ormai provo disgusto a doverle indossare ma ancora il callo podologico, che col tempo è andato formandosi sotto i miei piedi, non è abbastanza spesso da contrapporsi ai miei pedali dentati! Ed è questo il motivo per cui la notte le tengo (insieme ai calzini) a distanza di sicurezza dal mio naso e quando possibile le lascio fuori dall'ambiente in cui vivo. Così è successo anche stanotte.
Alle 11 mi sveglio, faccio colazione, indosso scarpe e calzini e vado a prendere un caffè al bar per scroccare la connessione wifi (e siamo già alle 12 circa); dopodiché mi incammino verso l'alimentari per farmi fare il mio bel paninozzo da sbranare sugli scogli, quando all'improvviso sento qualcosa muoversi nella mia scarpa destra! Come preso da attacco epilettico inizio a scalciare manco fossi un cavallo da rodeo, colto da un istinto idiota che mi fa pensare che a quel modo possa liberarmi di qualsiasi cosa sia nella scarpa. Finalmente realizzo che così non vado da nessuna parte e col le mani piene di dita mi affretto a slacciare e sfilarmi la scarpa per scuoterla e liberarla dall'essere misterioso. Niente! A quel punto rimane un'unica possibilità. Che la bestia sia nel calzino. Con un acrobazia in bilico su una gamba, nel centro della piazza del paese, mi prendo la punta del piede e, come una ballerina di danza classica davanti ad uno specchio, stendo la mia gamba con una scioltezza che mai mi sarei aspettato dal mio quadricipite femorale. Il calzino si srotola al contrario con una perfezione quasi pitagorica e, dalla forza cinetica di tutta questa combinazione di gesti, una pallina nera viene fatta volteggiare nell'aere. La seguo con gli occhi manco fossi una Phantom che riprende a 600 fotogrammi secondo fino a sentire un sordo TOC!
"Ma che cazzo è?!?!" mi chiedo.
La risposta è li che si muove e scappa, barcollante e impaurita allo stesso tempo. Un bacarozzino che aveva scelto il mio calzino come ricovero notturno e che ora potrà raccontare ai suoi amici in giro di essersi fatto di puzza di piedi umani con annesso un viaggio infinito alla velocità della bici fino in paese...sempre che gli passi la sbornia e riesca a tornare dalle sue parti!

Trapani & surroundings

Trapani has been my gate to previous trips to other islands before (see my older posts), but I never spent time visiting it and getting lost through its many beauties!

Cagliari

Back on my schedule because I stopped for too long in CF and Sant'Antioco, Lillo (read previous post) suggests me to take a train from Iglesias to Cagliari that will take me there in only 1 and a half hr.





I would have never expected this city to be this wonderful and this thanx to Omar e Claudia (two guys I met one day on Lucaise beach in CF) that showed me around and explained me the history of the place. The most fascinating part of Cagliari is of course the upper one called by the indigenous "Casteddu".

Kilometri 600. Sant'Antioco

From CF you take a ferry and in 25 minutes you will be in Calasetta. This is one of the two towns of the island and from here I decided to head south towards a camping called "Tonnara" where I found out it's freaking expensive to stay. Disappointed after a 15 Kms ride (at this point you're in the middle of nowhere) I remembered I noticed a little bar/trattoria..."da Mario e Pinella, la vita è bella".
Guess how it ended up!?!

Carlo Forte to eat and to go

It depends wether you like rocks or sand, it's got it all! The south east coast is just a beach one after the other, starting from Giunco to Guidi beach you only have to choose which one you like the most.My favorite one was "Lucaise".

Kilometri 500. CF stands for Carlo Forte

Sleeping on a hammock in Carlo Forte, down a street leading to an unbelievable cliff, under the roof of a sweet restaurant in Cala Fico, is definatly one thing I never expected to happen.







As any time I let myself go (this is my state of mind on traveling mode), things just happen flowing into the day. The night before I slept right on the sand just with my sleeping bag in "La Caletta", one of the many jewels this island had to offer, but today the wind direction was just perfect to visit the norther tip of CF. So i left my bags at the farest of the two bars on the beach and left for the ride of the day.
That's why I ended up in "Cala Fico"! Just because the wind wanted to.

The "Cala" at first sight is unbelievable, with its "fyord" look and the color of the water hitting your eyes in a delicate way. This spot is home of the birds care association LIPU, and the falcs flying above your head will tell you why.
Snorkeling into those waters is divine, the open sea right behind the tips of the bay calls you to go discover it and everything plays its role to make the scene become a painting. And when the deep dark night comes, a couple of hrs after an astonishing sunset, that's when you start seeing the blinking lights of the lighthouse drawing precise lines in the sky.







And now I'm about to go to sleep with all this just outside the porch of this restaurant I stopped eating at (El Chiringuito) with two friends I met on the way of my unforgettable islands tour, Francesca and Giovanni.

Kilometri 460. My fucked up knee

All the circumstances were telling me that something was gonna happen! The maestrale (the king wind in Sardegna) was starting to blow strongly again, the sky was getting cloudy and dark and a fucking steep uphill was waiting for me before the next stop.

From Piscinas to Ingurtosu you have to pass through a canyon where old mines use to be, where history and the hard labor of brave workers are all over you in the abandoned buildings falling apart nowdays, and the wildness of the territory tells you everything about this area. But nothing is more significant then the road when you're traveling by bike, and here you can be sure to sweat your ass off!

About 15 Kms constantly going up, sometimes facing a breathless view but most of the time swearing for the pain in your legs...until "Passo Bidderdi" when you finally go downhill for other 12 Kms! Portixeddu and then Buggerru seam like heaven once you finally reach them, but the methereological conditions are not the best to enjoy the beauty of the huge beach laying between them...

and my knee hurts like shit! It will take me 5 days to recover perfectly from the injury, but in Carlo Forte I will find a tremendous hospitality that will help me getting better. And fall in love with this island!

Kilometri 430. Piscinas

Before reaching next stop, I spent one night on the beach of Torre dei Corsari to rest a little bit and have a look at this place I've always heard about, and to tell you the truth it's totally worth a stop.







But nothing compared to what was expecting me in the world wide famouse Piscinas. The dunes and the wild beauty of this spot is practically impossible to describe with words, but maybe my pictures will do their best!
As you start leaving the paved road, regardless of the side you're coming from, the scenery is unbelievable with the sea calling you from down there and a rough wood surrounding you. If you're coming from south you'll be passing through an old abandoned minerary site which will just take you back in time for decades.









Hopefully you will be arriving at sunset, because this is the best way this area can welcome you, and if so just sit at one of the two little bars on the each (I suggest the one on the right) and wash down an ice cold Ichnusa enjoy the perfect show only nature can give you! A huge firing ball is gonna slowly set behind the horizon giving you goose bumps all over your body, while silence is gonna be all over you and the dunes will do the rest.









The beach here is just enormous so you can choose the comfortable beds just in front of you when you enter the beach, or go to the left as much as you want and spot your private square meters being sure nobody is gonna be around you for the whole day...the second choice is the one I preferred!









For your staying it depends on your budget: if you're a low budget traveler then the camping Sciopadroxiu is the ideal solution. I think this is the best camping site I've ever seen in my life, both for the location and the cleanness of the site. The only "bad" thing is that it's two kms away from the beach into the forest, so you'll have to either walk, ride your bike or take your car...but you might run into a deer...then it will be worth!
If you're a high budget traveler, then you can stay in this amazing hotel right on the sea called Le dune Ingurtosu...an you can trust me you'll be totally satisfied! I took a walk around and inside it and it's just high quality stuff.
Anyway...my next stop is Buggerru and the path leading to it it's just massive uphill...stay tuned to find out if I make it!
Cheers*