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Almost Every Country in the World is in lockdown

I write this with a heavy heart. What is happening right now, across every continent, is truly frightening. The disaster here in Italy is particularly alarming and shocking to say the least. The daily numbers of Coronavirus cases and deaths continues to rise, almost uncontrollably it would seem. Sardinia, at the moment, is not as affected as mainland Italy and from what we can see from looking outside of the boat in Alghero Port, everyone here is sticking to the rules of social distancing and remaining indoors. This is particularly hard for us here, I can tell you!

Another observation is that the people here are very socially conscious. They are not going out to the supermarkets and filling their trolleys full. Panic buying does not seem to be the headline here, thank goodness. But what we all are, is scared, along with the rest of the World. Where will this pandemic lead us? Will it lead to a shrinking of the World economy and make countries and governments think more about self reliance and move countries to a more home grown economy? Out of these dark hours, days, weeks, months hopefully people are being made to think about humanity and how fragile life really is. We certainly are!

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We are in Lockdown

This has got to be the strangest and to be honest the scariest situation I have ever experienced. Two months ago we had never heard of Coronovirus and now the whole of Europe just about, is on government imposed lockdown. This is all in an attempt to stop a deadly virus from rapidly spreading and killing thousands of innocent people. But the reality is now hitting us here in Italy and more of the world, that it is all too little, too late.

Lockdown in Alghero

The UK is, of course, close to our hearts and what is happening there is of great concern to Colin and I as that is where our family are. Its very hard for us, even though we are trying to put a brave face on. We are not with our children in what is probably the most concerning time we will ever experience in our life time. They are very sensible, we know that but what if they became ill and we could not be with them? The hardest is yet to come and I just hope that our family manage to stay safe through all this.

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‘Stranieri’ Thats What We Are

‘Stranieri’ is the Italian word for ‘foreigners’ and that’s how anyone who is not Italian is referred to by locals. We hear it all the time, in shops, on the phone – the receptionist will say ‘there are some stranieri here asking a question’ or ‘ they are the stranieri who own Andrea Jensen’. It’s true that our boat is famous in Alghero and we are the stranieri who own her. Hardly anyone refers to us by name, but they know the name of our boat alright. We do not mind that of course and always smile politely. I am sure it is not meant to be disrespectful but I do not like the word.

The thing is, will we ever stop being ‘stranieri? I really do not think so. In fact, I think mainland Italians would feel ‘stranieri’ here in Sardinia. Colin often says that he ‘feels black’ here. Don’t get me wrong we do like it here and have a lovely relaxed lifestyle compared to our life in Scotland. We get up at the same time each morning, have fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast and then go to the boat to start the days maintenance. We have usually planned the night before the work that needs done that day and make sure we have taken all the tools etc that we need in the car. We forget sometimes what day it actually is, but I know because the recyclable rubbish needs put out on different days back in Villanova. That is the only reason I know.

We are trying to ‘fit in’ and have progressed quite well with learning to speak Italian but it is going to take us a few more years before we will be able to hold a reasonable conversation about anything other than the weather! |Until then we will have to get used to being ‘stranieri’!

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The hard work has started again!

Hi we are back! Its been a while since my last update but we have not been idle I promise!

So far this year the weather in Sardinia has been really stable, with dry sunny days, one after the other (aren’t we lucky). This has allowed Colin and I to get started earlier than usual on maintenance work, especially the bright work, masts and booms which all need their annual sanding, filling, varnishing and painting. This keeps them in good condition and looking great. We have noticed some water damage on the deck boxes (darker patches of wood) which needs investigating to find where the water is getting in and any gaps in joints need inspected for cracks which then need refilled before re-varnishing. 

Main companion way being completely stripped back to bare wood
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Andrea Jensen is rated the No.1 excursion in Alghero on Trip Advisor .

The summer is flying by at such a rate but thanks to our great team and fabulous ship, we are once again the top rated excursion in Alghero on Trip Advisor. Its the end of July already and we have had lots of great days sailing with great guests on board. How they love our little ship, we are so proud of her. 5 star reviews are really making the difference. Thank you everyone for contributing.

We have 2 days of Mistrale right now and are marina bound today and tomorrow. The thunder storm last night was spectacular and we watched from the deck as the lightening lit up the skies of Alghero in dramatic fashion. This was however, quickly followed by torrential rain and a very disturbed night for all aboard! Thank goodness we are not working today and a strong westerly is drying all our damp things in record time. You cannot beat sailing life!

We are truely blessed to own such a stunning ‘lady of the sea’
Happy Me!
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Spring is here

The Charming House – Villa Mosca

Just look at the beautiful spring carpet that comes each year in the garden of Villa Mosca and else where in Sardinia. Every year the pink flora appear like magic along the promenade and in gardens. I cannot help being mesmerized by the wonders of nature at this time of year. Spring is definitely my favourite time here. The island is adorned with wild flowers exhibiting the colours of the rainbow, where ever you look. The fields and hedge rows, which are allowed to grow wild are alive with bees and butterflies.

We are sitting in our little ship, Andrea Jensen in Alghero Port, on a cold, windy, May afternoon, trying to figure out how to attract more visitors on board this year, to share the wonderful experience of sailing a Traditional boat. The local hotels are generally disappointing and reluctant to collaborate with us (not all), probably because we are not Italian and there is a language barrier. We go to each hotel every year at the end of April, with our Marketing leaflets to remind them that we are ready for their guests, with the hope that they will help to inform and promote our wonderful day trip. We are trying hard to learn Italian of course, so that we can make an effort to better fit in here, but I do not ever think we will totally belong! There are many visitors to Alghero who do not even know we are here and its these we are trying to reach out to. Those travelers who do not use Trip Advisor are unlikely to find us if they do not know what they are looking for.

So if you are reading this blog having been on our boat, we would like to say ‘thank you’ and ask you to spread the word – Andrea Jensen really is the best boat trip in Sardinia!

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‘Monumentiaperti’ Alghero

The 2nd weekend in May, each year in Sardinia is special. The island opens up all the religious monuments, churches, museums and some other related places of interest for free, to help encourage the locals and tourists alike to visit these places and celebrate the rich history of the island and perhaps learn something of Sardinia’s past. Local school children are present in each monument to help guide the visitors around and talk knowledgeably about the monuments history and elaborate on the important points of interest. It never fails to surprise me however, how poorly advertised events such as these are! The May Day Nautical event a few weeks ago appeared to be very badly advertised too, which is such a shame when clearly a lot of hard work and time has gone into organising such events.

This year we were able to take advantage of this opportunity and visited many sights in and around Alghero, some of which we had visited before and others which we were visiting for the 1st time. We climbed to the top of the Bell Tower of Saint Mary Cathedral and were able to see right over the roof tops of Alghero and across the sea to Capo Caccia and beyond. The views were spectacular and well worth the climb to the top.

Duomo Alghero, viewed from the Bell Tower
View over Alghero Marina and the new town
Capo Caccia viewed from the Bell Tower

We also visited the Church of San Francesco and the cloister which date back to the Gothic period, end of 15th century and the very well preserved, very precious Church of Santa Barbara with it wonderful, colourful painted walls and ceiling.

Cloister of the Church of San Francesco

There are so many interesting, historical monuments and churches in Alghero that we have still yet to visit all of them, but my favorite so far is the small and beautiful Church of Saint Barbara.

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Alghero Comes Alive on May Day!

May Day celebrations kicked off on Wednesday with a Latina Boat Regatta and the port was filled with market stalls from all over Northern Sardinia. It was a lovely day weather wise too and Andrea Jensen had her first ‘Mini Cruise’, evening trip. We attracted an audience as we hoisted the Mizzen sail in the marina and followed this with the main sail going up soon after. We raised 4 sails in total and sailed slowly and elegantly past the old town wall. There were on-lookers all along the wall and out past Villa Las Tronas. We clearly looked impressive! We popped the cork on a few bottles of Akenta and shared this out among our delighted guests. Aah the start of summer at last, such a great feeling.

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Traditional Latina Boats line up in Alghero Marina

These Latina boats look lovely in the marina, ready for the Regatta tomorrow

These lovely traditional boats are along side us for the next few days in Alghero Marina. Tomorrow they will take part in a May Day Regatta. We will hopefully watch it all happening out on the water in Alghero Bay. The sails on these boats are not easy to master, so it takes well practiced sailors to skipper them. All adds to the fun I’m sure.

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So the season has started quite well with a late Easter

We have had some nice trips out on the water over the Easter holiday and great guests on board, who have all been from Germany to date. The new crew are settling in very well, we are pleased that they have enjoyed the work so far, having been here only a week and a half! The weather has been mixed in between the trips, some rainy and windy days, but that does not seem to have deterred their enthusiasm. They are very keen to help which is just what we need.

The work on the boat continues between trips and Andrea Jensen really is looking spectacular with her new bright hull colours and varnished brightworks. We think she looks the best ever. It’s amazing what another pair of hands allows us to achieve. The maintenance list is definitely getting shorter by the day.

Alghero is starting to come alive with bars and market stalls popping up all over. Many locals have had a long Easter holiday with Labour Day bank holiday all rolled into one long break for them to spend with their families. The Ramparts around the Old Town have been buzzing with buskers and street entertainers all trying to make a few euros! But we are getting a bit tired of the same songs being sung over and over. Please learn a new tune, that’s our request!