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in 2 the Lighthouse we 5leep 2 S-cape X-winds, covid + bNbs

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959

11/27/2021 | Faro Capo Spartivento, Sardinia> din't sleep @ all last nite in Portoscuso, all sorts of husky-voiced men coming + going, not wearing masks + smoking cigarettes in the commun area of the bnb, acting suspicious + treating us like intruders (+ no, this wasn't a bad dream) > we tried 2 retreat in2 our room 2 sleep but more came in @ 1 in the morning banging doors + talking loudly + they had terrible coughs > then they got up @ 5 a.m. again banging doors + talking loud + smoking > we'd been laying there all night fearful of going out there + getting covid, scheming how 2 get out of this situation b/c we'd booked 2 nights... not that it was hard b/c no 1 even greeted us + took down our passport #s like they're legally obliged 2 do, they just told us over the phone (no 1 was there when we arrived) the door was 0pen + 2 find a room (wich was a bad sign, that anybody cd just walk in off the street... completely unmanaged, basically a squat for day-laborers 2 crash in) > we considered going out the window just s0 we wouldn't b xposed 2 these brutes who were hacking + coughing + we heard 1 of them talking about a «tampone» (Italian word 4 covid test) > they eventually left, 4 work presumably, so we packed our bags + snuck thru the house masked up but cd still smell lingering cigarettes + who knows what else (u need 2 inhale 2 smell so how is covid aerosol any diffrent than cigarette smoke from their lungs?) > then we emailed the landlady (so there wd b a paper trail) + said we was leaving + not paying 4 this shit + pushed on > an hour or so later once we were on the road she started calling us repeatedly (+ then 2day she responded 2 our email + said it was the most «unpleasant» experience of her life... strange considering she was never there 2 experience it! but it was definitely 1 of the most unpleasant hotel/bnb situations we'd ever bin in... B&B Sa Cruxitta if u want 2 steer clear)

> we knew about this lighthouse hotel (Faro Capo Spartivento, or «crosswinds cape lighthouse») + almost booked it a few weeks ago when we were planning our trip but it was really xpensive, but now we resorted 2 booking them last minute... after all, since we canceled our anniversary trip to Sicily we cd spend this last night in luxury b4 retreating 2 the states 2 get boostered > took our time driving down the coast, stopped on the i-land of Sant'Antioco (there's a bridge 2 it) then on small flooded roads thru agricultural fields then on SP71 which is a beautiful road along rugged coastline which we'd driven b4 in 2011 > saw goats, but again, Sardinian goats r very elusive + run away from u > found a nice spot 2 pull over + tried 2 take a nap since we hardly slept the nite b4, but couldn't sleep > got 2 the lighthouse (after doing stuff like punching secret codes 2 get thru gates) but couldn't check in as surprisingly all 4 rooms were occupied > but found a great hiking trail (granted it was flooded w/ water ½ the time) along the coast, the very southern tip of Sardinia > again, weather was beautiful + sunny tho they predicted rain + it had been storming all night + the second we got back 2 the hotel it started pouring again, can't believe the luck we've had this hole trip (minus last night) > checked in then had an amazing lunch then chilled in our room which is literally in an operational lighthouse > u can go up the spiral stairs 2 the fresnel lens room + we had a sundowner G+T up there + watched the storms @ sunset... magical

1 of many rainbows we saw (this 1 over Sant'Antioco)

 

1 of many goats, tho could never get a good pic as they r camraw shy

 

muddy river water churning in2 blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

view from the lighthouse (+ the trail we walked on around 2 the next point)

 

∞ pool

 

airplane gatling gun fire from WWII (in the Battle of Cape Spartivento)

 

 

lighthouse filament

 

 

 

 

 

there's a MAN in MAchiNe

 

 

sorry 4 all the lighthouse pics but this thing really geeked us out (c if u can spot r bedder-½ in this 1)

 

> after a nice dinner we decided 2 change our tickets back 2 D.C. after reading all this stuff about the moronicron variant... was thinking of changing it 2 Tuesday but our bedder-½ has stuff 2 wrap up in Bologna + we got 2 get tests etc. so we changed it 2 next Saturday... but 1st we got 2 get back 2 Bologna (or «Baloney» as n automated English translation in Cagliari airport called it) > we listened to the audio book of Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse (which our bedder-½ just happened 2 halve on their iPad) as we fell asleep then woke up in the middle of the night b/c water was leaking in2 our room, fortunately not near the bed but we cd hear it dripping all night, seeping thru the vaulted roof... it is n old lighthouse after all > then woke up @ the crack of dawn + went 2 the airport

desert

 

sunrise over Chia beach on way 2 airport

 

we've left Sardinia but the lighthouse still spins in our head, guiding us safely home

 

958 <(current)> 960 > bunkered in N airB+B liebury in Bologna w/ elephant dung boox
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