| From: "Bron Gondwana" <brong@brong.net> Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 20:47:29 +1000 (EST) |
This was our last day, and we'd seen an aquarium in Alghero, so we caught the bus in early to see that. There were lots of little fishies with Italian name-plates (on the tank, not the fish itself, silly), and a giant turtle. It was very cool, and looked rather bored in its 2 by 3 metres of space. It had room for about 1 1/2 flipper strokes. Had pirahnas, and sharks, and some really ugly snaky things. Walked down to the beach in Alghero, which was a little more crowded and even more shallow (hence warmer!). Had a picnic lunch and went for a couple of dips. Watched the bikini babes lounging around (many of them seeming to have forgotten to put their tops on). Wished we had time to hire a paddle boat or kayak (or a sail catamaran!). Back to the hostel to get bags, and back on the trains. Discovered that the Alghero line was a private train line as well, but refused to pay - after all, we've spent a lot on these rail passes, and we hadn't had a problem getting to Alghero with them. More trains through to Olbia. Great mountain scenery. Lots of old buildings falling to pieces, and stone walls _everywhere_. Had dinner in a nice restaurant - very good pasta dishes. Service was about 25%, and included in the bill, but it was still fairly cheap. Walked out to the port because we didn't want to wait 4 hours for the bus, which would have only just got there in time. It was only a couple of km. Just as well we did walk. When we found the right ferry and got on board, we discovered we were in a packed room of seats, and expected to sleep there all night (with smokers just outside in the corridor, and no doubt opening the door all the time). We complained and tried to get our money back (the plan being to stay the night and get the cheaper ferry we caught over - and hopefully an upgraded room again). We had only decided to leave from Olbia because Golfo Aranci was harder to get from, but it would have been no problem coming back. The cost of the seats was a little less, but the quality was way down. They refused to give our money back, but finally found us a cabin for 'only' EUR 24.80 extra. The cabin was tiny, but at least we slept well. On the other hand, there were no showers on the ship. Grr. |
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